LAWS & ANNOUNCEMENTS

New Laws

Jul 2: Goods approved for sale in one province or territory can now be sold in Yukon without additional testing. However, there are five exceptions for which existing standards continue to apply: boiler and pressure vessels; ozone depleting substances; cervid parts; human tissue; and designated materials under the extended producer responsibility program.

New Laws

Jun 22: Yukon postponed implementation of the 2025 National Building Code that was scheduled to take effect today to June 22, 2027. Meanwhile, the government will hold public consultations on what, if any, changes should be made to the Code before it’s implemented. Yukon currently uses the 2020 National Building Code, which was adopted on April 1, 2023.

Industry Challenges

Jun 30: Yukon reached an agreement with Yukon First Nations on a new process to complete new minerals legislation. Work on new legislation will cover every stage of the life cycle of mining activity, from prospecting to the operation of a mine and the eventual closure and remediation of a site. The new law will replace the Quartz Mining Act and Placer Act, which have been in place for over a century.

Workplace Violence

Jul 2: Yukon launched online public consultations on new legislation governing private ownership of firearms in the territory. The law will likely provide for the creation of a new firearms advocate to represent firearm owners, advise the government, and promote firearm safety education and training. Deadline to comment: August 7.

Action Point: Find out when threatening to bring a gun to work is grounds for terminating a worker.

CASES

Workplace Violence: Firing Employee Because She’s Domestic Violence Victim Is Sex Discrimination

The Yukon Human Rights Board of Adjudication found a university committed sex and family status discrimination when it terminated an employee one day after she returned from domestic violence leave. The university knew the employee was a domestic violence victim and factored this into its decision not to renew her contract despite her excellent service record, the Board concluded. Result: It awarded her $35,000 in damages for injury to dignity and self-respect (the second highest such award in Yukon history) and $19,738.88 for three months of lost wages [Antony v. Yukon University, YHRPA File: 2025-04, May 28, 2026].

Action Point: The moral of Antony is not to blame the victim for domestic violence. In the OHS context, this means that you can’t terminate or suspend a worker because they face a threat of domestic violence and you fear that their partner will carry out the threatened violent act in the targeted victim’s workplace. Find out how to implement an effective Workplace Domestic Violence Prevention Plan to protect your own workers.