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  March 11, 2026: 7:30-9:30 PST (presentation 8-9:30)

  Live at Gowlings WLG, 2300-595 Burrard and on-line

  This second hybrid seminar from the CCIF Canada West’s People and Culture Committee focuses on Canadian employment law with comparisons to the French context. This seminar will offer:
  a) Both in person and on-line attendance options; 
  b) Coverage of employment laws in Canada outside of Quebec.  As most Canadian employment legislation is provincial and many French employers operate in more than one province, this provides attendees with broader coverage;
  c) Practical tips and information that attendees can use as managers and business owners operating in Canada and as employees themselves.

1. The format of this English language seminar will allow for questions during the presentation (including in French if requested) and an opportunity for more questions at the end.

               The Speakers

   The seminar will be led by senior bilingual employment lawyer J. Geoffrey Howard of Howard Employment Law who has spent 37 plus years advising employers and employees, including many from France. The French legal perspective will be provided by Gaëlle LeBreton, a labour and employment partner with our host firm Gowling WLG’s Paris office. Practical insights about how Canadian employment laws apply in reality will come from Franck Palomba, Managing Director for Zodiac Hurricane Technologies, who has managed teams in both Canada and France.

               Seminar Topics

   Some of the topics to be covered include:
   1. How Canada mandates social security coverages which are less generous in some areas, such as pensions, or not funded by employer and employee contributions, such as basic healthcare, which dramatically reduces “overhead” costs of employees in Canada to employers and deductions from employees’ pay when compared with France.
   
   2. The greater bargaining power enjoyed by Canadian “all employee” unions;
   
   3. The more modest regulation of working hours relative to the “35 heures” regime in France along with the cost of having employees working “overtime” in Canada;
   
   4. The significantly greater flexibility employers enjoy to terminate (non-unionized) employees in Canada along with the sometimes high cost of severance. Attendees will also learn how employment agreements can clarify and reduce those severance costs.
   
   5. The challenges of enforcing non-compete and other post-employment restrictions in Canada which lacks framework legislation on this topic.

•             Who Can/Should Attend

  This seminar is open to members of CCIF CW and also members of the CCIF  of Toronto. On-line is free to these groups with a $10 charge to cover costs for in person attendees.

  Non-members can also attend for slightly higher costs: $10 on-line and $20 in person.

  Here is the link to register for this event: https://ccifwesterncanada.com/event-6521577

  This seminar provides valuable insights to:
  a) Entrepreneurs who have or will be hiring employees as they launch or expand their business;
  
  b) Managers who need to hire, manage and terminate employees in Canada;
  
  c) French firms looking to expand into Canada; and
  
  d) Employees who want to understand how Canadian employment laws work and better understand their rights.

Please pass this article on to others you know who may want to attend.

See you on March 11!

- Geoffrey Howard, Partner and Principal at Howard Employment Law