Vol. 12, Issue 2, December 13, 2018
Hamilton's Labour Market Connection
Your weekly news & updates from WPH!
In this week's edition: Employers: Attend "Up in Smoke" to learn how the new cannabis laws affect your workplace; Cannabis is growing Canada's economy; Smoke-Free Ontario changes.
You are invited to ... Up in Smoke: Weed in the Workplace and What Employers Need to Know
Workforce Planning Hamilton, with our partner City of Hamilton, Public Health Services is presenting a workshop for employers who are concerned 
about how to address cannabis use in the workplace. The event takes place on January 24/19 from 8:00 am. - 10:00 am at the Waterfront Centre, 555 Bay St. North, Hamilton.

Medicinal cannabis is legal in Canada and as of October 17, 2018 recreational cannabis is also legal. What does this mean for your workplace?

Jane M. Gooding, a partner in the Hamilton office of Filion Wakely Thorup Angeletti LLP will provide an overview of the new laws that have legalized cannabis use in Canada and Ontario.

Attend to find out:

  • Employer’s rights and responsibilities to keep marijuana out of the workplace
  • Employer’s duty to provide a safe and hazard-free work environment for employees
  • When drug testing is and is not permitted
  • The employer’s duty to accommodate cannabis use
  • Find out about the creation of cannabis use policies including how to deal with suspected impairment at work
  • The risks that employers will face in light of the new laws

Heidi McGuire and Madi McNitt, City of Hamilton, Public Health Services will explain the Smoke-Free Ontario Act, including where the public can and cannot smoke or vape cannabis. 
They will talk about the health implications of second hand smoke and other issues.

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Canada's unemployment rate drops to 5.6%, and cannabis helped

Canada's unemployment rate dropped to 5.6 per cent in November, the lowest rate in comparable records going back to 1976, Statistics Canada said.

The country added 94,000 jobs in the month, an unusually strong showing and well above economists' expectations. The gains were led by increases in full-time work, StatCan noted.

And the numbers got a notable boost from Canada's rapidly-growing cannabis sector.

The number of people directly employed in non-medical cannabis was 10,400, on average, over the past three months, Statistics Canada said, up 266 per cent from a year earlier.

While the total number of people directly employed in non-medical cannabis is relatively small, the industry's expansion "clearly boosted total employment across various industries," 
BMO senior economist Robert Kavcic wrote in a client note.

More than half of cannabis jobs (58 per cent) were in agriculture, while others were in retail, educational services and health care, Statistics Canada said.

Smoke-Free Ontario Changes

Beginning October 17, 2018, smoking of cannabis and the use of electronic cigarettes (containing any substance) is prohibited in the same 
areas where tobacco smoking is already prohibited under the Smoke-Free Ontario Act. 

The Smoke-Free Ontario Act prohibits smoking (cannabis and tobacco) and the use of electronic cigarettes in Ontario in/on: 
  • Enclosed public places and workplaces (including work vehicles) 
  • Restaurant and bar patios, and within 9 metres of these patios 
  • Children’s playgrounds and play areas, sports fields, community recreation facilities and within 20 metres of these places 
  • School property 
  • Hospital property 
  • Long-term care homes, and within 9 metres of their entrances and exits 
  • Common areas in multi-unit housing such as lobbies and elevators 
  • Daycares 
  • Vehicles, if a person under age 16 is present 

For more information, contact the Tobacco Hotline at 905-540-5566, e-mail [email protected] 
Labour Force Information, Hamilton, November 2018
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Workforce Planning Hamilton | 905-521-5777| [email protected] | www.workforceplanninghamilton.ca