The US Trade Representative announced that it is seeking comments concerning the operation of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement with respect to automotive goods, including the implementation and enforcement of the USMCA rules of origin for automotive goods.
Our two-part webinar series is designed to bring Canadian in-house counsel and human resources leaders up to speed on the top labour, employment and human rights law developments of 2021 and to prepare them for what’s on the horizon in 2022.
And we thought 2020 was a doozy! In terms of continuing challenges, unprecedented questions and shifting legal landscapes, 2021 delivered. Between maintaining business continuity and keeping your workforce safe, we know there’s been little time to track the rapidly changing labour, employment, and human rights law landscape in Canada.
The Baker McKenzie International Commercial and Trade team is delighted to invite you to watch our pre-recorded webinar on the latest developments in relation to sanctions against Belarus, as at 10 December 2021. The webinar covers sanctions measures imposed against Belarus by the US, the EU, the UK, Canada and Switzerland, with a particular focus on the most recent measures announced in December 2021, in response to the migration crisis on the Belarus/EU border. The webinar lasts just over 30 minutes, and is intended to give you an overview of the developments, and the key takeaways to ensure compliance by your business
On December 2, 2021, the EU, UK, US, and Canada all imposed additional coordinated sanctions on Belarus as a punitive action against the government led by President Alexander Lukashenko, which has been accused of human rights violations and creating a migrant crisis at Belarusian borders. As further described below, the sanctions included the designation of a number of parties (individuals and entities), whilst certain individuals will also be subject to travel bans preventing them entering or transiting the EU and UK. The US has also introduced financial sectoral sanctions, similar to those already imposed by the EU, UK and Canada.
On 28 October, Baker McKenzie International Human Rights lawyer was joined for a conversation with Canada’s first Ombudsperson for Responsible Enterprise Sheri Meyerhoffer, to explore the mandate of the Office of the Canadian Ombudsperson for Responsible Enterprise.
On 14 October 2021, the Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation (“OFSI“) published its Annual Review, providing an overview of OFSI’s activities in the financial year April 2020 to March 2021. In 2020-2021, OFSI considered 132 reports of potential financial sanctions breaches, a slight decrease from 140 in 2019-2020. However, the number of cases considered generally remains on an upwards trajectory from the 99 potential financial sanctions breaches considered in 2018 to 2019.
As companies call employees back to the physical workplace, more employers are electing to implement mandatory COVID-19 vaccination policies to keep employees safe. In turn, some employees are seeking accommodations for disabilities or sincerely held religious beliefs that may prevent them from being vaccinated. In this In Focus video, Baker McKenzie Labour and Employment lawyers share guidelines for Canadian employers to consider as they encounter requests for accommodations from mandatory vaccination policies.
June 2021 marked the 10th anniversary of the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs), the leading global framework for the respective duties and responsibilities of governments and businesses to safeguard human rights in economic activities.
To address international human rights and responsible business conduct, in 2019 Canada established the Office of the Canadian Ombudsperson for Responsible Enterprise (CORE), following consultations with the late John Ruggie, author of the UNGPs. The CORE represents the Government of Canada’s commitment to provide a mechanism to respond to concerns raised about the protection and respect for human rights by Canadian-based companies doing business around the globe in the garment, mining, and oil and gas sectors.
Welcome to this issue of the Global DR Legal Update, our quarterly newsletter which aims to bring together the most important global developments in litigation and arbitration. If you have any questions, or if we can assist further, please get in touch with Ben Roe or Steve Adams.