• Canadian employment legislation usually falls under provincial jurisdiction.o' canada image by Kathryn Palmer from Fotolia.com
  
  While the Government of Canada provides provinces with a broad framework to guide employment legislation, provincial governments enact their own laws and develop labor practices, many of which vary significantly from one jurisdiction to another. Most employees in Canada work in fields regulated by provincial governments. All ten provinces and three territories enact legislation that address the issues of employment equity, a safe workplace and a minimum wage. Workplace language requirements, the length of annual leaves and employee protection against unjust dismissal vary.
  
  

Workplace Language Requirements

• While Section 16 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms requires that New Brunswick maintain a policy of bilingualism and have both English and French represented at the workplace and in public sector hiring, Quebec is a uni-lingual province, with French as the primary language for all formal work-related communication in the public sector and also at larger companies. The Charter of the French Language's fifth chapter, titled "Francization of Enterprises," governs language use at the workplace and is a key element of Quebec's employment legislation. While all employees must be given the right to work in French and cannot normally be dismissed for not speaking another language, companies that employ more than 50 workers must also go through a process called "francization." This includes registering with the province's language agency, the Office Québécois de la Langue Française (OQLF), ensuring that French is the primary language of internal communication among employees and that all management-level workers can speak and read French. The hiring process for all employment must also occur in French, with calls for applicants disseminated in the province's official language.
  
  

Employment Equity Legislation

• Supervising employment equity is a responsibility shared by the federal and provincial governments. Canada's Employment Equity Act requires the federally-regulated public sector and any private company or employer awarded a government contract worth at least $200,000 to prepare a report each year detailing the various salary levels among employees, as well as providing a justification for decisions related to the hiring and the dismissal of workers.
  
  In addition to federal legislation, the Government of Ontario enacted the Pay Equity Act, requiring all employers to provide equal wages to both male and female employees or to gradually rectify any pre-existing inequity in salaries by increasing wages annually by one percent on top of any other increases. Ontario's Pay Equity Commission may investigate any employer in order to ensure compliance, even without a formal complaint from an employee.
  
  

Unionized Employment Legislation

• One out of every three workers in Canada belongs to a labor union. While Canadian employees are permitted to join unions, each province enacted different employment legislation in order to manage unionization. For instance, Ontario's labor code permits the formation of unions after at least 40 percent of all employees agreed to obtain a union card and after the majority of workers voted in favor of unionization. If a union is successfully formed, provincial employment legislation requires the employer to negotiate a collective agreement with the union's designated representatives.