Bill 236: Protecting Workers from Retaliatory Closures Act

This bill affects employers in Nova Scotia across all industries who have unionized or actively unionizing workplaces — think a retail chain, a food processing plant, a construction company, or a healthcare services provider with one or more physical locations. If your workers have filed for union certification or you've just signed your first collective agreement, you're in a 'protected period' that can last several years, during which closing, relocating, or outsourcing that workplace could trigger a legal presumption that you acted in retaliation. Even if you have a genuine business reason for the closure — like declining revenue or a contract loss — you'd need to prove it with 'clear and convincing evidence' before the Labour Board. Businesses that operate multiple locations or use subcontracting arrangements are especially exposed, since transferring work to a non-union site could be treated as a retaliatory closure.