BC Labour Relations Code review now open for comment

In June 2025, the Government of British Columbia released a report of the Labour Relations Code Review Panel (the Panel).

The report contains the Panel’s recommended amendments to the Labour Relations Code (the Code), intended to ensure the Code keeps pace with changes to the modern workplace. 

The government is now seeking public input on the Panel’s proposals. Interested parties have until September 19, 2025, to submit their comments and feedback on the report.

The full report can be viewed here, while significant proposed changes are summarized below.

Addressing the rise in remote work 

Picketing for Remote Workers 

The Panel considered how picketing applies to remote workers, who have no physical workplace to picket. 

The Panel recommended clarifying the approach to “hot declarations” by the Labour Relations Board (the Board). A hot declaration is a tool used by unions to exert economic leverage on an employer during a strike or lockout by urging unionized workers at other workplaces to avoid dealing with the products or services from that employer during a labour dispute. 

The Board has the authority to regulate hot declarations and can declare that a particular hot declaration is void, unenforceable in specified circumstances, or valid and enforceable. In exercising this authority, the Board considers factors such as how to balance the competing interests of the parties, and whether the hot declaration is 1) substantially affecting the business at issue; 2) consistent with the intent and purpose of the Code provisions regarding strikes, lockouts, and picketing; and 3) necessary for the reasonable protection of the union.

The Panel recommended amending s. 70 of the Code to provide that where there is no physical site for a trade union, the Board must exercise its discretion to determine whether a hot declaration is valid and enforceable to ensure remote workers can exercise their expressive rights consistent with the intent and purpose of picketing.

Addressing previous Code reform

Crossing Picket Lines

In 2024, the Code was amended to allow workers to refuse to cross a picket line erected by employees who are regulated federally or in another province. This change was contentious, in part because it exposes employers regulated by BC law to disruptions in their operations by labour disputes regulated in a separate jurisdiction, without the ability to seek relief from the Board.

The Panel proposed several changes to address employer concerns, including:

• Repealing the inter-jurisdictional picket line crossing rule; and
• Limiting an employee’s right to refuse to cross an inter-jurisdictional picket line to situations where the picketed entity is related to the employee’s employer, or where that right is provided for in a collective agreement.

Single-Step Certification and Membership Cards

A majority of the Panel recommended maintaining single-step certification, with one dissenting opinion. However, the Panel proposed to update the information included on membership cards to clearly indicate that signing the card is equivalent to voting in favour of unionization. 

Further, the Panel recommended increasing funding for the Board to reduce delays in light of a significant increase in applications to the Board. 

Further review and consultation

The Panel recommended the BC government conduct further review of a number of specialized issues. These recommendations include establishing commissions to review and make recommendations concerning: 

• the potential under the Code for sectoral bargaining in appropriate circumstances and in particular industries; 
• labour relations issues in the construction industry; and
• critical issues facing the forestry sector, such as labour relations issues and challenges from fire, natural disturbances, and government policy changes.

The Panel also recommended that the BC government consult with unions, employers, and employees to determine whether legislative change is necessary to address the impacts of artificial intelligence on employment. 

Key takeaways

Overall, the changes proposed generally favour maintaining the status quo, including preserving a number of significant amendments introduced following the last comprehensive review of the Code in 2018. 

As the Panel concludes, legislative amendments to clarify how picketing applies to remote workers and to address concerns arising from the right of BC employees to refuse to cross inter-jurisdictional picket lines are necessary. However, it is unclear how the Panel’s recommendation to use hot declarations to approximate the role of picketing for remote workers would work in practice, and whether this recommendation could result in an expanded use of hot declarations.

We encourage all impacted stakeholders to read the full report and make submissions before the deadline on September 19, 2025. 

Our team is always available to address any questions, concerns, or comments you may have about the report or its recommendations.  

The author would like to thank Seamus Lim-Heley, articling student, for his contribution to preparing this legal update.