Bill 175: Restructuring Policing in Ontario

The Ontario government has introduced a package of legislative measures intended to significantly restructure the way policing is governed in the province. The proposed legislation, Bill 175, the Safer Ontario Act, 2017, will repeal and replace the existing Police Services Act (PSA) and introduce several new statutes designed to improve accountability, oversight and community safety. Learn more in this FTR Now.

Colleges and Universities: Who is the Health Information Custodian under PHIPA?

This is a short note to our college and university clients – all of whom provide various services to their communities that are properly characterized as “health care” and therefore governed by the Personal Health Information Protection Act. Recent amendments to PHIPA give rise to questions about personal health information governance and the proper identity…

The Road Ahead: Are You Prepared for Bill 148?

Bill 148, the Fair Workplaces, Betters Jobs Act, 2017 is now in force, having received Royal Assent on November 27, 2017. With it comes substantial changes to the Employment Standards Act, 2000 (ESA) and the Labour Relations Act, 1995 (LRA), as well as changes to the Occupational Health and Safety Act (OHSA). In this FTR Now, we have consolidated and summarized the information provided to clients previously in a series of updates that tracked the development of Bill 148…

AODA Compliance: Are You Ready to File Your Report?

All organizations in Ontario employing at least one employee are required to comply with a series of requirements under the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, 2005 (AODA) standards and regulations. For organizations with 20 or more employees, the next mandatory reporting deadline is December 31, 2017. Learn more about your pending and future AODA compliance obligations and our AODA Compliance Checklist for employers in this FTR Now.

Court of Appeal Reiterates that a Sincerely Held Belief is Insufficient to Found a Violation of the Charter

In an important decision which weighs competing rights, the Ontario Court of Appeal dismissed an appeal on the basis that the appellant had failed to provide any evidence that the inclusion of what he referred to as “false teachings” in the school curriculum interfered with or violated his or his children’s religious freedom. Learn more in this School Board Update.

Changes to the Canada Labour Code and PIPEDA are Coming

In this issue of our Federal Post, we discuss amendments to the Canada Labour Code which will introduce new leaves as well as new obligations for federal employers regarding workplace harassment and violence, among other things. We also look at how adjudicators have interpreted the unjust dismissal world after the decision of the Supreme Court of Canada in Wilson v. Atomic Energy of Canada. And finally, we remind you about the incoming obligations regarding data breach under PIPEDA.

Bill 177 Introduces Transitional Provisions for WSIB Mental Stress, Increased Fines under OHSA

On November 14, 2017, the Ontario government introduced Bill177, the Stronger, Fairer Ontario Act (Budget Measures), 2017, omnibus legislation which, if passed, would amend several employment-related statutes. In this FTR Now, we discuss the proposed changes to the Workplace Safety and Insurance Act, 1997 and the Occupational Health and Safety Act.