On April 7, 2013, certain amendments to the Employment Insurance Act (“EI Act”) made by the federal government’s Budget 2012 legislation, Jobs, Growth and Long-term Prosperity Act, will come into force and create a new benefit rate calculation for employment insurance benefits. As of April 7, 2013, the calculation of the benefit rate of most…
Business Operation: Ontario
Regulatory Amendment Filed Under Education Act (Operation of Schools – General)
On March 26, 2013, the Ontario government filed O. Reg. 121/13, amending Regulation 298, Operation of Schools – General. It adds to the duties of secondary school principals, for the purpose of assisting in course selection, the requirement to inform prescribed pupils of ways to earn a credit that are an alternative to enrolment as…
Parts of Ontario College of Trades and Apprenticeship Act, 2009 to Come into Force April 8, 2013
On April 8, 2013, parts of the Ontario College of Trades and Apprenticeship Act, 2009 (“OCTAA”) will be proclaimed into force. Among other things, OCTAA creates the Ontario College of Trades (“College”). Effective April 8, 2013, OCTAA will repeal the Apprenticeship and Certification Act, 1998 and the Trades Qualification and Apprenticeship Act, thereby transferring most…
Termination of Employee Following Work Refusal Results in Finding of Reprisal
The Ontario Labour Relations Board has found an employer violated the Occupational Health and Safety Act (“OHSA”) when it immediately terminated an employee instead of taking any steps whatsoever to investigate a work refusal. The employee was a probationary truck driver who had worked with the employer for three months. He felt that the truck…
Supreme Court of Canada Denies Leave to Appeal in Carrigan
Today, the Supreme Court of Canada denied leave to appeal from the Ontario Court of Appeal decision in Carrigan v. Carrigan. The Court of Appeal’s decision awarded the payment of the pre-retirement death benefit payable under an Ontario registered pension plan to a member’s designated beneficiaries rather than to his common law spouse (Ms Quinn),…
Supreme Court Denies Leave in Carrigan
The Supreme Court of Canada will not be providing further clarification regarding the administration of pre-retirement death benefits under section 48 of the Ontario Pension Benefits Act (“PBA”). Today, the Court denied leave to appeal in Quinn v. Carrigan. As first discussed in our FTR Now “Ontario Court of Appeal Decision Rewrites the Pension Pre-Retirement…
Amendment to Sick Leave Credits and Sick Leave Credits Gratuities Regulation Filed
On March 26, 2013, O. Reg. 112/13, amending O. Reg. 1/13 Sick Leave Credits and Sick Leave Credits Gratuities made under the Education Act, was filed. O. Reg. 112/13 adds “Limestone District School Board” to subsection 4(5) of O. Reg. 1/13. That subsection states that employees of the boards specified must have 10 years of…
HRTO Renders Significant Remedies Decision
In the recent decision of Fair v. Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board, a non-union employee was reinstated to employment with back pay, despite having been away from the workplace for nearly a decade. The Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario explicitly rejected the employer’s argument that it would be unfair to order reinstatement in light of the…
SCC to Render Leave to Appeal Decision in Carrigan
On March 28, 2013, the Supreme Court of Canada will render its leave to appeal decision in Quinn v. Carrigan. The majority of the Ontario Court of Appeal awarded the payment of the pre-retirement death benefit payable under an Ontario registered pension plan to a member’s designated beneficiaries rather than to his common law spouse…
Ontario Launches Consultation on Development of Occupational Health and Safety Strategy
The Ontario Ministry of Labour has launched a consultation process further to the development of its first province-wide integrated occupational health and safety strategy. It has issued a consultation paper, “An Integrated Occupational Health and Safety Strategy for Ontario”, for review and comment by stakeholders. Feedback is invited on issues such as: addressing the needs…