On September 5, 2012, Bill 115, Putting Students First Act, 2012, carried at Second Reading and was ordered referred to the Standing Committee on Social Policy. For background information on the Putting Students First Act, please see our FTR Now of August 20, 2012, “Ontario to Introduce Sweeping Legislation Concerning School Board Bargaining.”
Business Operation: Ontario
Education Act Regulations Filed: Extended Day and Third Party Programs
On August 31, 2012, the Ontario government filed the following two regulations under the Education Act: O. Reg. 245/12 (Full Day Junior Kindergarten and Kindergarten) revokes and substitutes the table of school boards and schools listed in Schedule 1 of O. Reg. 224/10; and O. Reg. 246/12 (Extended Day and Third Party Programs) revokes and…
No Duty to Mitigate Where Employment Contract Silent on Mitigation
The Ontario Court of Appeal recently released a significant decision on an employee’s duty to mitigate post-employment when his or her employment contract has a fixed notice period and is silent on the issue of mitigation. In Bowes v. Goss Power Products Ltd., Mr. Bowes’ contract had a fixed notice period of six months if…
Changes to Proposed Legislation on Teacher Bargaining
On August 27, 2012, the Ontario Legislative Assembly resumed, and the government introduced Bill 115, Putting Students First Act, 2012. The government has made a number of changes to the original draft of the Bill that was released on August 16, 2012, including a key change to the proposed regulation-making powers about the imposition of…
Ontario Introduces Bill 115, Putting Students First Act, 2012
On August 27, 2012, the Ontario Legislative Assembly resumed, and the government introduced Bill 115, Putting Students First Act, 2012. The government has made a number of changes to the original draft of the Bill that was first introduced on August 16, 2012. We are in the process of reviewing the proposed legislation. For background…
Fall 2012 Safety Blitzes Announced by Ontario Government
The Ontario government has announced the launch of four targeted safety blitzes at workplaces across the province this Fall. The planned blitzes will focus on: supervision at construction sites (September and October); machine guarding hazards and repetitive strain injuries in manufacturing and industrial workplaces (October and November); infection prevention and control in health care workplaces…
Hicks Morley Information and Privacy Post – 2011/2012
Dear Friends: It’s late August 2012, and here’s what’s on our minds. Our Information and Privacy Post is back. This edition contains 61 case summaries relating to the protection of confidential business information, electronic evidence, freedom of information, privacy, privilege and production. It has been a remarkable year. Canadian privacy law, in particular, has made…
Pension Assignments Must be Clear and Unambiguous
On July 27, 2012, the Ontario Superior Court of Justice held that if a pension plan member wishes to assign an interest in his or her pension entitlement to a former spouse, the language of the separation agreement or divorce order must be clear and unambiguous. Since the language of the separation agreement and divorce…
Putting Students First Act to be Introduced August 27, Legislature Recalled
The Ontario government announced that the Legislature has been recalled for August 27, 2012 to permit the introduction of the government’s Putting Students First Act Bill. As previously reported, the government first released a draft of the Putting Students First Act on August 16, 2012, legislation that would, if passed, impose a two-year freeze on…
Ontario to Introduce Sweeping Legislation Concerning School Board Bargaining
On August 16, 2012, the Ontario government announced its intention to introduce the Putting Students First Act (the “Bill”). If passed, this legislation would, among other matters, establish unprecedented controls on current school board collective bargaining, freeze current teacher salary grids, require the radical alteration of existing sick leave and retiring gratuity plans, permit regulations…