Business Operation: Ontario

Ontario Budget 2024 Tabled

· 1 min read

On March 26, 2024, the Ontario government tabled its 2024 budget, “Building a Better Ontario” (Budget). Among other things, the Budget describes developments in the province’s plan to release a new legislative framework for multi‐employer pension plans that provide target benefits. Bill 180, Building a Better Ontario Act (Budget Measures), 2024 was introduced on the…

OLRB Considers Employer’s Disclosure Obligations Under OHSA After Workplace Harassment Investigation

· 3 min read

The Ontario Labour Relations Board (the OLRB) has provided guidance on the extent of an employer’s disclosure obligations under the Occupational Health and Safety Act (OHSA) when an investigation into workplace harassment has been conducted. In Shannon Horner v Stelco Inc. Lake Erie (Shannon Horner), the OLRB considered, for the first time, an employer’s disclosure…

Divisional Court Confirms Concurrent Jurisdiction Model Applies to Human Rights Disputes in Unionized Workplaces

· 3 min read

The Divisional Court has confirmed that Ontario labour arbitrators share concurrent jurisdiction with the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario (Tribunal) over human rights disputes that arise in a unionized workplace.   As reported in our FTR Now of October 6, 2022, in Weilgosh v. London District Catholic School Board, the Tribunal determined it shared jurisdiction with…

WSIB Revises Mental Stress Policies to Clarify Role of Witnesses

· 1 min read

The Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB) has announced that minor revisions to the Operational Policy Manual documents 15-03-02, Traumatic Mental Stress and 15-03-14, Chronic Mental Stress are in effect as of March 1, 2024. As stated by the WSIB, the revisions are intended “to clarify the role of witness evidence in the adjudication of…

Ontario Court Finds Failure to Accept Comparable Position Constitutes Complete Failure to Mitigate

· 3 min read

In Gannon v. Kinsdale Carriers, the Ontario Superior Court recently considered what constitutes “comparable employment” for the purpose of mitigation of reasonable notice damages. The plaintiff was employed by the defendant, a federally regulated trucking company, for 23 years. At the time of her termination from employment, the plaintiff held a role that included accounts…

Proposed Regulatory Amendments to Teacher Assignment and Proficiency in Mathematics

· 2 min read

The Ontario government recently posted two regulatory amendments related to teacher assignments and proficiency in mathematics for comment. The first is the Proposed Regulatory Amendments to Teacher Assignments. Regulation 298 made under the Education Act mandates that principals must assign their teachers to the best possible program, in accordance with the teacher’s qualifications or as…

Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario Awards Applicant $180,000 as Compensation for Injury to Dignity, Feelings and Self-Respect

· 2 min read

In the recent decision of L.N. v. Ray Daniel Salon & Spa, the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario (Tribunal) awarded an applicant $180,000 in damages for injury to dignity, feelings and self-respect. In this case, the applicant was a recently arrived refugee to Canada. She had not yet received her work permit when she started…

Employment Termination Clauses Under Scrutiny – The Latest Update

· 5 min read

In Dufault v. The Corporation of the Township of Ignace, the Ontario Superior Court of Justice found the termination provisions of a fixed-term employment contract did not comply with the Employment Standards Act, 2000 (ESA) because, among other things, it permitted the employer to terminate the employee’s employment without cause in the employer’s “sole discretion”…