Business Operation: Ontario

ORPP Implementation Delayed to January 1, 2018

· 3 min read

On February 16, 2016, the Ontario government announced that the first wave of Ontario Registered Pension Plan (“ORPP”) implementation has been delayed by one year to January 1, 2018. This change, which impacts certain large employers with more than 500 employees, is one of several significant developments outlined in this FTR Now. THE ANNOUNCEMENT The…

Legislation Expanding Ombudsman Jurisdiction to Municipalities, Universities and School Boards Now In Force

· 2 min read

On January 1, 2016, provisions of Schedule 9 of the Public Sector and MPP Accountability and Transparency Act, 2014 came into force. These provisions amend the Ombudsman Act (“Act“) to expand the jurisdiction of the Ontario Ombudsman to investigate matters related to publicly-funded universities and municipal sector entities (defined as municipalities, local boards and municipally-controlled corporations). On September 1, 2015, provisions…

Preparing the Municipal Sector for the Ontario Retirement Pension Plan

· 9 min read

The Ontario Retirement Pension Plan (“ORPP”) is coming and all municipal sector employers need to consider and prepare for the potential of ORPP participation and associated additional payroll costs commencing as early as January 1, 2017. In this FTR Now we provide an overview of the ORPP and highlight key issues that you should be…

Court Recognizes New Privacy Tort: “Public Disclosure of Embarrassing Private Facts”

· 3 min read

In a case that can only add to the risk of privacy claims faced by organizations, the Ontario Superior Court of Justice recently awarded damages based on the new tort of “public disclosure of embarrassing private facts.” In Doe 464533 v N.D., the Court awarded damages to a plaintiff whose former boyfriend coaxed her to…

Court of Appeal Rejects Use of “Snapshot” Approach to Determine Exclusivity in Contractor Relationships

· 2 min read

Employment relationships generally fall into one of three categories: employee, dependent contractor or independent contractor. Exclusivity is often a key consideration when determining what category applies. Recently, the Court of Appeal for Ontario considered the degree of exclusivity required in a dependent contractor relationship in Keenan v. Canac Kitchens Ltd. In Keenan, the plaintiffs had…

PTSD Strategy Announced by Ontario

· 4 min read

On February 1, 2016, the Ontario government announced new initiatives designed to address post-traumatic stress disorder (“PTSD”) suffered by first responders. The initiatives build on the feedback received by the government at its Summit on Work-Related Traumatic Mental Stress, hosted by the Minister of Labour in March 2015. In this FTR Now, we review these…

An Update on WSIB Rate Framework Reform

· 4 min read

In March, 2015, the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (“WSIB”) proposed a new Rate Framework (“Proposed Framework”) which, if adopted, would fundamentally change the way the WSIB classifies Schedule 1 employers and sets their premium rates (see our FTR Nows of April 17, 2015 “WSIB Rate Framework Reform: Stakeholder Input Invited” and August 21, 2015 “An…

New Proposed Federal Bill to Reverse Canada Labour Code Certification and Decertification Reforms, C-377 Union Disclosure Obligations

· 2 min read

Further to its election platform, on January 28, 2016, the federal government introduced Bill C-4, An Act to amend the Canada Labour Code, the Parliamentary Employment and Staff Relations Act, the Public Service Labour Relations Act and the Income Tax Act. Among other things, this legislation would, if passed, amend the Canada Labour Code (“CLC”) to effectively repeal…

Successfully defended a pension plan administrator in a series of applications before the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario where the applicants claimed that the pension plan’s re-employment provisions discriminated against pensioners on the basis of age.

Successfully defended a pension plan administrator in a series of applications before the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario where the applicants claimed that the pension plan’s re-employment provisions discriminated against pensioners on the basis of age.