The Ontario government has established a Workforce Recovery Advisory Committee to lead consultations and to provide recommendations on the “future of work” in the province. As stated by the government, the Committee’s recommendations regarding the “future of work” will focus on three pillars: Economic recovery: How to make Ontario the top jurisdiction with a world-class…
Category: Uncategorized
Arbitrator Upholds College’s Requirement that Employee be in Receipt of Employment Insurance Benefits to Receive SUB Payments
In Re Niagara College v. Ontario Public Service Employees Union, Arbitrator Schmidt held that revisions to pregnancy and parental leave provisions in the 2017 – 2021 academic collective agreement did not extend entitlement to Supplementary Unemployment Benefits (SUB) where an employee’s entitlement to employment insurance (EI) benefits had been exhausted. In the 2017 negotiations, the…
Federal Ministry of Labour Launches Task Force to Review Employment Equity Act
On July 14, 2021, the federal Minister of Labour announced that it has launched a Task Force with the purpose of “making concrete, independent and evidence-based recommendations to the Minister of Labour on how to modernize” the Employment Equity Act (Act). The Task Force is looking into issues surrounding employment equity and inclusion in federally…
Ontario Consultation on WSIB Surplus Distribution Model
Ontario has launched a Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB) Surplus Distribution Model consultation on how and when the WSIB should distribute any surplus funds. The Operational Review Report sets out 25 recommendations, one that proposes the government adopt a sufficiency ratio between 115% and 125% for the WSIB fund. At 115% sufficiency, the WSIB…
Ontario Launches Tower Crane Health and Safety Consultation
The Ministry of Labour, Training and Skills Development (Ministry) has launched a Consultation on Improving Health and Safety Requirements relating to Tower Cranes, which aims to update current legislative requirements for the operation of tower cranes. The consultation is focused on the requirements set out in the Construction Project Regulation, O. Reg. 213/91, and O….
Ontario Consults on OHSA Regulations Relating to Notice of Project and Head Protection Requirements
The Ontario Ministry of Labour, Training and Skills Development (Ministry) is seeking input from interested parties in respect of regulatory proposals to modernize the Notice of Project and worker head protection requirements for workplaces in Ontario that fall under the Occupational Health and Safety Act (OHSA). Proposed Changes to Notice of Project Requirements The intention…
Ontario Moves to Step 3 of Reopening Plan
Effective July 16, 2021, all public health units in Ontario will be permitted to move to Step 3 of the province’s Roadmap to Reopen. This move comes ahead of schedule and is the result of improvements to key health indicators including decreasing COVID-19 case rates and high rates of vaccination. Once this occurs, all public…
Ontario Superior Court Refuses to Certify Proposed Employment Class Action
In Curtis v Medcan Health Management Inc., Justice Perell of the Ontario Superior Court refused to certify a proposed class action related to vacation and statutory holiday pay, finding that a class proceeding would not be the preferable procedure for the resolution of common issues. The Ontario Employment Standards Act (ESA) requires that employees receive…
Divisional Court Finds “Permanent Residence” Not a Protected Ground under Ontario Human Rights Code
In the recently released decision of Imperial Oil Limited v. Haseeb, a majority of the Divisional Court (Court) quashed a decision of the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario (Tribunal) which treated “permanent residence” as intrinsically included in the protected ground of “citizenship.” The majority held that such an expansion to the ground of “citizenship” was…
Ontario Seeking Input on Postsecondary Accessibility Standards under AODA
In accordance with the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, 2005 (AODA), new accessibility standards are developed through Standards Development Committees. The initial recommendations of the Postsecondary Education Standards Development Committee for the development of postsecondary accessibility standards under the AODA were published on June 25, 2021. The Committee is seeking input from the public…