The federal government has fixed June 13, 2014 as the date that Division 20 of Part 4 of the Jobs, Growth and Long-term Prosperity Act (“Act”) comes into force. Among other things, Division 20 of Part 4 of the Act amends the Government Employees Compensation Act (“GECA”) with respect to the administration of third party claims by…
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Amendments Made to Federal Occupational Health and Safety Regulations
The federal government has registered two amending regulations made under the Canada Labour Code: Regulations Amending the Oil and Gas Occupational Safety and Health Regulations (Miscellaneous Program) and Regulations Amending the Canada Occupational Health and Safety Regulations (Miscellaneous Program) (“Regulations”). The purpose of the Regulations is, among other things, to clarify inconsistencies between their French…
CASL Regulations Amended
On May 28, 2014, Regulations Amending the Electronic Commerce Protection Regulations (CRTC) (“Regulations”) were registered and came into force. The Regulations amend the Electronic Commerce Protection Regulations (CRTC) made under Canada’s Anti-spam legislation (“CASL”), to provide that section 5 of the Electronic Commerce Protection Regulations (CRTC) (“Specified Functions of Computer Programs”) comes into effect on…
CPP Regulations Amended to Define “Substantially Gainful” Occupation
On June 18, 2014, Regulations Amending the Canada Pension Plan Regulations were published in the Canada Gazette. As previously reported, the Regulations amend the Canada Pension Plan Regulations to prescribe the meaning of “‘substantially gainful’, in respect of an occupation” in subsections 42(1) and 89(1) of the Canada Pension Plan, one of the factors relevant…
Supreme Court Finds Control and Dependency Will Determine if an Employment Relationship Exists
On May 22, 2014, the Supreme Court of Canada issued a significant employment law decision in McCormick v. Fasken Martineau DuMoulin LLP. In this case, the Court found that an equity partner of a law firm was not an employee for the purposes of the British Columbia Human Rights Code. However, the Court also stated…
Court of Appeal Reduces $1.45 Million Award to Constructively Dismissed Employee
The Court of Appeal for Ontario has released its decision in Boucher v. Wal-Mart Canada Corp. This case made headlines in 2012 after a jury trial awarded more than $1.45 million in compensatory, mental suffering, aggravated and punitive damages to Meredith Boucher for her claim that she was constructively dismissed as a result of the…
Ontario Amends “Letter of Credit” and BPS Solvency Funding Relief Regulations
On May 17, 2014, the Ontario government published regulatory amendments to Regulation 909 (General) under the Pension Benefits Act that: clarify that for purposes of determining the total amount of all letters of credit (“LOC”) held in trust for the pension fund for inclusion in the solvency asset adjustment, the value of any special payments…
Deadline for Mandatory Health and Safety Awareness Training is July 1, 2014
Commencing on July 1, 2014, all Ontario employers are required to ensure that workers and supervisors receive mandatory safety awareness training pursuant to O. Reg 297/13, Occupational Health and Safety Awareness and Training. In this FTR Now, we provide a brief reminder about these new training obligations, which were discussed in detail in our November…
WSIAT Finds Limitations on Mental Stress Unconstitutional
On April 29, 2014, Ontario’s Workplace Safety and Insurance Appeals Tribunal (the “Tribunal”) issued a significant decision regarding entitlement to benefits for chronic mental stress under the Workplace Safety and Insurance Act, 1997 (“WSIA“). In Decision No. 2157/09, the Tribunal found that the provisions in the WSIA limiting entitlement to mental stress that “arises from…
CAPSA Releases Guideline on Defined Contribution Pension Plans
On March 28, 2014, the Canadian Association of Pension Supervisory Authorities (“CAPSA”), the association which represents all Canadian pension regulators, released the final version of Guideline No. 8: Defined Contribution Pension Plans, (“DC Guidelines”) along with an accompanying reference document. The DC Guidelines were issued following the circulation of a draft version and extensive public…