2012 Fall Edition

FOCUS ON 40TH ANNIVERSARY A “client first” culture – 40 years of Hicks Morley excellence LEGAL DEVELOPMENTS Recent case imposes Criminal Code fines for workplace health and safety violations Healthy email use for corporations: Ten tips PROFILE Covering all the bases Download PDF

Alberta Introduces Pension Reform Bill

On October 25, 2012, Bill 10, Employment Pension Plans Act, received first reading in the Alberta Legislature. Bill 10 is introduced further to a report tabled in 2008 by the Alberta and British Columbia Joint Expert Panel on Pension Standards, “Getting Our Acts Together,” regarding pension reform in those two provinces. Pension reform legislation was…

Second and Final Tranche of Pooled Registered Pension Plans Regulations Published for Comment

On October 26, 2012, the federal government announced that it was pre-publishing proposed Regulations Amending the Pooled Registered Pension Plans Regulations (“Proposed Regulations”) for public commentary and that once the Proposed Regulations are finalized, the Pooled Registered Pension Plans Act (“Act”) and its supporting regulations will come into force. As stated in the announcement, the…

Supreme Court of Canada Grants Leave in Cyber-Picketing Case

The Supreme Court of Canada has granted leave to appeal in United Food and Commercial Workers, Local 401 v Alberta (Attorney General), a decision from the Alberta Court of Appeal which raised extremely broad questions about the constitutionality of Alberta’s commercial sector privacy statute in disposing of a dispute about the right of a union…

Federal Government Registers Pooled Registered Pension Plans Regulations

On October 5, 2012, Pooled Registered Pension Plans Regulations were registered by the federal government. The Regulations provide supporting details for the Pooled Registered Pension Plans Act (“Act”). Among other things, the Regulations establish: the licensing conditions for a Pooled Registered Pension Plan (“PRPP”) administrator; the management and investment of funds in PRPP members’ accounts;…

Arbitrator Uses Proportionality Approach in Determining Discipline of Multiple Employees

A recent arbitration decision provides useful insight for employers about the nuance that an arbitrator may apply to review a penalty decision and as well serves as a reminder that employers ought to be careful to consider all factors when imposing discipline, especially when there are multiple employees involved. In Bell Technical Solutions v. Communications,…