The Ontario Court of Appeal has provided new guidance to litigants seeking to opt out of class proceedings. In the usual course, a class member has until the deadline set by the court at the time the court certifies a class proceeding to opt out of a class action (i.e. to no longer be considered…
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Employers Take Note: Incoming Changes to Competition Act
Employers should take note of recent amendments made to the Competition Act (Act) by Bill C-19, Budget Implementation Act, 2022, No. 1 which will come into force on June 23, 2023. The amendments make it a criminal offence for an employer to conspire, agree or arrange with an unaffiliated employer to fix, maintain, decrease or…
Ontario Divisional Court Finds Group Living Home Did Not Discriminate Against Disabled Resident by Enforcing a No Visitor Policy During the COVID-19 Outbreak
On September 22, 2022, the Ontario Divisional Court (Court) released Empower Simcoe v. JL, in which the Court set aside decisions of the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario (Tribunal). The Court held that Empower Simcoe’s COVID-19 visitor policy (Policy), which temporarily limited visits to essential personnel and was later updated to allow outdoor family visits…
Ontario Makes Changes to COVID-19 Requirements in Long-Term Care Homes
Effective October 14, 2022, Ontario has made a number of changes to COVID-19 requirements in long-term care homes (LTC Homes), as set out in the document titled “COVID-19 guidance document for long-term care homes in Ontario.” Active screening for COVID-19 is no longer required when visitors and caregivers are entering a facility (although it remains…
Proposed Regulation Requiring Federally Regulated Employers to Provide Menstrual Products Published for Comment
On October 15, 2022, the federal government published a proposed Regulation Amending Certain Regulations Made Under the Canada Labour Code (Menstrual Products). The proposed Regulation would amend the sanitation provisions in the Occupational Health and Safety Regulations (OHS Regulations) made under Part II (Occupational Health and Safety) of the Canada Labour Code. The proposed Regulation…
Federal Government Launches Consultations to Improve the Collective Bargaining Process
On October 19, 2022, the federal government announced that it is seeking public feedback regarding its plan to improve the collective bargaining process. The government states that the consultation was launched in response to its commitment to introduce legislation by the end of 2023 to prohibit the use of replacement workers during a strike or…
Two Recent Class Action Decisions of Note for Employers
In this latest edition of Common Ground? Class Action Updates, we discuss two recent decisions of interest to employers. The first is a certification order relating to a systemic claim of negligence within a workplace. The second considers a plausible methodology to measure compensable loss. Federal Court Certifies Class Action Brought by Current and Former…
COVID-19 and WSIB Claim Costs
Public Health Ontario publishes weekly epidemiological summaries regarding COVID-19 in Ontario. The most recent report, published October 7, 2022, noted a gradual increase in case trends and percent positivity over the past three weeks. Current projections suggest that weekly case numbers may continue to rise over the coming weeks. Given forecasted increases, here is a…
Update on the Incoming Paid Medical Leave Under the Canada Labour Code
Federally regulated employers should be aware that amendments to the medical leave provisions of the Canada Labour Code are set to come into force on or before December 1, 2022. As set out below, we have clarified with Employment and Social Development Canada that these provisions will apply to all federally regulated employers, not just…
Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario Determines It Has Concurrent Jurisdiction with Labour Arbitrators to Decide Human Rights Claims
The Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario (Tribunal) has determined that it has concurrent jurisdiction to decide claims of discrimination and harassment falling within the scope of a collective agreement governed by the Labour Relations Act (LRA) and the Police Services Act (PSA). The decision addresses a significant question of law arising from the 2021 decision…