In a recent decision, U.M. v. York Region District School Board, the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario (Tribunal) dismissed an application brought against the Respondent school board which alleged that it had discriminated against two students (U.M and M.M.) in the delivery of educational services. This decision confirms that in special education situations, a school board is obliged to act in the interests of the students with respect to educational decisions; while it should communicate with parents, those educational decisions are not generally subject to parental control. Learn more in this School Board Update.
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Appellate Court Upholds Criminal Conviction of Project Manager for Deaths/Injury Resulting from Swing Stage Collapse
In R. v. Kazenelson, the Ontario Court of Appeal recently upheld the conviction and the sentence imposed on a project manager who had been found guilty under the Criminal Code for criminal negligence causing death and criminal negligence causing bodily harm, arising from the collapse of a swing stage in 2009. The appellant project manager…
IPC Provides Important Guidance on New PHIPA Annual Reporting Obligations
Organizations which provide healthcare and are governed by the Personal Health Information Protection Act (PHIPA) should note that recent amendments to PHIPA require health information custodians (HICs) to file an annual report disclosing all security incidents involving theft, loss and unauthorized use or disclosure of personal health information to the Information and Privacy Commissioner. At…
The Right to Be Forgotten Comes to Canada
On January 26, 2018, the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada issued a new position on the protection of online reputation. In doing so the OPC recognized a right to have personal information de-indexed from search engine results if it is inaccurate, incomplete or out-of-date. Although the position is in draft, is nonetheless of…
Ontario Seeks Comments on Proposed New Funding Rules for PBGF Assessments
Much anticipated proposed regulatory amendments respecting the formula for calculating Pension Benefits Guarantee Fund (PBGF) assessments were published by the Ontario government on January 19, 2018 (Proposed Regulations). With unproclaimed amendments to the Pension Benefits Act (Ontario) set to enhance PBGF protection by increasing the guarantee from $1,000/month to $1,500/month, the proposed changes to the PBGF assessment formula are intended to maintain the viability of the PBGF.
Ontario Court of Appeal Rules (Again) on the Enforceability of an ESA-Only Termination Clause
The Ontario Court of Appeal has once again considered a minimum entitlements clause in an employment contract and ruled it to be generally enforceable. In Nemeth v Hatch Ltd., an employee with 19 years service was dismissed with 8 weeks’ notice of termination and 19.42 weeks’ salary as severance pay, as well as continued benefits…
Appellate Court Considers Scope of an Employer’s OHSA Obligations to Protect Workers
An appellate court recently overturned a decision acquitting a company which had been charged following a workplace fatality, holding that there may be circumstances where an employer is required to do more to protect its workers than what is prescribed under the regulations to the Occupational Health and Safety Act (OHSA). In Ontario (Labour) v….
Supreme Court of Canada Recognizes Reasonable Expectation of Privacy in Digital Communications
There has been significant discussion of the Supreme Court of Canada’s decisions in R v Jones and R v Marakah – cases in which the Court recognized a reasonable expectation of privacy in text messages that police obtained from others. In Jones, the police obtained messages from a telecom company and in Marakah the police…
Supporting Regulations to Bill 148 Now Available
On December 18, 2017, the Ontario government filed the following regulations in support of amendments made by Bill 148, Fair Workplaces, Betters Jobs Act, 2017, to the Employment Standards Act, 2000 (ESA) and the Labour Relations Act, 1995 (LRA): Regulations Made Under the ESA: 1. O. Reg. 526/17 amends O. Reg. 285/01 (Exemptions, Special Rules and…
FTR Quarterly – Issue 8
In This Issue 10 Top Developments in Human Resources Law in 2017 The Road Ahead: Key 2018 Implementation Dates Cross-Border Expertise Featured Articles 10 Top Developments in Human Resources Law in 2017 By: Amanda Lawrence-Patel 2017 was quite a year for news – with harassment revelations that have rocked institutions across North America, a new…