On February 10, 2011, the Ontario government released the Details of the Proposed Temporary Solvency Funding Relief for Certain Pension Plans in the Broader Public Sector (“BPS”) (the “Details”). The government previously announced that it would consider providing solvency funding relief for pension plans provided in respect of BPS employers in the university sector on…
Industry: Colleges
Municipal Elections 2010: Employers’ Obligation to Provide Paid Time Off to Vote
Province-wide municipal elections will be held on October 25, 2010, and voting hours will run from 10:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Under the Municipal Elections Act, 1996, all employees who are eligible to vote in the election are entitled to three consecutive hours during voting hours on election day to cast their vote. To be…
Interest Arbitrator Awards Wage Increase to Unionized Nursing Home Employees
On September 15, 2010, Arbitrator Jesin released an interest arbitration award in which he awarded a 2% wage increase to unionized nursing home employees. In his reasons, he considered both the Ontario government’s March 2010 Budget and its subsequent directive that, as collective agreements are renegotiated, the government’s transfer payment partners and the corresponding bargaining…
New General Pension Regulation Amendments Filed
On September 17, 2010, the Ontario government filed O. Reg. 367/10 under the Pension Benefits Act, amending Reg. 909 of R.R.O. 1990 (General). The amendments extend certain filing deadlines and funding schedules under the temporary solvency funding relief regulations for two university-sponsored pension plans. By way of background, Ontario’s temporary solvency funding relief regulations were…
Ontario Government’s March 2010 Budget Directions Considered at Interest Arbitration
Recently, Arbitrator MacDowell released an interest arbitration award involving SEIU Local 2 and Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre that considered the impact of the Ontario government’s 2010 Budget directions on collective bargaining. This award is the first of a number of expected interest arbitration decisions addressing the government’s new fiscal directive. We discuss the decision and…
Ontario Announces Pension Funding Relief for University Sector
On August 5, 2010, the Ontario government announced that it will provide universities with temporary solvency funding relief. The temporary funding relief will be provided through two stages: a temporary period during which each university must develop a sustainability plan for its pension plans and, if the sustainability plan is acceptable to the government, an…
Consultations on Public Sector Compensation Begin
On July 20, 2010, the Ontario government initiated a consultation process designed to address upcoming compensation negotiations for “bargaining” employees not caught by the Compensation Restraint Act. In this FTR Now, we discuss the potential implications of this process for public sector employers. BACKGROUND In March, as part of its 2010 Budget, the government introduced…
Bill 168 – Assessing Students as Risks
The new provisions incorporated into the Occupational Health and Safety Act (“OHSA”) by Bill 168 came into force on June 15, 2010. These provisions make clear that colleges must take every precaution reasonable in the circumstances to protect their workers from workplace violence. In this bulletin, we focus on the college duty to manage the…
Government Institutions Should Take Note of a Recent Supreme Court of Canada Case on Access to Government Information
On June 17th, the Supreme Court of Canada issued a significant judgement on access to government information. In Ontario (Public Safety and Security) v. Criminal Lawyers’ Association, 2010 SCC 23 (CanLII) (the “CLA” case), it held that the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms (the “Charter“) gives the public a limited right of access to…
Post-Secondary Legislation Passes Third Reading
On June 3, 2010, Bill 43, the Post-Secondary Education Statute Law Amendment Act, 2010, carried at Third Reading. As previously reported, this omnibus legislation amends Ontario’s Post-Secondary Education Choice and Excellence Act, 2000, the Private Career Colleges Act, 2005, and the Ontario College of Art & Design Act, 2002.