As we previously reported, the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board has launched a public consultation on draft policies for the new Rate Framework, which will be implemented on January 1, 2020. The deadline for submissions on the Rate Framework Policy Consultation has been extended from October 13, 2017 to December 5, 2017. Submissions can be…
Industry: Government Ministries & Agencies (Federal and Provincial)
WSIB Announces 2018 Premium Rates
The Workplace Safety and Insurance Board has announced its 2018 premium rates and has approved a 3.3% reduction to the average premium rate for next year. Any increases in premium rates will relate only to costs arising from the chronic mental stress (CMS) amendment to the Workplace Safety and Insurance Act, 1997, which comes into…
Ontario Minimum Wage to Increase on October 1, 2017
On October 1, 2017, the general minimum wage in Ontario will increase from $11.40 to $11.60 an hour. This minimum wage applies to most employees. Minimum wage rates for specified students, liquor servers, hunting and fishing guides and homeworkers will increase on the same date. Note that the Ontario government has tabled legislation to increase…
Change on the Horizon: Ontario Pension Plan Funding Reform is Coming Soon
Earlier this year, the Ontario government announced proposed reforms to pension plan funding that will have a significant impact on employers and plan administrators with plans registered in Ontario. These changes are expected to be part of the government’s Fall agenda, and will be of particular interest to employers who provide single employer defined benefit (DB) pension plans or participate in multi-employer pension plans (MEPPs) in Ontario.
WSIB Rate Framework Implementation Date Set for January 1, 2020
Further to O. Reg. 349/17 which amends O. Reg. 470/16 made under the Workplace Safety and Insurance Act, 1997, the new Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB) Rate Framework will be implemented on January 1, 2020, which is one year later than the initial targeted implementation date. As we previously reported, the Rate Framework will fundamentally change…
Union Need Not be Involved in Every Accommodation Request, Appeal Court Rules (and the Supreme Court Agrees)
Earlier this year, the British Columbia Court of Appeal issued a helpful decision for employers dealing with accommodation issues in a unionized context. On September 7, 2017, the Supreme Court of Canada denied the union’s request for leave to appeal from the B.C. Court of Appeal decision. The B.C. Court of Appeal decision considered the…
SJTO Launches New HRTO Pilot Project for Children and Youth Cases
Earlier this summer, the Child and Youth Division of the Social Justice Tribunals of Ontario (SJTO) launched a pilot project to stream child and youth cases from the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario (HRTO), and to provide access to specialized panels of adjudicators and mediators with expertise in child and youth issues and an understanding…
WSIB Launches Public Consultation on Draft Policies for New Rate Framework
The Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB) has launched a public consultation on seven draft policies made in support of its new Rate Framework, which was approved by the WSIB Board of Directors in November 2016. The Rate Framework has a targeted implementation date of January 2019. Comments are invited on the following draft policies:…
Budget Bill Passes, Making Significant Changes to the Canada Labour Code
In our Federal Post of May 30, 2017, we undertook to bring you a more detailed analysis of the changes to the Canada Labour Code (Code) enacted by Bill C-44, the Budget Implementation Act, 2017, No. 1, after it received Royal Assent…
Addressing the Retirement System “Gap”: PRPPs Now Available in Ontario
In 2012, the federal government introduced a new type of tax-preferential workplace pension plan, the Pooled Registered Pension Plan (PRPP). Ontario is one of six Canadian provinces to have incorporated PRPP legislation into its existing provincial retirement framework, through the implementation of legislation last Fall. In this FTR Now, we explain the key features of…