On April 3, 2019, Bill 66, Restoring Ontario’s Competitiveness Act, 2019, received Royal Assent. Among other things, the Bill amends the Labour Relations Act, 1995 (LRA) to deem certain public sector entities as “non-construction” employers to whom the construction provisions of the LRA will not apply. Such entities include municipalities, local housing corporations, social services…
Industry: Non-profit Organizations
Gender Identity and Gender Expression
Gender identity and gender expression are protected grounds under Ontario’s Human Rights Code (Code). While the law in this area is highly dynamic, this Client Toolkit provides employers with guidelines and best practices for understanding its unique aspects, supporting trans people in the workplace, and ensuring compliance with the Code.
Ontario Proposes Increase to Hours for Unionized Employees Under ESA Overtime Averaging Agreements
On June 19, 2019, the government published two regulatory proposals which relate to the Employment Standards Act, 2000 (ESA) and for which the government is inviting feedback by August 5, 2019.
Ontario Health and Safety Regulations Amended
On June 10, 2019, the Ontario government filed a number of amendments to regulations made under the Occupational Health and Safety Act. O. Reg. 186/19 replaces the “Equivalency” provision of Regulation 851 (Industrial Establishments) with a new provision entitled “Alternative methods and materials.” It now requires employers to provide written notice to the joint health…
Significant Canada Labour Code Reforms to Come Into Force September 1, 2019
The federal government has proclaimed September 1, 2019 as the coming into force date for several changes to the Canada Labour Code (Code) as enacted by Bill C-63, the Budget Implementation Act, 2017, No. 2 (Bill C-63). As a result of co-ordinated coming into force provisions, a number of substantive amendments to the Code contained in Bill C-86, the Budget Implementation Act, 2018, No. 2 (Bill C-86) will also come into force on September 1, 2019.
Ontario Clarifies DB Funding Reforms under the Pension Benefits Act
On May 21, 2019, the Ontario government filed Regulation 105/19 amending Regulation 909 (General Regulation) under the Pension Benefits Act (PBA). The amendments mainly relate to clarifying elements of the defined benefit (DB) funding rules that took effect on May 1, 2018. Many of the new clarifications have been requested by the pension industry over…
Ontario Budget Bill (Bill 100) Passes
As previously reported, on April 11, 2019, the Ontario government released its 2019 Budget and introduced Bill 100, Protecting What Matters Most Act (Budget Measures), 2019. Bill 100 received Royal Assent on May 29, 2019. Of particular interest to employers and human resource professionals are the amendments made to the following statutes: Public Sector Labour…
The End of Health and Welfare Trusts: Proposed Amendments to the Income Tax Act (Canada)
On May 27, 2019, the federal Department of Finance announced proposed amendments to the Income Tax Act (Canada) (ITA), to facilitate the conversion of existing Health and Welfare Trusts (HWTs) into Employee Life and Health Trusts (ELHTs), and to improve the existing ELHT rules. Comments on the proposed ITA amendments are invited by July 31, 2019…
Andrew Zabrovsky Quoted in the Law Times on Labour Arbitrators Leading Cases on Opioid Addiction
Hicks Morley’s Andrew Zabrovsky was quoted by the Law Times in the May 30, 2019 article titled, “Labour Arbitrators Leading in Opioid Addiction Law.”
The Lawyer’s Daily Publishes an Article Authored by Amanda Lawrence-Patel on Law Around Service Animals
LexisNexis Canada’s The Lawyer’s Daily published an article authored by Hicks Morley’s Amanda Lawrence-Patel titled, “Law Around Service Animals.” “The recent increase in media reports regarding requests by individuals to access their service animals, or “therapy pets” or “compassion pets” in the course of their employment and in accessing services has caused various organizations to consider…