Hicks Morley is delighted to once again be named “Most Frequently Recommended” as a leading firm in Labour Relations in the Toronto, Kitchener-Waterloo and London areas, and “Consistently Recommended” as a leading firm in Labour Relations in the Ottawa area. The firm has also once again been named “Consistently Recommended” in Pension & Employee Benefits – Toronto and “Repeatedly Recommended”…
Industry: Professional & Technical Services
Significant Damages Awarded Against Employer for Sexual Harassment of Temporary Foreign Workers
In a recent decision of the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario (the “Tribunal”), Vice-Chair Mark Hart imposed a significant damages award against corporate respondent Presteve Foods Ltd. and its directing mind, Jose Pratas (“the personal respondent”). In O.P.T. v. Presteve Foods Ltd., two Applicants, O.P.T. and M.P.T., alleged that the personal respondent had engaged in…
Raising the Bar – Ninth Edition
Dear Friends, Welcome to summer! We’re very pleased to bring you this pre-beach edition of Raising the Bar. In this edition, we’ll guide you through important recent decisions on topics ranging from offers to settle, to case management, to costs, to the question of when is enough discovery “enough”. We will also Shine a Light…
BCCA Affirms Order Requiring Google to Render Domains Unsearchable
Last Thursday, the Court of Appeal for British Columbia issued an important decision in Equustek Solutions Inc. v. Google Inc. about the power of a domestic court to make orders against non-party, internet “intermediaries” – in this case, search engine provider Google. The matter involved an order made to help a network hardware manufacturer enforce…
Court of Appeal Holds that Non-Party and Participant Experts Need Not Comply with Rule 53.03
Cases dealing with expert evidence have recently been considered by appellate courts. We have discussed two of those cases in our FTR Nows, Court of Appeal Holds that Counsel May Review Draft Expert Witness Reports and SCC Clarifies Test for Qualifying as an Expert Witness. In Westerhof v Gee Estate, the Court of Appeal for…
Courts Differ on Termination Provisions and Need for Future Compliance with ESA
Over the last few years, courts have been reluctant to enforce different “ESA only” termination provisions due to ambiguity. However, not all judges have taken the same position with respect to what constitutes an ambiguous termination provision. The following two cases offer differing views on termination provisions in employment contracts and future compliance with the…
New Police Record Checks Reforms Introduced
On June 3, 2015, the Ontario government introduced Bill 113, the Police Record Checks Reform Act, 2015, legislation that would, if passed, implement a new process governing requests for searches of the Canadian Police Information Centre databases, or other police databases, in connection with screening an individual for certain purposes. Among other things, the Bill would: authorize…
Ontario Government to Amend Workplace Laws
On May 28, 2015, the Ontario government introduced Bill 109, the Employment and Labour Statute Law Amendment Act, 2015, proposed legislation intended to effect a number of changes to workplace laws, including: the labour relations provisions of the Fire Protection and Prevention Act, 1997 ("FPPA"); the Public Sector Labour Relations Transition Act, 1997 ("PSLRTA"); and…
Federal Government Announces Possible Canada Pension Plan Expansion
On May 26, 2015, the federal government announced that it will conduct public consultations regarding potential changes to the Canada Pension Plan (“CPP”) to allow Canadians to voluntarily contribute more. No details were released at the time of the announcement. We will continue to monitor any developments regarding a possible expansion of the CPP.
Ontario Passes PRPP Legislation
On May 26, 2015, Bill 57, the Pooled Registered Pension Plans Act, 2015, passed Third Reading, as amended by the Standing Committee on Social Policy. The Bill, which is awaiting Royal Assent, will come into force on a date to be named by proclamation. As we previously reported, pooled registered pension plans (“PRPPs”) are a…