IPC Publishes Guidance for School Boards on Their Obligations Under MFIPPA

The Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario (IPC) has published A Guide to Privacy and Access to Information in Ontario Schools (Guide). The Guide provides a succinct overview of a school board’s responsibilities under the Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (MFIPPA or Act). The Act obliges school boards to protect individual privacy and maintain the freedom of information for records in their custody or control. The Guide provides particularized examples from IPC decisions concerning school boards.

Ministry of Labour Publishes New ESA Poster

The Ministry of Labour has published a revised version of the ESA poster (Version 8.0) to reflect the recent changes to the Employment Standards Act, 2000 made by Bill 47, Making Ontario Open for Business Act, 2018. Employers are required to post the poster in a conspicuous place in the workplace, among other things. Learn more in this FTR Now.

Health and Safety Disclosure Obligations: What You Need to Know

What information is a school board required to provide to its joint health and safety committee (JHSC)? Following Arbitrator Parmar’s decision earlier this year in Toronto Catholic District School Board v. Ontario English Catholic Teachers Association (Grievance re Health and Safety) (Award), many unions are demanding that school boards provide additional student-related information to the JHSC. Learn more about the decision – and what your organization should consider before complying with these requests – in this School Board Update.

More Changes to Workplace Laws Are on the Horizon for Ontario Employers

On December 6, 2018, Bill 57, Restoring Trust, Transparency and Accountability Act, 2018 passed Third Reading and received Royal Assent. On the same date, the government tabled Bill 66, Restoring Ontario’s Competitiveness Act, 2018, omnibus legislation which, if passed, will make significant amendments to the Employment Standards Act, 2000 (ESA), the Labour Relations Act, 1995 (LRA), the Pension Benefits Act (PBA) and other statutes.

That’s a Wrap – Final School Board Update of 2018

In this School Board Update, we review two recent decisions which will be of interest to school boards. The first is an arbitration decision which considers the Ontario teacher performance assessment (TPA) process in a case where the termination of a teacher’s employment was upheld. The second is a decision of the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario which concluded that a school board was not in violation of the Human Rights Code when it did not provide Applied Behavioural Analysis / Intensive Behavioural Intervention to a young student.

Ontario Government Introduces Safe and Supportive Classrooms Act, 2018

On October 25, 2018, the Ontario government introduced Bill 48, the Safe and Supportive Classrooms Act, 2018. If passed, Bill 48 will amend the Early Childhood Educators Act, 2017, the Ontario College of Teachers Act, 1996, and the Teaching Profession Act to expand the definition of sexual abuse. Notably, the amendments include: clarification that sexual…

HRTO Dismissal of Application for Delay of One Day Upheld by Appellate Court

In a useful decision for employers, the Ontario Divisional Court has confirmed that the one-year timeline for filing an application with the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario (Tribunal) will be strictly enforced. The decision provides a valuable warning to applicants that the time limits required to bring a complaint are indeed requirements and will only…