On December 3, 2015, O. Reg 376/15, amending O. Reg. 274/12 (Hiring Practices) made under the Education Act, was filed. The amendments, which are technical in nature, relate to the hiring practices for long-term occasional (“LTO”) teachers represented by the Ontario English Catholic Teachers’ Association (“OECTA”). Among other things, the amendments specify timing requirements for the application and interview…
Industry: School Boards
HRTO Clarifies the Scope of Employer and Service Provider Code Obligations
Two recent decisions from the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario (“HRTO”) provide helpful guidance on the scope of employer and service provider obligations under the Human Rights Code (“Code”), including the proper scope of the duty to accommodate and the question of who may bring a Code application. In this FTR Now, we review these…
Ontario Re-Introduces BPS Accountability, Transparency Legislation (Formerly Bill 179)
On July 8, 2014, the Ontario government re-introduced broader public sector (“BPS”) accountability and transparency legislation. If passed, proposed measures in Bill 8, the Public Sector and MPP Accountability and Transparency Act, 2014, would give the government the authority to create comprehensive compensation frameworks for certain employers in the BPS, and would implement a number…
Ontario Government Proposes New Public Sector Compensation Restraint Legislation
On Monday, March 24, 2014, the Ontario government introduced Bill 179, the Public Sector and MPP Accountability and Transparency Act, 2014. If passed, Bill 179 would give the government the authority to create comprehensive compensation frameworks for certain employers in the broader public sector (“BPS”), and would implement a number of measures to enhance “accountability…
Accommodation and the Special Needs Child: The Supreme Court of Canada Decision in Moore
The Supreme Court of Canada has released an important decision which reaffirms some of the key principles in the accommodation process. The issues in Moore v. British Columbia (Education) arose from the financial choice made by a British Columbia School District in the provision of services. The Court’s criticism of the failure of that District…
Supreme Court of Canada Discusses the Reasonable Expectation of Privacy in Workplace Computer
The Supreme Court of Canada has issued a significant decision regarding workplace privacy. In R. v. Cole, it unanimously held that employees have a diminished, but reasonable, expectation of privacy in personal information stored on an employer-issued computer. Employers may continue to access information stored on their work systems for their legitimate purposes, though they…
Premier McGuinty Announces His Resignation and Prorogues the Legislature
In an unexpected development, Premier McGuinty announced yesterday that he will be resigning as Premier of Ontario and as leader of the Ontario Liberal party. Premier McGuinty also announced that he asked the Lieutenant Governor of Ontario to prorogue the Legislature, which now appears to have occurred. While both announcements will come as a surprise…
Court finds Discipline of Students for Online Comments about Professor to be Unreasonable
Are students entitled to use social networking sites to criticize the instruction they receive? The University of Calgary said "no" and disciplined the students who did. In the case of Pridgen v. University of Calgary, released May 9, 2012, the Alberta Court of Appeal found that the University’s decision to discipline the students was unreasonable….
Ontario Budget – Highlights for Employers
On Tuesday, March 27, the Ontario Government introduced its 2012 Budget, which is entitled Strong Action for Ontario (the “Budget”). The Government also introduced Bill 55, the Strong Action for Ontario Act (Budget Measures), 2012 (“Bill 55”), omnibus legislation designed to implement a number of the proposals contained in the Budget. The Budget sets out…
Perquisites Directive Issued by Ontario Government Now in Effect
INTRODUCTION Management Board of Cabinet (“MBC”) has issued a “Perquisites Directive” effective June 1, 2011 (“OPS Directive”) establishing rules regarding the provision of perquisites and an accountability framework for decision-makers. The OPS Directive will apply to certain public service employees and appointees of, for example, all ministries of the Ontario Government. It will not apply…