Dear Friends: It’s late August 2012, and here’s what’s on our minds. Our Information and Privacy Post is back. This edition contains 61 case summaries relating to the protection of confidential business information, electronic evidence, freedom of information, privacy, privilege and production. It has been a remarkable year. Canadian privacy law, in particular, has made…
Industry: School Boards
Ontario to Introduce Sweeping Legislation Concerning School Board Bargaining
On August 16, 2012, the Ontario government announced its intention to introduce the Putting Students First Act (the “Bill”). If passed, this legislation would, among other matters, establish unprecedented controls on current school board collective bargaining, freeze current teacher salary grids, require the radical alteration of existing sick leave and retiring gratuity plans, permit regulations…
Prep Time Payback – The Last (Good) Word?
School board labour relations practitioners will recall the efforts made by OPSBA in its 2009 PDT negotiations with ETFO to ensure that public school boards would not be obliged to reschedule preparation time that was missed due to such factors as board-imposed professional development held during the instructional day. The OPSBA/ETFO language stated: Missed preparation…
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….
School Bus Transportation Policy Deemed Discriminatory
A recent decision of the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario (“HRTO”) has added to the fast growing group of “family status” discrimination cases. J.O. v. London District Catholic School Board highlights that there are many different ways a school board may be vulnerable to claims of family status discrimination. In this FTR Now we review…
Court of Appeal Affirms Non-Construction Employer Declaration does not Infringe the Charter
On May 8, 2012, the Ontario Court of Appeal found that the “non-construction employer” declaration in section 127.2 of the Ontario Labour Relations Act, 1995 (“LRA“) is constitutional. The Court of Appeal upheld the Divisional Court’s February 2011 ruling, finding that section 127.2 does not contravene the freedom of association guarantee found in section 2(d)…
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…
New Education Act Amendments Introduced Relating to Concussions
On March 6, 2012, the Ontario government introduced Bill 39, Education Amendment Act (Concussions), 2012, new legislation that would, if passed, amend Part XIII.1 of the Education Act, and empower the Minister of Education to set policies and guidelines respecting head injuries and concussions suffered by pupils. We highlight a few key proposed amendments below….
Ontario Confirms Average Full-Day Kindergarten Class Size
On March 2, 2012, the Ontario government filed important new amendments to the class size regulation under the Education Act for full-day junior kindergarten and kindergarten classes. The amendments, which come into force on September 1, 2012, are intended to assist school boards which have kindergarten class size maxima in their teachers’ collective agreements that…
Drummond Commission Reports on Elementary and Secondary Education Reform
On February 15, 2012, the Commission on the Reform of Ontario’s Public Services (the “Commission”) released its long-awaited, 543-page report (the “Report”, commonly referred to as the “Drummond Report”) which identifies sweeping reform measures aimed at increasing efficiencies within the broader public service. In our companion FTR Now, The Drummond Report – Impact on the…