Hicks Morley’s Michael Hines was quoted in the January 29, 2013 edition of The Globe and Mail. In an article entitled, “Teachers are using children’s activities as ‘political tool’: school board lawyers“, Michael comments on directives from the Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario which have instructed teachers to stop leading sports teams or attending field…
Industry: School Boards
Michael Hines Mentioned in the Toronto Star
Hicks Morley’s Michael Hines was mentioned in the February 6, 2013 edition of the Toronto Star in an article entitled, “Ontario teacher turmoil: School boards’ points to studies that show benefits of extracurriculars.” The article provides details regarding a hearing at the Ontario Labour Relations Board during which Michael asked the Board to look at…
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…
Amy Tibble Quoted in The Toronto Star
Hicks Morley’s Amy Tibble was quoted in the June 13, 2011 edition of The Toronto Star‘s online section, MoneyVille. In an article entitled “Top civil servants lose their perks,” Amy discusses how the limits issued by the Ontario Public Service Perquisites Directive, regarding non-business related perks, may lead public sector organizations to rethink how to…
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…
Michael Hines Quoted in Hamilton Spectator Newspaper
Hicks Morley’s Michael Hines was quoted in the May 10, 2011 edition of the Hamilton Spectator newspaper. In an article entitled “No laws broken in excluding Westmount and Saltfleet from accommodation review,” Michael commented on the Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board’s exclusion of Westmount and Saltfleet Secondary Schools from its current student accommodation review process. View…