Beyond COVID-19: 2022 Year in Review – Cases and Legislation of Note

Employers and human resource professionals will undoubtedly remember 2022 as another year shaped by the pandemic.

But…there were also legal developments in 2022 that were not related to COVID-19. In this FTR Now, we look at some of the past year’s notable “non-pandemic” cases and legislative developments.

Can There Be a Central Arbitration Over Local Terms? The Divisional Court Weighs In

The Ontario Divisional Court recently dismissed an application for judicial review of a preliminary arbitration decision in which Arbitrator Steinberg concluded that he lacked jurisdiction over aspects of the Ontario English Catholic Teachers’ Association’s (OECTA) grievance alleging violations of the preparation, planning and supervision (PPS) provisions of the collective agreement. He determined that the PPS…

Ontario Repeals Bill 28, Keeping Students in Class Act, 2022

On November 14, 2022, the Ontario government tabled and passed Bill 35, Keeping Students in Class Repeal Act, 2022, which repeals Bill 28, Keeping Students in Class Act, 2022 and deems it never to have been in force. Bill 35 states that the collective agreements that were deemed to be in operation under subsection 5(1)…

Significant Legislation Impacting Ontario’s School Board Sector Receives Royal Assent

As we previously reported, the Ontario government introduced Bill 28, Keeping Students in Class Act, 2022 (Bill 28) on October 31, 2022. On November 3, 2022, Bill 28 received Royal Assent and is now law. As a result, it creates collective agreements between school boards and the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) with terms…

Ontario Tables Significant Legislation Impacting School Board Sector

On October 31, 2022, the Ontario government introduced Bill 28, Keeping Students in Class Act, 2022 (Bill 28 or the Bill) which, if passed, would enact and implement new central terms for collective agreements between the Council of Trustees’ Associations and the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE). These collective agreements would have a term…

Recent Case of Note from the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario

Welcome to our newest edition of the School Board Update. In this Update we review a recent decision from the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario (Tribunal) concerning allegations of discrimination with respect to educational services because of sex and gender identity contrary to the Ontario Human Rights Code (Code). We hope you find this summary…

Recent Cases of Note

Welcome to our latest edition of the School Board Update. In this Update we discuss three significant decisions. The first decision is from the Ontario Labour Relations Board. It clarifies that, with the revocation of O. Reg. 274/12 Hiring Practices, school boards are obliged to comply with Policy/Program Memorandum No. 165, School Board Teacher Hiring…

Arbitrator Upholds TDSB Mandatory Vaccination Policy

On March 22, 2022, Arbitrator William Kaplan issued The Toronto District School Board and CUPE, Local 4400 (Re COVID-19 Vaccine Procedure), an award in which he upheld the mandatory vaccination policy (Policy) of the Toronto District School Board (TDSB). He found that the Policy did not infringe section 7 (life, liberty and security of person)…

Beyond COVID-19: 2021 Year in Review – Cases and Legislation of Note

Employers and human resource professionals will undoubtedly remember 2021 as another year shaped by the pandemic. But … there were also legal developments in 2021 that were not related to COVID-19. In this FTR Now, we look at some of the year’s notable “non-pandemic” cases and legislative developments of interest.

Bill 27, Working for Workers Act, Receives Royal Assent

On December 2, 2021, Bill 27, Working for Workers Act, 2021, received Royal Assent. We reviewed Bill 27 in detail in our FTR Now of October 26, 2021, Ontario Proposes Significant Changes to ESA and Other Employment-Related Legislation, as well as our FTR Now of December 1, 2021, Ontario Passes Bill 27, Working for Workers…