Welcome to our latest edition of the School Board Update. In this update we discuss two significant decisions. The first is an arbitration decision where the grievor alleged the Ottawa Catholic School Board failed to accommodate her and discriminated against her on the basis of her age by requiring her to teach on site rather…
Industry: School Boards
Regularly advises a large school board in labour matters, many of which involve serial grievors who have a tendency of commencing litigation in several forums at once.
Regularly advises a large school board in labour matters, many of which involve serial grievors who have a tendency of commencing litigation in several forums at once.
Ontario Proposes Significant Amendments Impacting School Board Sector
On April 17, 2023, the Ontario government introduced Bill 98, Better Schools and Student Outcomes Act, 2023 for First Reading. If passed, Bill 98 would amend the Education Act, the Ontario College of Teachers Act, 1996 and the Early Childhood Educators Act, 2007. The government has invited interested stakeholders to comment on the proposed amendments…
Did You Ask to Share That? Arbitrator Comments on School Board’s Ability to Share Medical Information with Third Party
In Toronto Catholic District School Board v Canadian Union of Public Employees, Local 1328, Arbitrator Goodfellow recently issued a local arbitration decision concerning the administration of the Board’s sick leave and short-term disability plans. The hearing related to multiple grievances all touching on similar issues. Arbitrator Goodfellow specifically answered two questions: (i) Could the Board…
Stephanie J. Savoni
Stephanie Savoni is counsel to Hicks Morley in its Toronto office, and has been working in the field of workplace safety and insurance law for over 22 years. Her practice has been dedicated exclusively to representing employers in workplace safety and insurance law matters for the past 19 years.
Ontario Human Rights Commission Strategic Plan and the Right to Read
On January 17, 2023, the Ontario Human Rights Commission (OHRC) released a new strategic plan for 2023 to 2025, entitled Human Rights First: A plan for belonging in Ontario. It centres around five priorities which include Indigenous reconciliation, the criminal justice system and the education system. In this School Board Update, we focus on the OHRC’s priorities with respect to the education system.
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…