The Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario recently provided helpful guidance for employers and educational institutions which are faced with potential unrest due to competing opinions or political views, the genesis of which might be one’s place of origin or ethnic origin. In the case at hand, which involved the removal by a university of controversial…
Industry: Universities
University’s Removal of Controversial Posters Not Discriminatory under Human Rights Code
In its recent decision SAIA v. Carleton University, the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario (“Tribunal”) found that the decision by Carleton University to remove certain posters from its campus was not discriminatory, nor was it driven by discriminatory animus against Palestinian students. The University had a policy that posters must be approved by the appropriate…
BYOD Policy – Charting A Good Path To Higher Ground
The desire to use personal mobile devices to undertake work has risen like the incoming tide. Employers must make a choice: turn the tide on the use of personal devices by re-enforcing an outright ban or chart a thoughtful path to higher “Bring Your Own Device” or “BYOD” ground. Employers that do neither will sink…
Ontario Proposes Significant Changes to Wage Restraint and Collective Bargaining in the Broader Public Sector
On September 26, 2012, the Ontario Minister of Finance announced draft omnibus legislation, the Protecting Public Services Act, 2012 (the “Draft Bill”), which would implement new compensation restraint measures for the Broader Public Sector (“BPS”), and would impose a significant new provincially mandated collective bargaining regime. The Draft Bill would also make changes to the…
Hicks Morley Information and Privacy Post – 2011/2012
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…
Raising the Bar – Third Edition
Dear Friends, We are pleased to provide you with the third issue of Raising the Bar, just in time for your dockside or patio summer reading. In this issue, we share with you some of the key cases from the Ontario courts in the past few months in the context of summary judgment motions. These…
University Disciplinary Decisions: Are they Reasonable? Are they Subject to the Charter?
On May 9, 2012, the Alberta Court of Appeal released its judgment in the case of Pridgen v. University of Calgary. Justice Paperny identified the issue before the Court as follows: “Are students at public universities entitled to use social networking sites to criticize the instruction they receive? The University of Calgary said “no” and…
The Drummond Report – Impact on the Broader Public Sector
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 (“BPS”). In our companion FTR Now, Drummond Commission Reports on Elementary and…
IPC/Ontario Issues Significant Order on Custody and Control of University Records under FIPPA
On November 7, 2011, the Information and Privacy Commissioner/Ontario (“IPC”) issued a significant order for Ontario universities. It held that the IPC has exclusive jurisdiction to decide whether a record is in the custody or control of a university in the context of an access request under the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy…
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…