Case In Point

Fixed-Term Contract Termination Provision Violates ESA, Says Appeal Court

The Ontario Court of Appeal has again weighed in on the issue of termination provisions in employment contracts. By way of background, we recently reported on the February 2017 decision of the Court of Appeal in Wood v Fred Deeley Imports Ltd. In that case, the Court reversed a motion judge’s conclusion that a termination…

Human Resources Legislative Update

Federal Budget Implementation Legislation Introduced

On April 11, 2017, the federal government introduced Bill C-44, the Budget Implementation Act, 2017, No. 1, omnibus legislation that would enact various measures outlined in its 2017 Budget. The accompanying Department of Finance Backgrounder indicates that Bill C-44 would, among other things, amend the Employment Insurance Act to: allow parents to choose to receive Employment…

Human Resources Legislative Update

New Private Member Bill Proposes “Card Check” Unionization, First Contract Arbitration Model for Ontario

On April 4, 2017, the New Democratic Party (NDP) of Ontario introduced private member legislation that would amend the Labour Relations Act, 1995 (Act) to bring “card check” union certification back to Ontario for the first time since 1995, and to implement a new first contract arbitration process. It is important to note that private…

Human Resources Legislative Update

Guidance for Organizations Sharing Information for Investigation/Fraud Purposes Issued by OPC

The Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada (OPC) recently provided guidance on the new provisions of the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA) that allow organizations to share information for investigation and fraud prevention purposes. The amendments, in force since 2015, give organizations significant flexibility to address cyber-crime and fraud by allowing…

Human Resources Legislative Update

Bill 92, School Boards Collective Bargaining Amendment Act, 2017, Receives Royal Assent

On March 27, 2017, Bill 92, School Boards Collective Bargaining Amendment Act, 2017, received Royal Assent. The Bill amends the School Boards Collective Bargaining Act, 2014 and reforms the collective bargaining framework in the education sector. Amendments include, among other things, making central bargaining a mandatory component of collective bargaining and permitting an employer bargaining…

School Board Update

Leaves of Absence, Procedural Matters and More

In this latest edition of our School Board Update, we are bringing you summaries of three recent cases which will be of interest. They deal with abuse of process at arbitration, entitlement of part-time and custodial employees to miscellaneous leaves, and the balancing of religious freedom with other statutory requirements…

FTR Now

Federal Budget 2017

On March 22, 2017, the federal government tabled its 2017 Budget, Building A Strong Middle Class (#Budget2017). The Budget provides an economic and fiscal overview and introduces a series of programs, reforms and spending initiatives which focus on…

FTR Quarterly

FTR Quarterly – Issue 5, Volume 1

This year, 2017, marks an important milestone in the history of our firm. In 1972, Bob Hicks, Colin Morley, Fred Hamilton, Bruce Stewart, Tom Storie, Chris Riggs, Harvey Beresford and John Murray were the founding members of our firm and started their practice as Hicks, Morley, Hamilton, Stewart, Storie…