Insights

Reaching Out

Recent Legislative and Case Law Developments

· 15 min read
By: Sean M. Reginio, Jamie Burns, Labiba Chowdhury, Jordynne Hislop, Charles V. Hofley, Siobhan M. O’Brien, Shauna Bartlett, Lavan Narenthiran

Dear Friends, We are back with another edition of Reaching Out. While we are still dealing with issues arising from the pandemic, there are a number of developments in legislation and case law which we wanted to bring to the attention of social services organizations. Sean Reginio discusses the duty to accommodate employees and the…

Case In Point

Ontario Divisional Court Finds Group Living Home Did Not Discriminate Against Disabled Resident by Enforcing a No Visitor Policy During the COVID-19 Outbreak

· 7 min read
By: Charles V. Hofley, Siobhan M. O’Brien, Shauna Bartlett

On September 22, 2022, the Ontario Divisional Court (Court) released Empower Simcoe v. JL, in which the Court set aside decisions of the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario (Tribunal). The Court held that Empower Simcoe’s COVID-19 visitor policy (Policy), which temporarily limited visits to essential personnel and was later updated to allow outdoor family visits…

Reaching Out

Reaching Out – Fifteenth Edition

· 12 min read
By: Sean M. Reginio, Rebecca Liu, Lucy Wu, Michael S. Smyth, Siobhan M. O’Brien

Dear Friends, We are back with another edition of Reaching Out. With 2020 behind us and some light at the end of the COVID-19 pandemic tunnel, we thought it appropriate to reconnect with our Social Services clients with a Spring edition of Reaching Out. We chose not to publish Reaching Out last year as we…

Case In Point

Appellate Court Considers “Appropriate Means” Test Under Limitations Act and Reliance on “Non-Traditional” Expertise

· 3 min read
By: Siobhan M. O’Brien

In Presley v. Van Dusen, the Ontario Court of Appeal provided guidance on the statutory limitation period and the reliance on “non-traditional” experts. Background The appellant homeowners retained Van Dusen to install a septic system in 2010. There were problems with the operation of the system. The appellants called Van Dusen and he appeared to…

Case In Point

Court of Appeal Outlines Key Principles On Suspending Employees With and Without Pay

· 6 min read
By: Siobhan M. O’Brien

In Filice v. Complex Services, the Ontario Court of Appeal provided valuable guidance regarding constructive dismissal, investigative suspensions of employees without pay and proper damages assessments. The plaintiff/respondent in appeal was employed by Complex Services (the defendant/appellant) as a Security Shift Supervisor at Casino Niagara and Fallsview Casino. All employees in the Casino’s Security Department…

Human Resources Legislative Update

Federal Reforms to Prohibit Discrimination on Basis of Gender Identity or Gender Expression

· 2 min read
By: Siobhan M. O’Brien

Editor’s Note: Bill C-16 received Royal Assent on June 19, 2017 and is now in force. Bill C-16, An Act to amend the Canadian Human Rights Act and the Criminal Code, passed third reading, without amendment, in the Senate on June 15, 2017. As we previously reported, Bill C-16 was introduced in the House of…

Human Resources Legislative Update

Private Member’s Bill Proposes Compulsory WSIB Coverage for Residential Care Facilities and Group Homes

· 1 min read
By: Charles V. Hofley, Siobhan M. O’Brien

On June 1, 2017, Bill 145, WSIB Coverage for Workers in Residential Care Facilities and Group Homes Act, 2017 was introduced by a member of the Liberal Party. If passed, Bill 145 would amend the Workplace Safety and Insurance Act, 1997 (WSIA) to provide that an employer who operates a residential care facility or a…

FTR Quarterly

FTR Quarterly – Issue 5, Volume 1

· 8 min read
By: Stephen J. Shamie, Siobhan M. O’Brien

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…

Human Resources Legislative Update

Federal Reforms Introduced to Prohibit Discrimination on Basis of Gender Identity or Gender Expression

· 2 min read
By: Siobhan M. O’Brien

On May 17, 2016, the federal government introduced Bill C-16, An Act to amend the Canadian Human Rights Act and the Criminal Code, proposed legislation adding gender identity and gender expression to the list of prohibited grounds of discrimination in the Canadian Human Rights Act (CHRA). If passed, Bill C-16 would protect transgender and gender-diverse…

Reaching Out

Reaching Out – Seventh Edition

· 27 min read
By: Lauri A. Reesor, Stephen J. Goodwin, Michael S. Smyth, Siobhan M. O’Brien

Dear Friends, Welcome to the Fall Edition of Reaching Out. As we fall back an hour, we want to make sure that you do not feel like you are “falling back” in terms of current issues in labour and employment law that may affect your workplaces. In that regard, we have a full docket of…

FTR Now

Court finds Discipline of Students for Online Comments about Professor to be Unreasonable

· 6 min read
By: Siobhan M. O’Brien

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….