Spurred on by the current economic unrest, the Ontario Government announced yesterday that it will introduce legislation in early 2009 to provide pension plans with solvency funding relief. Following on the heels of the release of the Report of the Expert Commission on Pensions, the proposed temporary solvency relief is intended to better ensure the…
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Newsflash: Ontario Government to Amend the Employment Standards Act, 2000
Yesterday, the Ontario Government introduced Bill 139, the Employment Standards Amendment Act (Temporary Help Agencies), 2008, and also announced related changes to the ESA regulations. These changes will affect any employer or organization that: (1) employs “elect to work” or casual employees; (2) is a temporary help agency; or (3) uses the services of a…
Ontario Expert Commission on Pensions Releases Report
The Ontario Expert Commission on Pensions (the “Expert Commission”) released its much anticipated Report “A Fine Balance” to the public today. The full Report is 222 pages and contains 142 recommendations “for reforming and reinvigorating Ontario’s pension system”. HIGHLIGHTS OF KEY FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS New Regulatory Regime Recommended The Expert Commission recommended that the current…
Court of Appeal Considers Scope of Right to Collectively Bargain
In a decision released on November 17, 2008, the Ontario Court of Appeal considered the scope of the constitutional right of employees to collectively bargain. The Court found that, at a minimum, the right consists of: a statutory duty to bargain in good faith; statutory recognition of the principles of exclusivity and majoritarianism; and a…
New Framework Proposed for the Regulation of Multi-Jurisdictional Pension Plans
On October 21, 2008, the Canadian Association of Pension Supervisory Authorities (“CAPSA”) released the Proposed Agreement Respecting Multi-Jurisdictional Pension Plans (the “Proposed Agreement”), which aims to provide a clearer, more detailed framework for the administration and regulation of pension plans that have members in more than one Canadian jurisdiction (“multi-jurisdictional pension plans”, or “MJPPs”). If…
Ontario and BC Privacy Commissioners Release Guidance on Violence Prevention at Universities and Colleges
The Ontario and BC Privacy Commissioners have released a Practice Tool for Exercising Discretion in the context of violence prevention at universities, colleges and other educational institutions. A copy of the Practice Tool can be found here. The Practice Tool is an important part of the Commissioners’ attempts to educate institutions about their abilities to…
Preventing Workplace Violence: Ontario Looks at Amending the Occupational Health and Safety Act
On September 17, 2008, the Ontario Ministry of Labour released a Consultation Paper on Workplace Violence Prevention. The Consultation Paper seeks input from workplace parties on whether and how Ontario should address workplace violence under the Occupational Health and Safety Act (“OHSA”). The Consultation Paper asks for input on whether OHSA should be amended to…
Religious Accommodation: Tribunal Finds Two Paid Days of Religious Leave Not Required
INTRODUCTION On September 3, 2008, Vice-Chair Sherry Liang of the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario issued a very helpful decision in Markovic v. Autocom Manufacturing Ltd., 2008 HRTO 64. The Autocom decision provides some much-needed clarification concerning the accommodation of religious observances. Of particular interest, the Tribunal rejected the Ontario Human Rights Commission’s long-held policy…
The Hydro-Québec Decision: Restoring Balance to the Accommodation Analysis
INTRODUCTION Following on the heels of its recent decisions in McGill University Health Centre and Honda Canada Inc. v. Keays, the Supreme Court of Canada has issued yet another helpful decision dealing with the employer’s duty to accommodate. In Hydro-Québec v. Syndicat des employé-e-s de techniques professionnelles et de bureau d’Hydro-Québec, section locale 2000 (SCFP-FTQ),…
No Surplus Distribution Required on Partial Termination of Federally-Regulated Pension Plans
In its much anticipated decision in Cousins v. Canada (Attorney General) and Marine Atlantic Inc. (“Marine Atlantic”), the Federal Court of Appeal has concluded that the federal Pension Benefits Standards Act, 1985 (the “PBSA”) does not require a proportionate distribution of surplus on a partial termination of a defined benefit (DB) pension plan. The Federal…