The Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA) sets out the process for developing and enforcing accessibility standards in Ontario. Its purpose is to achieve accessibility standards for Ontarians with physical and mental disabilities by 2025. All levels of government, private sector organizations and non-profit organizations must comply with this legislation. Compliance deadline dates depend…
Practice Area: Human Rights
Court Finds University Erred in Placing Too Much Weight on Marks in Assessing Application by Person with Disabilities
The Ontario Divisional Court has held that a university should not have placed as significant weight on previous grades during its admissions process when considering an application submitted by a person with disabilities. Noting the “unusual” circumstances of this case, the Court remitted the consideration of the applicant’s application to the university’s Admissions Committee “for…
Welcome Back to School!
We hope that you all enjoyed the summer months! In this Back to School edition of our School Board Update, we highlight three decisions which will be of interest to school board.
Ontario Announces Plans to Seek Feedback from Interested Parties on Improving Child Welfare System
On August 23, 2019, the Ontario government announced that it would engage youth, families, caregivers, frontline workers and child welfare sector leaders to provide input concerning the child welfare system. The consultation process is aimed at addressing certain challenges identified by the government.
Taking a Closer Look: From Ministry of Labour Inspections to the Wettlaufer Inquiry Report
In this edition of HR Healthcheck, we discuss the Ministry of Labour’s current inspection campaign which is focused on workplace violence prevention in long-term care homes, retirement homes and community care workplaces.
Arbitrator Determines That Pregnant Firefighters Can Be Accommodated Outside of 24 Hour Shifts
A recent arbitral decision from Arbitrator Jasbir Parmar has provided some much needed clarification on municipalities’ obligations when accommodating pregnant firefighters on 24 hour shifts.
Federal Accessibility Legislation Now Passed
On June 21, 2019, Bill C-81, the Accessible Canada Act (Act) passed as amended by the Senate and received Royal Assent. The provisions of this Act come into force on a day to fixed by order of the Governor in Council. As we previously reported, the Act is accessibility legislation which impacts certain federally regulated…
Gender Identity and Gender Expression
Gender identity and gender expression are protected grounds under Ontario’s Human Rights Code (Code). While the law in this area is highly dynamic, this Client Toolkit provides employers with guidelines and best practices for understanding its unique aspects, supporting trans people in the workplace, and ensuring compliance with the Code.
Federal Update: What Employers Need To Know
In this edition of the Federal Post, we discuss a case recently argued at the Supreme Court of Canada that will consider the scope of the “workplace” under the Canada Labour Code.
School’s (Almost) Out! Our Final School Board Update for the 2018-2019 School Year
As another academic year draws to a close and we are finally getting a glimpse of summer, we bring you our last School Board Update of the Spring term. In it, we discuss two arbitration awards