2098 Results

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…

School Board Update

IN THIS ISSUE Hicks Morley Negotiation Support Services Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario Defers to Special Education Tribunal Occasional Teacher Timetables Duties of Principals Burden of Proof in Discharge Cases Accommodation of Religious Holidays TPA Arbitration and Motion for Non-Suit School Security and Office Staff HICKS MORLEY NEGOTIATION SUPPORT SERVICES Did you know that more…

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…

Hicks Morley Information & Privacy Post – Summer 2008

ENJOY YOUR SUMMER! We hope you enjoy this mid-summer edition of the Hicks Morley Information & Privacy Post – our quarterly newsletter about case law developments in privacy, access to information, the protection of confidential business information and the law of production. We’ve had a busy summer for client relations here, having recently launched a…

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…