On February 27, 2018 the federal government tabled its 2018 Budget, Equality & Growth: A Strong Middle Class (Budget). The Budget contains several key initiatives, including a new Employment Insurance parental sharing benefit, the permanent extension and expansion of the Employment Insurance Working While on Claim pilot project…
Industry: Mining & Natural Resources
2018 Federal Budget Tabled
On February 27, 2018, the federal government tabled its Budget 2018, Equality + Growth: A Strong Middle Class. We are currently reviewing the Budget and an FTR Now which highlights initiatives of particular interest to employers, human resource professionals and pension plan administrators will be available shortly on our website. (Editor’s Note: Our FTR Now,…
FSCO Launches Targeted Compliance Review of Member Option Statements
In March, 2018, the Financial Services Commission of Ontario (FSCO) will commence a targeted review of pension plan member option statements to verify compliance with key requirements under the Pension Benefits Act (Act) and FSCO policies. In particular, FSCO will focus its targeted review on whether plan administrators are: meeting requirements for statement content and…
Are Service Providers Liable for Harassment Between Customers? The Divisional Court Weighs In
In City of Toronto v. Josephs, the Divisional Court reviewed a recent decision of the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario (Tribunal) and specifically addressed the question of a service provider’s liability for harassment issues arising between customers. In so doing, the Court has provided useful guidance for organizations that provide services to the public, and…
Supreme Court of Canada Finds Employers Have Duty to Accommodate Under Workers’ Compensation Legislation
The Supreme Court of Canada recently considered an employer’s duty to accommodate under Québec’s workers’ compensation legislation, the Act Respecting Industrial Accidents and Occupational Diseases (Act). In Quebec (Commission des normes, de l’équité, de la santé et de la sécurité du travail) v. Caron, the Commission de la santé et de la sécurité du travail…
Securities Act Amendments Allow Employees to Bring a Civil Action for Reprisal Against Whistleblowing
Recent amendments to the Ontario Securities Act (Act) now permit an employee to commence a civil action in court for reprisal against whistleblowing. Section 121.5 of the Act imposes new potential liability for employers. It states: 121.5 (1) No person or company, or person acting on behalf of a person or company, shall take a…
The Right to Be Forgotten Comes to Canada
On January 26, 2018, the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada issued a new position on the protection of online reputation. In doing so the OPC recognized a right to have personal information de-indexed from search engine results if it is inaccurate, incomplete or out-of-date. Although the position is in draft, is nonetheless of…
New Definition of “Spouse” in Ontario to Affect Plan Administration, Insurance & Succession Rules
Pending legislative changes to the definition of “spouse” in Ontario are set to impact pension plan administration and insurance claims in Ontario, further to amendments recently enacted by Bill 28, All Families Are Equal Act (Parentage and Related Registrations Statute Law Amendment), 2016…
Ten Incident Response Tips – Part 2
In Part 1 of this two-part series on data security incident response, we identified five “norms” to guide your incident response process…
Ten Incident Response Tips – Part 1
Responding to a data security incident is as much art as science. Whatever size your organization and whatever risks you face, you should have a detailed incident response plan to guide the efforts of a defined incident response team…