OMERS Supplemental Benefits: Bargaining Issues & Strategies for the Emergency Services Sector

With the passage of the Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System Act, 2006 (“OMERS Act 2006”), police [1], firefighters [2] and paramedics [3] are now able to bargain additional OMERS pension benefits, called “supplemental benefits”. This ability to bargain supplemental benefits will have a dramatic impact on local labour relations and related costs. The OMERS Act…

Supreme Court Extends Constitutional Protection to Collective Bargaining Process

IN THIS ISSUE: Introduction The Factual Context: The Health and Social Services Delivery Improvement Act Collective Bargaining Protected by the Charter The Test for “Substantial Interference” The Majority’s Conclusions Justice Deschamps’ Partial Dissent Concluding Comments INTRODUCTION On June 8, 2007, the Supreme Court of Canada issued a ground-breaking decision in Health Services and Support –…