On September 24, 2013, the Ontario government introduced Bill 105, Supporting Small Businesses Act, 2013. Among other things, the Bill would, if passed, amend the Employer Health Tax Act to increase the exemption amount for eligible employers to $450,000 for the calendar years 2014 to 2018, after which an exemption amount would be adjusted every…
Industry: Municipalities & Municipal Agencies
Parliament Prorogues until October 16th
Upon the request of the Prime Minister, the Governor General officially prorogued Parliament today. The next session of Parliament is scheduled to begin on October 16, 2013, with a Speech from the Throne. As described in our previous post – Parliament to be Prorogued – all Government Bills have “died on the Order Paper,” and…
Government Announces Three-Year EI Premium Freeze
On September 9, 2013, the federal Government announced that it would be cancelling its planned EI premium hike for 2014. Instead, EI premiums will be frozen at the 2013 level of $1.88 per $100 of insurable earnings. The Government also stated that the rate would not exceed $1.88 for 2015 or 2016. On the same date,…
Confidentiality Provisions: Important, Effective and Enforceable
In most unionized workplaces, many grievances are settled before the parties present their evidence and before an arbitrator issues a public decision. In most instances, when a grievance is settled, the terms of that settlement are recorded in written form. The parties often agree that the settlement must be kept confidential and include a confidentiality…
Parliament to be Prorogued
The Prime Minister has announced that he will ask the Governor General to prorogue Parliament until October 2013. Parliament was previously set to resume sitting on September 16, 2013. With prorogation, the unfinished business of Parliament will “die” on the Order Paper, including government bills which have not yet received Royal Assent. These bills can…
Alberta Court of Appeal Upholds Conviction in Calf-Roping Machine Case
In its decision Alberta v. XI Technologies Inc., the Alberta Court of Appeal upheld the conviction of XI Technologies in relation to the death of an employee who was operating a faulty calf-roping machine at an employer hosted-event, concluding that the employer failed to do all that was reasonably practicable to avoid the foreseeable risks…
The Duty to Accommodate and Poor Workplace Performance
What happens when an employee with physical restrictions is placed in a position consistent with those restrictions and provided with sufficient training, but is unable to perform the functions of that position? An Ontario arbitrator recently found that an employee’s inability to perform in such a position was unrelated to her disability, and that she…
Mandatory Retirement Upheld for Suppression Fire Fighters: HRTO Clarifies Accommodation Obligations
In its recent decision, Corrigan v. Mississauga (City), the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario (“HRTO”) considered whether a municipal employer had a positive obligation to consider requests for individual exceptions to the mandatory retirement policy of age 60 for suppression fire fighters and to work with those fire fighters to develop a medical fitness testing…
OHRC Develops Policy on Removing the “Canadian Experience” Barrier for Job Applicants
The Ontario Human Rights Commission (“OHRC”) recently posted a new policy directive entitled “Policy on Removing the “Canadian experience” barrier” which sets out the Commission’s position as follows: . . . a strict requirement for “Canadian experience” is prima facie discrimination (discrimination on its face) and can only be used in very limited circumstances. The…
2013 Summer Edition
FOCUS ON WATERLOO Hicks Morley in Waterloo: nearly a quarter century…and counting LEGAL DEVELOPMENTS An update on Bill 168 – what we’ve seen to date Workplace safety – two small words that require an employer’s undivided attention PROFILE Police and beyond Download PDF