On April 22, 2022, the Ontario government announced that the Office of the Chief Medical Officer of Health (OCMOH) will be maintaining existing masking requirements in select higher-risk indoor settings, as well as all remaining directives issued by the OCMOH in response to COVID-19, until June 11, 2022. This marks a change from the government’s…
Practice Area: Human Rights
Remaining COVID-19 Orders to be Revoked
The Ontario government has filed a regulation which will revoke all remaining COVID-19 regulations (Orders) made under the Reopening Ontario (A Flexible Response to COVID-19) Act, 2020, effective April 27, 2022. This action is further to the government’s previous announcement of its intention to lift all remaining COVID-19 measures, directives and Orders by this date….
Federal Budget 2022 Tabled
On April 7, 2022, the federal government tabled its 2022 Budget, “A Plan to Grow Our Economy and Make Life More Affordable.” The Budget covers a wide array of initiatives, and while housing, defence and climate change are its key focus areas, the Budget includes some proposals that will be of specific interest to employers,…
HRTO Finds Availability of Different Remedies under a Different Proceeding not Determinative of Whether Substance of HRTO Application had been Appropriately Dealt With
In Green v National Steel Car Ltd., the Human Rights Tribunal Ontario (HRTO) found that the Workplace Safety and Insurance Appeals Tribunal (WSIAT) has the direct authority to apply the Human Rights Code (Code) and to determine the appropriate accommodation of medical restrictions. The application before the HRTO on the same issue, therefore, had been…
Ontario Revokes More COVID-19 Orders
On March 24, 2022, the Ontario government revoked certain Orders made under the Reopening Ontario (A Flexible Response to COVID-19) Act, 2020 (ROA), effective March 28, 2022. The remaining ROA Orders have been extended to April 27, 2022. This action is further to the province’s current plan to lift all remaining directives, Orders and measures…
Ontario Lifting Remaining COVID-19-Related Measures: What Employers Need to Know
On March 1, 2022, all regions of Ontario entered the Roadmap Exit Step of the province’s Reopening Plan. Since that date, the government has been steadily reducing its COVID-19-related measures in anticipation of a full reopening of the province. As we previously reported, the Chief Medical Officer of Health announced on March 9, 2022 that…
Ontario to Lift All Remaining COVID-19-Related Measures
On March 9, 2022, Ontario’s Chief Medical Officer of Health announced that by the end of April, all remaining COVID-19-related measures, directives and orders will be lifted. This decision comes as the province sees continued improvements in key health indicators and follows the government’s easing of most public health restrictions earlier this month (see our…
Ontario Introduces Bill 88, Working for Workers Act, 2022
On February 28, 2022, the Ontario government tabled Bill 88, Working for Workers Act, 2022, omnibus legislation which, if passed, would enact the Digital Platform Workers’ Rights Act, 2022 and make amendments to the Employment Standards Act, 2000 (ESA) and other employment-related legislation. In this FTR Now, we review some of the key features of…
Ontario Enters Roadmap Exit Step, Removes Proof of Vaccination Requirement
As announced by the Ontario government earlier this month, public health restrictions imposed in light of COVID-19 will be substantially eased on March 1, 2022. On that date, all regions in Ontario will be moved into the Roadmap Exit Step of the province’s Reopening Plan and almost all public health restrictions will be removed. Notably,…
Reminder to Universities and Colleges: New Requirements for Sexual Violence Policies Coming into Force on March 1, 2022
On March 1, 2022, new requirements will come into force that require universities and colleges to ensure that their sexual violence policies prevent discipline against a student who is found to have violated the institution’s drug and alcohol policies when such a violation is disclosed in the course of good faith efforts to report sexual…