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Pinto Report on Ontario Human Rights Review Released

On November 8, 2012, the Ontario government released the long-awaited “Report of the Ontario Human Rights Review 2012” (the “Report”), which reviews the changes made to the Ontario Human Rights Code (the “Code”) in 2008. Andrew Pinto, author of the Report, sets out several recommendations with respect to streamlining the existing system. This FTR Now…

Andrew Zabrovsky Quoted in Canadian Lawyer

Hicks Morley’s Andrew Zabrovsky was quoted in the August 2012 edition of Canadian Lawyer. In an article entitled “Straddling the line,” Andrew discusses the laws protecting obesity as a disability. He acknowledges that although obesity is a growing phenomenon in the workplace, obesity is not a protected ground under the human rights code and is…

Supreme Court of Canada Upholds Finding of Wage Discrimination

In a federal sector pay equity complaint that stretched on for nearly 30 years, the Supreme Court of Canada has upheld a finding of the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal of gender-based wage discrimination. The result is an order to compensate employees for lost wages over a 20 year period. This FTR Now discusses the Supreme…

Human Rights Tribunal is not a Judicial Review Body

The Supreme Court of Canada has issued a significant decision limiting the jurisdiction of a human rights tribunal to consider matters that have already been dealt with in another proceeding. In British Columbia (Workers’ Compensation Board) v. Figliola, the Supreme Court considered whether the British Columbia Human Rights Tribunal had jurisdiction to hear a matter that…

Federal Budget 2011

The Minister of Finance, the Honourable James M. Flaherty, tabled the Government of Canada’s 2011 Budget “A Low-Tax Plan for Jobs and Growth” in the House of Commons on March 22, 2011. In this FTR Now we review the key aspects of the Budget that are of most interest to employers and human resources professionals….

Bill 168 – Assessing Students as Risks

The new provisions incorporated into the Occupational Health and Safety Act (“OHSA”) by Bill 168 came into force on June 15, 2010. These provisions make clear that colleges must take every precaution reasonable in the circumstances to protect their workers from workplace violence. In this bulletin, we focus on the college duty to manage the…

Human Rights Tribunal Upholds Mandatory Retirement at Age 60 for Firefighters

In an important decision issued December 18, 2008, the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario has upheld a provision in a Collective Agreement which requires mandatory retirement at age 60 for firefighters. In the City of London decision, Adjudicator David A. Wright found that while the provision was prima facie discriminatory, it could be reasonably justified…

Honda Canada Inc. v. Keays: The Supreme Court of Canada Strikes Down Landmark Damages Award

INTRODUCTION It is difficult to recall an employment law case which has generated as much interest, or created as much debate, as the litigation between Kevin Keays and his former employer, Honda Canada Inc.  The trial decision, which was released in 2005, created a shockwave within the employer community, with its blistering critique of Honda’s…