On February 12, 2024, the Ontario Court of Appeal rendered its much-anticipated decision in Ontario English Catholic Teachers Association v. Ontario (Attorney General). A majority of the Court upheld in part the decision of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice (ONSC) which found that Bill 124, the Protecting a Sustainable Public Sector for Future Generations…
Practice Area: Employment Law
Majority of Ontario Appellate Court Finds Bill 124 Unconstitutional
On February 12, 2024 the Court of Appeal for Ontario issued its decision in Ontario English Catholic Teachers Association v. Ontario (Attorney General). A majority of the Court of Appeal upheld a lower court decision and found the Protecting a Sustainable Public Sector for Future Generations Act, 2019 (commonly referred to as Bill 124) to…
Federal Government Launches Employment Equity Tool on Workforce Data
On February 2, 2024, the federal government launched a new website, Equi’Vision. It is an employment equity tool which the government states provides “user-friendly, easily comparable data on workforce representation rates and the pay gaps” experienced by women, Indigenous peoples, persons with disabilities, and members of visible minorities. These groups are the designated groups under…
Ontario Seeking Employer Feedback on the Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program
For employers who are involved with the Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program, the Ministry of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development is seeking feedback on the employer job offer streams as well as employer experience with the Program, among other things. Employers wishing to provide feedback may do so by completing the Ministry’s survey, found on…
Arbitrator Considers Interplay of Canada Labour Code Sick Days and Employer-Provided Benefits
In United Steelworkers Local 14193 v Cameco Fuel Manufacturing Inc. (Cameco Fuel), Arbitrator Nyman considered the permissibility of offsetting banked Canada Labour Code sick days against an existing entitlement to employer-provided sick leave benefits under a short-term disability (STD) plan. Background On December 1, 2022, amendments to the Canada Labour Code (CLC) came into force entitling all…
Ontario Launching New Long-Term Care Home Investigations Unit
The Ontario government recently announced a new 10-person investigations unit to investigate allegations of provincial offences under the Fixing Long-Term Care Act, 2021 (FLTCA). The allegations the investigation unit is tasked with investigating include: The work of the investigations unit is distinct from the work of inspectors under the FLTCA. The investigations unit is tasked…
Looking Ahead to 2024: A Newsletter for Social Services Employers
Dear Friends, As we welcome 2024, we are back with another edition of Reaching Out. Over the last year, we have seen our social services clients continue to deal with budget challenges and labour shortages. Many are providing permanent and/or hybrid remote work arrangements, where possible, to attract and retain employees. Accordingly, we provide a…
2023 in Review – Key Legislative Updates
Last week we published “The Year in Review – 2023 Cases of Note.” This week we are back with our review of notable legislative updates from 2023 that we believe will be of interest to employers, human resources professionals and pension plan administrators. We also identify some legislation to watch for in 2024. Ontario Employment…
New Transparency Requirements for Corporations Subject to the Canada Business Corporations Act Come Into Force on January 22, 2024
The federal government has proclaimed January 22, 2024 as the coming into force date for certain provisions of the Canada Business Corporations Act (CBCA) that were enacted by the Budget Implementation Act, 2022, No. 1. Corporations which are subject to the CBCA (Corporations) will now have additional reporting obligations regarding their registry of individuals with significant…
Significant Changes to Ontario Policing Legislation Coming Into Force April 1, 2024
The Ontario government has proclaimed into force key provisions of Bill 68, Comprehensive Ontario Police Services Act, 2019 which enacts the Community Safety and Policing Act, 2019 (Act). Effective April 1, 2024, the Ontario Police Services Act, 1990 will be repealed and replaced with the Act. For further information about these changes, see our FTR…