On July 30, 2021, the federal government proposed to further extend the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy (CEWS) until October 23, 2021 and to hold the maximum subsidy rate at 40% during the period between August 29, 2021 and September 25, 2021. The federal government also confirmed the end of CEWS support for payments made to…
Practice Area: Human Rights
Federal Ministry of Labour Launches Task Force to Review Employment Equity Act
On July 14, 2021, the federal Minister of Labour announced that it has launched a Task Force with the purpose of “making concrete, independent and evidence-based recommendations to the Minister of Labour on how to modernize” the Employment Equity Act (Act). The Task Force is looking into issues surrounding employment equity and inclusion in federally…
Ontario Moves to Step 3 of Reopening Plan
Effective July 16, 2021, all public health units in Ontario will be permitted to move to Step 3 of the province’s Roadmap to Reopen. This move comes ahead of schedule and is the result of improvements to key health indicators including decreasing COVID-19 case rates and high rates of vaccination. Once this occurs, all public…
Divisional Court Finds “Permanent Residence” Not a Protected Ground under Ontario Human Rights Code
In the recently released decision of Imperial Oil Limited v. Haseeb, a majority of the Divisional Court (Court) quashed a decision of the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario (Tribunal) which treated “permanent residence” as intrinsically included in the protected ground of “citizenship.” The majority held that such an expansion to the ground of “citizenship” was…
Ontario Seeking Input on Postsecondary Accessibility Standards under AODA
In accordance with the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, 2005 (AODA), new accessibility standards are developed through Standards Development Committees. The initial recommendations of the Postsecondary Education Standards Development Committee for the development of postsecondary accessibility standards under the AODA were published on June 25, 2021. The Committee is seeking input from the public…
Important Updates Regarding the Federal Pay Equity Act, the Canada Labour Code and CLC Regulations
In this Federal Post, we cover recent developments with respect to the federal Pay Equity Act, amendments to the Canada Labour Code (CLC) and highlight the proposed amendments to the CLC Regulations that are currently open for public consultation. Federal Pay Equity Act In Force on August 31, 2021 By: Lucy Wu The federal Pay…
Ontario Moves to Step 2 of Reopening Plan
Effective June 30, 2021, all public health units in Ontario will be permitted to move to Step 2 of the province’s Roadmap to Reopen. Once this occurs, all public health units in the province will be subject to the conditions established by O. Reg. 263/20, Rules for Areas in Step 2, as amended by O….
New Rules of Procedure for the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal
On June 23, 2021, the federal government published Canadian Human Rights Tribunal Rules of Procedure, 2021 (Rules), following a public consultation in 2020 on the proposed rules (see our prior post). As stated in the Regulatory Impact Analysis Statement to the Rules, most of the rules in place at the Tribunal remain the same. The…
Ontario to Enter Step 1 of Reopening on June 11, 2021
The Ontario government has announced that effective June 11 at 12:01 a.m., all regions of the province will enter Step 1 of its Roadmap to Reopen as the COVID-19 cases slowly begin to drop and the vaccination rates increase.
Details about WSIB Reimbursement Process for Paid IDEL Now Available
On April 29, 2021, the Ontario government amended the Employment Standards Act, 2000 to provide paid infectious disease emergency leave (IDEL) for certain absences related to COVID-19. Employers who provide paid IDEL to eligible employees are entitled to reimbursement through the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB), up to $200 per employee per day taken….