On April 18, 2011, the Ontario government introduced Bill 181, the Fire Protection and Prevention Amendment Act, 2011, legislation that would, if passed, amend the Fire Protection and Prevention Act, 1997 to provide for the mandatory retirement at age 60 of firefighters regularly assigned to fire suppresion duties, in certain circumstances. In addition, the legislation…
Practice Area: Human Rights
Legislature Expresses Interest in Government Presenting Mandatory Retirement Legislation for Firefighters
On March 10, 2011, a private member’s motion calling upon the Ontario government to introduce legislation allowing for the mandatory retirement of firefighters involved in fire suppression duties at age 60 was passed in the Legislature. While there is no indication at this time as to whether the government will propose such legislation, the motion…
Giving Accessibility the Green Light: Ontario Government Moves Forward With a Draft “Integrated Accessibility Standards” Regulation Under the AODA
The Ministry of Community and Social Services (the “Ministry”) has released for public comment the long-awaited draft Integrated Accessibility Standards regulation (the “Draft Regulation”) under the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, 2005 (the “AODA” or the “Act“). The 54-page Draft Regulation combines accessibility standards in three areas: information and communication, employment, and transportation. It…
Proposed AODA Integrated Accessibility Regulation Posted For Public Comment
On February 1, 2011, the Ontario government published its proposed Integrated Accessibility Regulation (“IAR”) under the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, 2005 (“AODA”) for final public review and commentary. This draft regulation reflects public input received on the initial draft Integrated Accessibility Standard summary of proposed regulatory requirements released in September 2010. Among the…
Arbitrator Upholds Statutory Provisions Permitting Age-Based Distinctions in Benefits for Employees Aged 65 and Older
On October 31, 2010, Arbitrator Etherington issued a significant award on the interpretation of the provisions of the Ontario Human Rights Code (the “Code”) and the Employment Standards Act, 2000 (the “ESA, 2000” ), which effectively permit an employer to reduce or eliminate employee benefits once an employee reaches age 65. Arbitrator Etherington found that…
Municipal Elections 2010: Employers’ Obligation to Provide Paid Time Off to Vote
Province-wide municipal elections will be held on October 25, 2010, and voting hours will run from 10:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Under the Municipal Elections Act, 1996, all employees who are eligible to vote in the election are entitled to three consecutive hours during voting hours on election day to cast their vote. To be…
Proposed Integrated Accessibility Regulation Under the AODA: FTR Now
On Friday, September 10, 2010, Hicks Morley published a detailed overview of the “Integrated Accessibility Regulation Proposed Under the AODA” in an FTR Now, which is available on our website. As previously reported, the proposed Integrated Accessibility Regulation was published by the Ontario government on September 2, 2010.
Integrated Accessibility Regulation Proposed Under the AODA
On September 2, 2010, the Ontario Ministry of Community and Social Services proposed an Integrated Accessibility Regulation (the “proposed Regulation”) under the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, 2005 (“AODA”). The proposed Regulation would combine three accessibility standards into one – information and communication, employment and transportation. In addition, the proposed Regulation includes detailed compliance…
Ontario Proposes Integrated Accessibility Regulation Under AODA
On September 2, 2010, the Ontario government published the proposed integrated accessibility regulation (“IAR”) under the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, 2005 (“AODA”) for public review and commentary. As previously reported, the IAR initiative combines the information and communications, employment and transportation standards into a single, integrated regulation, intended to make them “more flexible”…
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…