Hicks Morley congratulates each one of our lawyers who has been recognized as a leading practitioner in the Canadian Legal Lexpert® Directory 2014. Further details can be found on Lexpert.ca. Toronto John E. Brooks Employment Law Labour Relations Donna M. D’Andrea Employment Law Labour Relations Henry Y. Dinsdale Labour Relations John C. Field Employment Law…
Practice Area: Occupational Health
Court of Appeal Reduces $1.45 Million Award to Constructively Dismissed Employee
The Court of Appeal for Ontario has released its decision in Boucher v. Wal-Mart Canada Corp. This case made headlines in 2012 after a jury trial awarded more than $1.45 million in compensatory, mental suffering, aggravated and punitive damages to Meredith Boucher for her claim that she was constructively dismissed as a result of the…
Deadline for Mandatory Health and Safety Awareness Training is July 1, 2014
Commencing on July 1, 2014, all Ontario employers are required to ensure that workers and supervisors receive mandatory safety awareness training pursuant to O. Reg 297/13, Occupational Health and Safety Awareness and Training. In this FTR Now, we provide a brief reminder about these new training obligations, which were discussed in detail in our November…
Ontario Association of Fire Chiefs (OAFC): Honours John Saunders with President’s Award
On Wednesday, May 7, 2014 Hicks Morley’s John Saunders was honoured at The Ontario Association of Fire Chiefs Gala with the President’s Award. Fire Fighting in Canada‘s May 8, 2014 Editor’s Blog shares highlights from the Gala, and discusses John and Carolyn’s comprehensive work regarding the Elliot Lake Algo Centre mall collapse Inquiry. View Blog
Increased Cancer Coverage Under WSIA for Firefighters
On May 2, 2014, prior to the dissolution of the Legislature, the Ontario government published regulatory amendments to s. 4 of Ontario Regulation 253/07 made under the Workplace Safety and Insurance Act, 1997 (“WSIA”). O. Reg. 113/14 adds the following six cancers to the list of diseases that are prescribed for the purposes of the presumptive…
Enforcement Blitzes Announced for Ontario Workplaces
The Ontario Ministry of Labour (“MOL”) has released a schedule for coordinated, proactive enforcement blitzes under both the Employment Standards Act, 2000 and the Occupational Health and Safety Act in 2014-2015. The MOL schedule sets out province-wide, sector-specific “Provincial Blitzes, as well as smaller-scale “Provincial Initiatives” and “Regional Initiatives.”
OHSA Consultation on Implementation of Working at Heights Training
The Ministry of Labour is consulting on the implementation of the Working at Heights Training Program Standard released on December 19, 2013. Specifically, a regulatory proposal outlining amendments to O. Reg. 297/13 (Occupational Health and Safety Awareness and Training) under the Occupational Health and Safety Act (“OHSA”) would, if adopted, require employers subject to O. Reg. 213/91…
OLRB Revisits the Scope of its Authority To Consider Workplace Harassment Reprisal Complaints
In two recent decisions, the Ontario Labour Relations Board (“Board”) signalled that its powers under the Occupational Health and Safety Act (“OHSA”) to consider complaints arising out of the OHSA’s workplace harassment provisions may be broader than the findings articulated in an earlier case, Confortia v. Investia Financial Services Inc. In Investia, the Board had…
Reaching Out – Fifth Edition
Dear Friends, Well, the verdict is in. Six more weeks of winter according to our furry rodent weather prognosticators! And what better way to fill those cold blustery evenings than something interesting and topical to read? Welcome to the Winter 2014 Edition of Reaching Out, our newsletter specifically focussed on issues relevant, and of particular…
OHSA regulations amended – Diving Operations, Mines and Mining Plants
On February 14, 2014, the Ontario government filed the following Occupational Health and Safety Act regulations: O. Reg. 32/14 (Diving Operations), extensively amending various sections of O. Reg. 629/94; and O. Reg. 34/14 (Mines and Mining Plants), amending Regulation 854 of R.R.O. 1990 (now in force). O. Reg. 32/14 comes into force March 1, 2014.