On June 1, 2017, Bill 114, the Anti-Racism Act, 2017 received Royal Assent and came into force. Among other things, the Anti-Racism Act, 2017 (Act): requires the Ontario government to maintain an anti-racism strategy which includes: initiatives to eliminate systemic racism, including those that assist racialized groups that are most adversely impacted by systemic racism,…
Publication Name: Human Resources Legislative Update
Ontario Tables Bill to Amend Employment and Labour Laws
On June 1, 2017, the Ontario government introduced Bill 148, the Fair Workplaces, Better Jobs Act, 2017, legislation which, if passed, will make significant amendments to the Employment Standards Act, 2000 (ESA) and the Labour Relations Act, 1995 (LRA). On the same date, the Bill was referred to the Standing Committee on Finance and Economic Affairs….
Ontario to Introduce Significant Amendments to Employment and Labour Laws
On May 30, 2017, the Ontario government announced its intention to introduce The Fair Workplaces, Better Jobs Act, 2017 (Act), omnibus legislation proposing a series of broad ranging, significant amendments to Ontario’s Employment Standards Act, 2000 and Labour Relations Act, 1995. According to the government’s announcement, the Act will contain a package of proposed legislative…
Ontario 2017 Budget Bill Passes
On May 17, 2017, the Ontario government passed Bill 127, Stronger, Healthier Ontario Act (Budget Measures), 2017, omnibus legislation giving effect to initiatives contained in the Ontario Budget 2017. See our FTR Now of May 2, 2017, Ontario Budget 2017, for a detailed discussion of those initiatives which are of interest to employers, human resources…
Ontario to Move Forward with Recommendations on Preventing Violence in the Healthcare Sector
The Ontario government has announced that it will be moving forward with certain recommendations from the Workplace Violence Prevention Care Report (Report), released on May 15, 2017, to enhance safety in hospitals and to reduce incidents of workplace violence across the healthcare sector. Among other things, the government will be consulting with stakeholders on the following…
Ontario Tables 2017 Budget
On April 27, 2017, the Ontario government tabled its 2017 Budget “A Stronger, Healthier Ontario.” We are in the process of reviewing the Budget, and an FTR Now highlighting measures of interest to employers, human resources professionals and pension plan administrators will be available on our website in the coming days. Editor’s Note: Bill 127, Stronger,…
Ontario Announces Additional Funding to Reduce Class Sizes and to Support Students at Risk
The Ontario government has announced that nine central agreements have been reached between trustees’ associations and education workers’ unions and teachers’ federations. These agreements will be in force from September 1, 2017 to August 31, 2019. The government has also announced additional funding for the following: to hire approximately 875 teachers and 1600 education workers…
Federal Government Introduces Bill to Legalize Cannabis
On April 13, 2017, the federal government introduced Bill C-45, the Cannabis Act. If passed, Bill C-45 will, among other things: permit persons age 18 and over to possess up to 30 grams of dried or fresh cannabis permit the government to authorize the possession, production, distribution, sale, importation and exportation of cannabis where authorized…
Federal Budget Implementation Legislation Introduced
On April 11, 2017, the federal government introduced Bill C-44, the Budget Implementation Act, 2017, No. 1, omnibus legislation that would enact various measures outlined in its 2017 Budget. The accompanying Department of Finance Backgrounder indicates that Bill C-44 would, among other things, amend the Employment Insurance Act to: allow parents to choose to receive Employment…
New Private Member Bill Proposes “Card Check” Unionization, First Contract Arbitration Model for Ontario
On April 4, 2017, the New Democratic Party (NDP) of Ontario introduced private member legislation that would amend the Labour Relations Act, 1995 (Act) to bring “card check” union certification back to Ontario for the first time since 1995, and to implement a new first contract arbitration process. It is important to note that private…