Publication Type: Article

Ten Questions and Answers about Computer Use Policies

· 6 min read

It’s January 2012. Last year the Court of Appeal for Ontario recognized that an employee had a reasonable expectation of privacy that arose out of his personal use of a work computer. As discussed in a companion FTR Now called How the New Privacy Tort Will Affect Employers, this month the Court of Appeal recognized…

Ontario Human Rights Review Chair Invites Comments on 2008 Changes to Human Rights Code

· 4 min read

The Ontario Human Rights Review Chair, lawyer Andrew Pinto, has published a Consultation Paper inviting public commentary, further to the review process mandated by section 57 of the Human Rights Code (Code). That section requires that the Minister appoint a person to review the implementation and effectiveness of changes resulting from the 2008 amendments to…

CPP Amendments – New Requirements for Employer-Paid Disability Benefits

· 3 min read

On December 15, 2011, Bill C-13, Keeping Canada’s Economy and Jobs Growing Act received Royal Assent. Bill C-13 is omnibus legislation designed to implement a number of measures proposed in the federal government’s 2011 Budget. This FTR Now discusses one aspect of Bill C-13 that amends the Canada Pension Plan (CPP) and creates new requirements…

Appreciate This: The New Test for Summary Judgment

· 8 min read

The Ontario Court of Appeal has created a new test for granting summary judgment. The Court convened a rare five-judge panel and heard five cases together to provide “guidance” to lower courts, litigants and lawyers on the law of summary judgment. This process culminated in the recent decision, Combined Air Mechanical Services Inc. v. Flesch,…

Legislative Update – A New ESA Leave and Potential Changes to the Regulation Of the HR Profession

· 5 min read

Two new pieces of legislation have recently been introduced in the Ontario Legislature that will be of interest to employers in Ontario. The first is a government Bill that would establish a new leave under the Employment Standards Act, 2000 (“ESA, 2000″). The second is a Private Member’s Bill that would amend the regulatory framework…

IPC/Ontario Issues Significant Order on Custody and Control of University Records under FIPPA

· 7 min read

On November 7, 2011, the Information and Privacy Commissioner/Ontario (“IPC”) issued a significant order for Ontario universities. It held that the IPC has exclusive jurisdiction to decide whether a record is in the custody or control of a university in the context of an access request under the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy…

Supreme Court of Canada Upholds Finding of Wage Discrimination

· 6 min read

In a federal sector pay equity complaint that stretched on for nearly 30 years, the Supreme Court of Canada has upheld a finding of the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal of gender-based wage discrimination. The result is an order to compensate employees for lost wages over a 20 year period. This FTR Now discusses the Supreme…

Supreme Court of Canada Grants Leave to Appeal in Indalex Decision

· 2 min read

Earlier today, the Supreme Court of Canada granted leave to appeal in Sun Indalex Finance, LLC v. United Steelworkers (“Indalex“). The appeal relates to a decision rendered by the Ontario Court of Appeal in April 2011 in which that Court granted “super priority” to pension funding deficits in a Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act proceeding. A…

Court Finds Tort of Conspiracy in Case of Departed Insurance Producers

· 6 min read

On October 6, 2011, Justice Stinson released an important decision finding two insurance producers liable for departing and taking a book of business without paying for it. Neither producer had signed written contracts regarding who owned the books of business. Justice Stinson held that one of the producers breached his verbal agreement that he would…