On April 29, 2013, the federal government announced significant reforms to the Temporary Foreign Worker Program (“TFWP”). Jason Kenney, Minister of Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism, commented that the “reforms will require that greater efforts be made to recruit and train Canadians to fill available jobs … [and to] help ensure the Temporary Foreign Worker Program…
Publication Type: Article
Federal Health and Safety Tribunal Considers Fukushima Nuclear Incident in Context of Canadian Work Refusal
An Appeals Officer of the Occupational Health and Safety Tribunal Canada recently considered the damage caused to the Fukushima nuclear facility by the 2011 Japanese tsunami in the context of a work refusal under the Canada Labour Code. The appellant was a mail sorter with Canada Border Services Agency. Shortly after the Fukushima incident in…
Overtime Eligibility Class Action Certification Dismissal Upheld on Appeal
On April 23, 2013, the Ontario Divisional Court unanimously dismissed an appeal from a decision of Justice Strathy in which he denied a motion for certification of a proposed class action against CIBC and CIBC World Markets. We summarized the lower court decision in a previous FTR Now. In this FTR Now, we provide an…
Concerted Withdrawal of Voluntary/Extracurricular Activities by Teachers Declared an Unlawful Strike
In a landmark ruling, and after much anticipation, the Ontario Labour Relations Board (“OLRB”) has finally rendered its decision in the longstanding debate about whether the withdrawal, in combination or in concert, of participation in voluntary extracurricular activities by teachers constitutes a “strike” within the meaning of the Education Act. In this FTR Now, we…
Arbitrator Finds Video Surveillance Reasonable in Light of Safety Issues in the Workplace
A recent arbitration award has confirmed that where an employer has legitimate concerns regarding safety in the workplace, it may install and operate video surveillance. This decision, which involved surveillance in a fire station to ensure equipment was not tampered with, engaged privacy considerations, the reasonableness of such surveillance and whether the surveillance was conducted…
Court Clarifies Interpretation of Subsection 80(3) of the Pension Benefits Act
The Ontario Divisional Court recently rendered a significant decision under the Pension Benefits Act (Ontario Pension Board v. Ratansi). It overturned a finding of the Financial Services Tribunal that subsection 80(3) of the Pension Benefits Act (“Act”) did not prevent a plan member from commencing his or her pension while continuing to work for the…
OLRB: Withdrawal of Extracurricular Activities Constitutes an Unlawful Strike
Today, the Ontario Labour Relations Board (“OLRB”) rendered Trillium Lakelands District School Board and Upper Canada District School Board v. Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario, a significant decision in which it found the withdrawal of extracurricular activities by the Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario (“ETFO”) constituted an unlawful strike according to the definition set out…
Important Changes to the WSIB’s Appeals Program – What You Need to Know and Do
In February 2013, the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (“WSIB”) implemented its Modernized Appeals Program. The WSIB plans to reduce its backlog of cases through significant changes to the appeal process. This new program only applies to claims and does not apply to financial or revenue issues. Some of the key changes under the Modernized…
Employers Must Investigate Work Refusals
A recent decision under the Occupational Health and Safety Act is a stark reminder to all employers to take any work refusal, no matter how small, seriously. The Ontario Labour Relations Board concluded that an employer failed in its obligations under the OHSA when it terminated an employee, after he refused to drive his faulty…
HRTO Orders Reinstatement of Employee Who Was Terminated Almost a Decade Earlier
In a sweeping remedial decision, the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario ordered reinstatement of a non-union employee who was terminated from her employment almost a decade earlier, as well as other remedies such as payment of back wages, as adjusted. In so ordering, the Tribunal explicitly stated that where an employer fails in its duty…