The Ontario Labour Relations Board recently exercised its discretion under section 1(4) of the Labour Relations Act, 1995 and dismissed a related employer application without a hearing. The union, which had exercised its bargaining rights with a subcontractor, alleged that the principle of that subcontractor was a “ghost at the bargaining table” and was in…
Publication Type: Article
Non-Construction Employers and the Construction Industry Provisions of the Labour Relations Act
Employers that are bound to a construction collective agreement and that do not operate within the construction industry find themselves, from time to time, involved in some kind of construction activity. It is important that these employers are aware that in certain cases, their construction activities may keep them within the construction industry provisions of…
Public Sector Pension Fund Pooled Asset Management
The 2012 Ontario Budget announced the Government’s intention to study the advantages of pooled asset management for Ontario’s approximately 100 public sector and broader public sector pension funds. Mr. William Morneau was appointed to lead the study and his report, Facilitating Pooled Asset Management for Ontario’s Public – Sector Institutions (the “Report”) was released by…
Arbitrator has no Jurisdiction Under OECTA MOU in Absence of Renewal Collective Agreement
On November 23, 2012, Arbitrator Kevin Burkett issued a significant award in which he found he had no jurisdiction to determine a grievance under the Memorandum of Understanding (“MOU”) entered into by the Ontario English Catholic Teachers Association (“OECTA”) and the Ministry of Education in July 2012. The grievance was brought by OECTA against the…
Enjoying a Safe Holiday Office Party
Once again, the holiday season is upon us and it is that time of year when employers begin to plan for seasonal and holiday celebrations. Whether these celebrations are large or small, it is important that employers take proactive steps to ensure the health and safety of their employees who attend office parties or other…
HRTO finds applicant breached confidentiality provision of settlement
The Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario recently found that an applicant breached the confidentiality provisions of her human rights settlement when she posted information about the settlement on Facebook. When the respondent learned of the breach, it refused to pay the monies owing under the settlement, and the applicant brought an application before the Tribunal…
Check your email recipient list before you press “send”
Employers must take care not to press the “send” button too soon as inadvertently copying an incorrect person on an email communication can have unintended results. In Fernandes v. Marketforce Communications, an employer emailed information to its lawyer setting out concerns regarding the continued employment of an employee. By mistake, that employee was copied on…
Accommodation and the Special Needs Child: The Supreme Court of Canada Decision in Moore
The Supreme Court of Canada has released an important decision which reaffirms some of the key principles in the accommodation process. The issues in Moore v. British Columbia (Education) arose from the financial choice made by a British Columbia School District in the provision of services. The Court’s criticism of the failure of that District…
Pension Solvency Funding Relief Is Here…Again
INTRODUCTION On November 1, 2012, important amendments were made to the Pension Benefits Act Regulation 909 (the “Regulation”). The amendments extend the temporary solvency relief measures for eligible defined benefit pension plans and make housekeeping changes to the sections requiring defined benefit pension plans to file annual, rather than triennial, actuarial valuations. This FTR Now…
Pinto Report on Ontario Human Rights Review Released
On November 8, 2012, the Ontario government released the long-awaited “Report of the Ontario Human Rights Review 2012” (the “Report”), which reviews the changes made to the Ontario Human Rights Code (the “Code”) in 2008. Andrew Pinto, author of the Report, sets out several recommendations with respect to streamlining the existing system. This FTR Now…