Publication Type: Article

Court of Appeal Considers Scope of Right to Collectively Bargain

· 4 min read

In a decision released on November 17, 2008, the Ontario Court of Appeal considered the scope of the constitutional right of employees to collectively bargain. The Court found that, at a minimum, the right consists of: a statutory duty to bargain in good faith; statutory recognition of the principles of exclusivity and majoritarianism; and a…

Ministry of Labour Blitz of Industrial Workplaces for Electrical Hazards

· 4 min read

The Ministry of Labour is currently conducting a blitz of workplaces, where the regulation for Industrial Establishments applies, to ensure compliance with the electrical hazard provisions of the regulation. Inspectors will take a “zero tolerance” approach to any contraventions. “Since 1998 there have been 69 workers killed, 263 critically injured and 844 workers who received…

Ontario and BC Privacy Commissioners Release Guidance on Violence Prevention at Universities and Colleges

· 3 min read

The Ontario and BC Privacy Commissioners have released a Practice Tool for Exercising Discretion in the context of violence prevention at universities, colleges and other educational institutions. A copy of the Practice Tool can be found here. The Practice Tool is an important part of the Commissioners’ attempts to educate institutions about their abilities to…

New Framework Proposed for the Regulation of Multi-Jurisdictional Pension Plans

· 3 min read

On October 21, 2008, the Canadian Association of Pension Supervisory Authorities (“CAPSA”) released the Proposed Agreement Respecting Multi-Jurisdictional Pension Plans (the “Proposed Agreement”), which aims to provide a clearer, more detailed framework for the administration and regulation of pension plans that have members in more than one Canadian jurisdiction (“multi-jurisdictional pension plans”, or “MJPPs”). If…

Preventing Workplace Violence: Ontario Looks at Amending the Occupational Health and Safety Act

· 2 min read

On September 17, 2008, the Ontario Ministry of Labour released a Consultation Paper on Workplace Violence Prevention. The Consultation Paper seeks input from workplace parties on whether and how Ontario should address workplace violence under the Occupational Health and Safety Act (“OHSA”). The Consultation Paper asks for input on whether OHSA should be amended to…

Cloud Computing, Second Life and the University

· 10 min read

This short university sector bulletin raises an important policy issue about setting rules that govern the choice faculty and staff have in using the internet to perform their jobs. We would like to raise and invite a policy discussion on the legal issues raised by “cloud computing” and the increasing business use of consumer-marketed internet…

Federal Election 2008: Employers’ Obligation to Provide Paid Time Off to Vote

· 3 min read

A federal election has been called for October 14, 2008. Under the Canada Elections Act, all employees who are electors – Canadian citizens who are 18 years of age or older as of the date of the election – are entitled to 3 consecutive hours on election day, during voting hours, to cast their votes….

Religious Accommodation: Tribunal Finds Two Paid Days of Religious Leave Not Required

· 8 min read

INTRODUCTION On September 3, 2008, Vice-Chair Sherry Liang of the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario issued a very helpful decision in Markovic v. Autocom Manufacturing Ltd., 2008 HRTO 64. The Autocom decision provides some much-needed clarification concerning the accommodation of religious observances. Of particular interest, the Tribunal rejected the Ontario Human Rights Commission’s long-held policy…

The Hydro-Québec Decision: Restoring Balance to the Accommodation Analysis

· 10 min read

INTRODUCTION Following on the heels of its recent decisions in McGill University Health Centre and Honda Canada Inc. v. Keays, the Supreme Court of Canada has issued yet another helpful decision dealing with the employer’s duty to accommodate. In Hydro-Québec v. Syndicat des employé-e-s de techniques professionnelles et de bureau d’Hydro-Québec, section locale 2000 (SCFP-FTQ),…