Publication Type: Blog Post

Proposed Regulations Amending Certain Regulations Made Under the Canada Labour Code (Medical Leave with Pay) Published for Comment

· 2 min read

On July 16, 2022, the federal government published Regulations Amending Certain Regulations Made Under the Canada Labour Code (Medical Leave with Pay), proposed regulatory amendments to give effect to the new paid medical leave provisions under the Canada Labour Code (Code), which are not yet in force. The leave, enacted by Bill C-3, An Act…

Appellate Court Considers Certification Under Class Proceedings Act, 1992 and Requirement That Pleadings Disclose a Cause of Action

· 5 min read

In Bowman v Ontario, the Ontario Court of Appeal considered a motion for certification of a class action under the Class Proceedings Act, 1992 (CPA) which was dismissed by a certification judge. The Court of Appeal allowed the appeal in part, concluding that the judge erred in holding that the proposed class action did not…

Arbitrator Finds Two-Dose Vaccination Policy No Longer Reasonable

· 5 min read

On June 17, 2022, Arbitrator Nairn held in FCA Canada Inc. v Unifor, Locals 195, 444, 1285 that a two-dose mandatory vaccination policy (Policy) implemented by an employer was no longer reasonable going forward due to the evolving scientific evidence regarding the COVID-19 virus. In so finding, she cited a number of pre-print scientific studies…

Class Action Brought by Off-Reserve Indigenous Children and Their Families Certified

· 3 min read

In Stonechild v. Canada, Justice Phelan of the Federal Court recently certified a class proceeding brought on behalf of off-reserve Indigenous children and their families. Under the Federal Court system, this avoids the necessity or prospect of up to thirteen separate provincial and territorial class actions.  The claim seeks to hold the government of Canada…

Ontario Court of Appeal Upholds Human Rights Tribunal Decision Concerning Gender Discrimination in Compensation Practices for Ontario Midwives

· 6 min read

In Ontario (Health) v. Association of Ontario Midwives, the Ontario Court of Appeal dismissed an appeal by the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care (Ministry), upholding the finding of the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario (Tribunal) that the Ministry engaged in gender discrimination in compensation setting practices for midwives.   In this Case in Point,…

Arbitrator Finds Grievor was Prima Facie Discriminated Against when Employer Denied her Requested Exemption to the COVID-19 Vaccine

· 5 min read

In Public Health Sudbury & Districts v. Ontario Nurses’ Association, Arbitrator Robert Herman accepted that an employee may be entitled to an exemption from an employer’s mandatory COVID-19 vaccination policy on the basis of creed where they held a sincere belief that the relationship between the COVID-19 vaccines and fetal cell lines was contrary to…

Federal Government Suspends COVID-19 Vaccination Requirements for Certain Travel, and Federal Sector Employees

· 3 min read

On June 14, 2022, the federal government announced that as of June 20, 2022, it will suspend vaccination requirements for domestic and outbound travel, federally regulated transportation sectors and federal government employees. (For details about the federal government’s vaccine mandate which was originally introduced in October 2021, see our FTR Now of October 7, 2021,…

Ontario Court of Appeal Upholds Waksdale – Overturns Superior Court Decision That Attempted to Distinguish It

· 2 min read

On June 8, 2022, in Rahman v. Cannon Design Architecture Inc., the Court of Appeal reiterated that Waksdale is supreme in Ontario. The Decision Below In September 2021, a judge of the Superior Court determined on the facts of the case before him that a contractual provision in an employment agreement which denied entitlements upon…