On November 21, 2018, the Ontario government filed two regulations made under the Labour Relations Act, 1995 (LRA). The first regulation is made further to the repeal by Bill 47, Making Ontario Open for Business Act, 2018 of certain provisions of the LRA, previously enacted by Bill 148, Fair Workplaces, Better Jobs Act, 2017 (Bill…
Tag: Arbitration
Appellate Court Issues Favourable Decision for Suncor on its Random Drug and Alcohol Policy
The legal saga on the issue of random drug and alcohol testing of employees continues. In Suncor Energy Inc v Unifor Local 707A, the Alberta Court of Appeal sent the issue of whether Suncor’s random drug and alcohol testing policy violated the privacy rights of its unionized workers back to a new arbitration hearing before…
IMEs and the Scope of an Employer’s Communications with IME Examiners
The Ontario Court of Appeal has denied leave to appeal a judicial review of a Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario (Tribunal) decision that found an employer’s request for an Independent Medical Examination (IME) as part of the accommodation process reasonable in the circumstances. This case further provides helpful guidance with respect to the scope of…
Union Need Not be Involved in Every Accommodation Request, Appeal Court Rules (and the Supreme Court Agrees)
Earlier this year, the British Columbia Court of Appeal issued a helpful decision for employers dealing with accommodation issues in a unionized context. On September 7, 2017, the Supreme Court of Canada denied the union’s request for leave to appeal from the B.C. Court of Appeal decision. The B.C. Court of Appeal decision considered the…
2017 HRPA Annual Conference & Tradeshow
Topic New and Evolving Issues in Workplace Accommodation Workplace accommodation is one of the most challenging issues facing both employers and service providers. Legal developments emerging from human rights tribunals, arbitration boards and courts across Canada have imposed additional challenges, expanded obligations, and the need to think outside the box as employers and service providers…
Leaves of Absence, Procedural Matters and More
In this latest edition of our School Board Update, we are bringing you summaries of three recent cases which will be of interest. They deal with abuse of process at arbitration, entitlement of part-time and custodial employees to miscellaneous leaves, and the balancing of religious freedom with other statutory requirements…
Counsel to University Board at arbitration involving the intersection of board governance rules and Academic Freedom.
Counsel to university on Academic Freedom versus board governance arbitration.
Counsel to University on complex pension governance arbitration.
Counsel on complex pension governance arbitration.
Addiction Defence to Theft of Hospital Opioids Not a “Get Out of Jail Free Card”
Theft of opioids by an employee who subsequently asserts a substance abuse problem can be a particularly challenging workplace issue for healthcare sector organizations. But in this most recent case, the arbitrator upheld a just cause discharge as an appropriate disciplinary response…
Advantage CPD: The Human Rights Horizon: Navigating the Road Ahead
Human rights issues arise on a daily basis in the workplace, yet they are increasingly more complex and challenging to manage – let alone litigate…