John Saunders Quoted in The London Free Press

Hicks Morley’s John Saunders was quoted in the August 27, 2013 edition of The London Free Press in an article entitled, “Toronto attorney John Saunders argues during arbitration hearing that the old rules are gone and some non-core services should be outsourced.” The article discusses contract arbitration hearings regarding proposed retroactive wage hikes for the…

John Saunders Mentioned in The Globe and Mail

Hicks Morley’s John Saunders was mentioned in the August 8, 2013 edition of The Globe and Mail in Margaret Wente’s article entitled, “A nation of $100,000 firefighters.” Highlighting municipal budgets’ contentions with fire departments, the article attributes firefighters’ high wages and substantive increases to arbitration settlements. Paraphrasing Saunders, “There’s no good reason for salaries to…

Jurisdiction of an Arbitrator to Examine Procedures Issued by the Chief of Police

In two recent decisions involving the Toronto Police Services Board (“TPSB”) and the Toronto Police Association (“TPA”), Arbitrator Paula Knopf held that she lacked jurisdiction to hear grievances that challenged certain Procedures issued by the Chief of Police. In both cases, the TPSB raised successful preliminary objections and argued that the arbitrator lacked jurisdiction as…

Damages at Arbitration – the Divisional Court Comments on an Arbitrator’s Jurisdiction

Last year, Arbitrator Owen Shime issued his now well known decision against the Greater Toronto Airport Authority (“GTAA”) for the wrongful termination of an employee who had been on sick leave. The decision was judicially reviewed and the outcome highly anticipated given the significant principles at stake. This FTR Now reviews the recent decision of…

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

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),…