In Carpenters’ District Council of Ontario v. City of Hamilton, the Divisional Court dismissed an application for judicial review of an Ontario Labour Relations Board (Board) decision in which the union challenged the amendments to the non-construction employer (NCE) provisions in the Labour Relations Act (LRA). Specifically, the union challenged the constitutionality of Bill 66,…
Tag: Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms
Beyond COVID-19: 2022 Year in Review – Cases and Legislation of Note
Employers and human resource professionals will undoubtedly remember 2022 as another year shaped by the pandemic.
But…there were also legal developments in 2022 that were not related to COVID-19. In this FTR Now, we look at some of the past year’s notable “non-pandemic” cases and legislative developments.
Ontario Court Rules Bill 124 is Unconstitutional – What Now?
In a decision dated November 29, 2022, Justice Koehnen of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice found that Bill 124, Protecting a Sustainable Public Sector for Future Generations Act, 2019 (the Act or Bill 124) substantially interfered with the applicant unions’ section 2(d) freedom of association rights under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms…
Court Finds Bill 124 to Be Unconstitutional
On November 29, 2022, the Ontario Superior Court of Justice rendered its decision in Ontario English Catholic Teachers Assoc. v. His Majesty. The Court found that the Protecting a Sustainable Public Sector for Future Generations Act, 2019 (commonly referred to as Bill 124) is contrary to section 2(d) (freedom of association) of the Canadian Charter…
Ontario Tables Significant Legislation Impacting School Board Sector
On October 31, 2022, the Ontario government introduced Bill 28, Keeping Students in Class Act, 2022 (Bill 28 or the Bill) which, if passed, would enact and implement new central terms for collective agreements between the Council of Trustees’ Associations and the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE). These collective agreements would have a term…
Supreme Court of Canada Denies Leave to Appeal in Public Sector Wage Restraint Legislation Case
On October 27, 2022, the Supreme Court of Canada dismissed an application for leave to appeal Manitoba Federation of Labour et al v The Government of Manitoba. In that case, the Manitoba Court of Appeal (Court) upheld the constitutionality of the province’s public sector wage restraint legislation. The Court based its decision on the case…
Benefits After 65: Arbitrator Dismisses Grievance Challenging Age 65 LTD Cut-off but Awards Life Insurance Coverage Based on Collective Agreement
An Ontario labour arbitrator has upheld a grievance challenging the reduction of life insurance coverage for employees who die after having reached age 65, finding that the relevant provision of the insurance policy had not been incorporated into the collective agreement. In the same decision, the arbitrator dismissed two policy grievances challenging the termination of…
Arbitrator Upholds TDSB Mandatory Vaccination Policy
On March 22, 2022, Arbitrator William Kaplan issued The Toronto District School Board and CUPE, Local 4400 (Re COVID-19 Vaccine Procedure), an award in which he upheld the mandatory vaccination policy (Policy) of the Toronto District School Board (TDSB). He found that the Policy did not infringe section 7 (life, liberty and security of person)…
Beyond COVID-19: 2021 Year in Review – Cases and Legislation of Note
Employers and human resource professionals will undoubtedly remember 2021 as another year shaped by the pandemic. But … there were also legal developments in 2021 that were not related to COVID-19. In this FTR Now, we look at some of the year’s notable “non-pandemic” cases and legislative developments of interest.
Manitoba Court of Appeal Upholds Public Sector Wage Restraint Legislation
In Manitoba Federation of Labour et al v The Government of Manitoba, the Manitoba Court of Appeal upheld the province’s public sector wage restraint legislation that had previously been ruled unconstitutional. The Court based its decision on the fact that the impugned legislation was broad-based and time-limited, and that it preserved a process of consultation…