Ontario Proposes Key Reforms to the Framework for Collective Bargaining in the Education Sector

Significant proposed reforms to the existing framework for collective bargaining in the education sector may change the way school boards and unions negotiate agreements – and could impact the outcomes achieved at the table. Find out what may be in store…

Arbitrator Rules that Collective Agreements Include Memoranda of Understanding

Arbitrator George Surdykowski has rendered a significant award in which he concludes that the Memorandum of Understanding (“MOU”) between the Ontario English Catholic Teachers’ Association (“OECTA”) and the Ontario Government formed part of a school board’s 2012-14 collective agreements with OECTA. This award addresses an outstanding issue about the status of the collective agreements imposed…

College Update – Second Edition

Dear Friends, Spring is just around the corner and with the changing of the season, what better time for us to welcome our second edition of College Update! Hicks Morley’s College Practice Group is pleased to periodically provide our College clients with specific information relevant to your particu­lar interests. In this edition we discuss labour…

Receipt of WSIB Benefits Bars Claim for Additional Monetary Damages at Arbitration

An arbitrator recently affirmed that a grievor is not entitled to monetary damages under a collective agreement where that grievor has received benefits from the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (“WSIB”) in respect of the accident for which damages are claimed. Arbitrator Howe considered section 26(2) of the Workplace Safety and Insurance Act (“WSIA”) and…

Arbitrator has no Jurisdiction Under OECTA MOU in Absence of Renewal Collective Agreement

On November 23, 2012, Arbitrator Kevin Burkett issued a significant award in which he found he had no jurisdiction to determine a grievance under the Memorandum of Understanding (“MOU”) entered into by the Ontario English Catholic Teachers Association (“OECTA”) and the Ministry of Education in July 2012. The grievance was brought by OECTA against the…

Ontario Proposes Significant Changes to Wage Restraint and Collective Bargaining in the Broader Public Sector

On September 26, 2012, the Ontario Minister of Finance announced draft omnibus legislation, the Protecting Public Services Act, 2012 (the “Draft Bill”), which would implement new compensation restraint measures for the Broader Public Sector (“BPS”), and would impose a significant new provincially mandated collective bargaining regime. The Draft Bill would also make changes to the…

Prep Time Payback – The Last (Good) Word?

School board labour relations practitioners will recall the efforts made by OPSBA in its 2009 PDT negotiations with ETFO to ensure that public school boards would not be obliged to reschedule preparation time that was missed due to such factors as board-imposed professional development held during the instructional day. The OPSBA/ETFO language stated: Missed preparation…

Hicks Morley Information and Privacy Highlights – Fall 2011

Welcome to the Fall 2011 Hicks Morley Information and Privacy Highlights! This second edition of our new re-vamped publication includes many note-worthy decisions, including Vaughan (City) (Re) , where the Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario found that personal information received on an unsolicited basis is not “collected” for the purposes of the Municipal Freedom…