On March 9, 2022, Ontario’s Chief Medical Officer of Health announced that by the end of April, all remaining COVID-19-related measures, directives and orders will be lifted. This decision comes as the province sees continued improvements in key health indicators and follows the government’s easing of most public health restrictions earlier this month (see our…
Tag: Coronavirus (COVID-19)
Ontario Public School Boards’ Association (OPSBA): 2022 Education Labour Relations and Human Resources Symposium
OPSBA’s Education Labour Relations and Human Resources Symposium is held each spring and is designed to provide professional development in the areas of labour relations and human resources to trustees, directors of education, senior human resources officials and labour relations practitioners.
Ontario Enters Roadmap Exit Step, Removes Proof of Vaccination Requirement
As announced by the Ontario government earlier this month, public health restrictions imposed in light of COVID-19 will be substantially eased on March 1, 2022. On that date, all regions in Ontario will be moved into the Roadmap Exit Step of the province’s Reopening Plan and almost all public health restrictions will be removed. Notably,…
Human Resources Professionals Association (HRPA): Peel Chapter: Legal Trends 2022
Join the HRPA Peel Chapter as Michael Smyth, Rebecca Liu, Danika Winkel and Jordynne Hislop share how to successfully anticipate and navigate legal issues, stay compliant and mitigate legal risks.
Arbitrator Finds Mandatory Vaccination Policy Implemented by Energy Sector Employer to be Reasonable
In Power Workers’ Union v Elexicon Energy Inc., Arbitrator Michael Mitchell recently held that a mandatory vaccination policy implemented by Elexicon Energy Inc. (Employer) was reasonable for all employees, except for those who had been working exclusively from home and had no expectation or requirement of returning to the workplace in the near future, and…
Arbitrator Finds Part of LTC Homes’ Mandatory Vaccination Policy Violated Collective Agreement
On February 7, 2022, Arbitrator Misra issued her decision in Chartwell Housing REIT (The Westmount, The Wynfield, The Woodhaven And The Waterford) and Healthcare, Office And Professional Employees Union, Local 2220 in which she found that the termination consequences of a long-term care home employer’s mandatory vaccination policy violated the collective agreement. Background In late…
Details Regarding Ontario’s Move to Amended Step 3 of Roadmap to Reopen
Effective January 31, 2022, all public health units in Ontario will move to the Rules for Areas at Step 3 (Step 3 Rules) of the province’s Roadmap to Reopen plan. The Step 3 Rules are set out in O. Reg. 364/20, made under the Reopening Ontario (A Flexible Response to COVID-19) Act, 2020, as amended…
In Case You Missed It: Key COVID-19 Cases to Date
Our recent FTR Now provided an overview of notable “non-pandemic” legal developments from 2021. In this FTR Now, we provide a round-up of key COVID-19 cases, which include decisions on issues such as wrongful dismissal, mandatory vaccination and human rights. These decisions will be of interest to employers and HR professionals as we move forward into…
Further Details Regarding Ontario’s Move to Modified Step 2 of Roadmap to Reopen
As we previously reported, effective January 5, 2022, all public health units in Ontario have been temporarily moved to modified Rules for Areas in Step 2 of the province’s Roadmap to Reopen. These changes will remain in effect until at least January 26, 2022, subject to “trends in public health and health system indicators.” As a result, all public health units in the province are now subject to the conditions established by O. Reg. 263/20, Rules for Areas in Step 2, as amended by O. Reg. 2/22.
Ontario Reduces Certain Capacity Limits in Light of Omicron Variant
On December 15, 2021, the Ontario government announced that in light of the Omicron variant, it is reducing capacity limits to 50% for the following indoor venues with a usual capacity of 1000 persons or more: facilities used for sports and recreational fitness activities entertainment facilities such as concert venues, theatres and cinemas racing venues…