Ontario Expanding Cancer Coverage for Firefighters

The Ontario government has announced that it will be introducing regulatory amendments to expand cancer coverage for firefighters. The amendments to the Ontario Regulation 253/07 made under the Workplace Safety and Insurance Act, 1997, will expand the list of presumptive illnesses to include certain cancers. The amendments will provide firefighters with access to compensation to support the […]

Hybrid Return-to-Work Plan

PSAC opposed to the government’s hybrid work plan implementation What is the Government’s Hybrid Work Plan? In December 2022, the Federal Public Sector Labour Relations and Employment Board announced their plan to transition workers to a hybrid work system. This plan was expected to commence on March 31, 2023, with a mandatory policy for federal […]

Employment Insurance

The Extension of Sickness Benefits from 15 to 26 Weeks As provided for in Bill C-30, which came into effect on June 29, 2021, the Government of Canada has extended the maximum sickness benefit allowance. The 15-week period has now permanently changed to 26 weeks, which was implemented as December 18, 2022. The extension of […]

Bill 124

Premier Doug Ford has formally appealed the Court’s decision that deems Bill 124 to be unconstitutional and therefore is void What Bill 124 Means: Bill 124 came into effect on November 8, 2019 providing a three-year compensation window for non-union and unionized employees. The Act restricts wage increases to 1% per year for a three-year […]

Naloxone Kit Requirement

Lifesaving Kits with Mandatory Policy Effective June 1st, 2023 Each year, there is an increasing number of deaths caused by opioid overdoses. The Ontario government has reported 2819 fatalities in 2021. The Naloxone kit will provide employers with the ability to reverse an opioid overdose allowing adequate time for the ambulance to arrive. This temporary […]

AN EMPLOYER’S DUTY TO ACCOMMODATE

Supreme Court of Canada denies Leave; Affirming E-consent as Valid and Binding

The Supreme Court of Canada (SCC) recently denied leave to appeal in Battiston v. Microsoft Canada Inc., 2021 ONCA 727. The SCC decision reinforces an Ontario Court of Appeal decision which concluded that an employee’s consent through an internal e-consent process was a valid means of bringing an agreement, and in particular, termination provisions to the employee’s […]

BC Supreme Court Finds Placing an Employee on Unpaid Leave for failing to Comply with Mandatory Vaccination Policy is not a Constructive Dismissal

In Parmar v. Tribe Management Inc., the British Columbia Supreme Court recently became the first court in Canada to confirm that an employer is entitled to place an employee on an unpaid leave of absence for failing to comply with its mandatory vaccination policy. The Court confirmed that placing the non-unionized employee on unpaid leave […]

Bill C-27: Modernizing Canada’s Privacy Laws and its Impact on Employers

On June 16, 2022, the federal government tabled Bill C-27, Digital Charter Implementation Act, 2022. If passed, Bill C-27 would provide stronger legal frameworks in the areas of privacy and data protection throughout the country. Bill C-27 aims to accomplish this through the introduction of three acts: The Consumer Privacy Protection Act (the “CPPA”), The Personal Information […]