Human Rights

What you should know about workplace harassment

August 7th, 2020 by Michael Hackl

This article was first published on rabble.ca

In the course of my work and in reading the news lately, I am seeing a lot of issues come up involving workplace health and safety. Many of those issues are related to COVID-19 — for example, some employers are deciding to let staff work remotely for the rest of the year, and some employees that are being called back to work are expressing concerns about the safety of doing so.

However, even in the midst of the pandemic, there are still non-COVID related workplace health and safety issues, and possibly the highest profile issue of that nature in Canada recently involves the allegations of workplace harassment made against the Governor General. The allegations have garnered a lot of media attention, but the unfortunate reality is that they are not that unusual. It is only because the allegations involve the Governor General that they are getting media coverage, and not because of the subject matter of the allegations. With that in mind, I thought it would be worthwhile to take a look at a couple of issues that often arise in the context of workplace harassment. Continue reading “What you should know about workplace harassment”

Free webinar: Balancing Rights and Responsibilities for Housing Providers in COVID-19

July 2nd, 2020 by Iler Campbell

Update: a video of this webinar is now online. You can watch it below:

Join us Wednesday, July 8, 2020 at 2 PM for a free webinar hosted by Neighbourhood Legal Services and Iler Campbell.

As emergency restrictions lift across Ontario, the medical community is alerting us to a so-called “fourth wave” of the pandemic: mental health and trauma. Supportive housing providers, residential care facilities, transitional or therapeutic homes, and non-profits and co-ops have had to quickly find ways to ensure the physical safety of staff and residents. While these precautions may prevent the spread of the virus, they can also lead to increased isolation and deteriorating mental health for residents. As restrictions begin to lift, organizations will be facing more questions about how to strike a balanced approach which fulfills their legal obligations to provide a safe living environment, with other legal obligations – including the Human Rights Code.

This webinar will talk you through some of these tough questions. Safia Lakhani (lawyer, Iler Campbell LLP) and Linette King (NLS staff housing lawyer) will discuss some of the common legal questions and concerns being raised by both housing providers and residents, and will provide perspectives on how your organization can strike the right balance.

Register to attend on Zoom.

We welcome your questions in advance. You can post them on the event page on Facebook or send them to the hosts privately.

**This event is for legal information only, and will not provide legal advice. No solicitor-client relationship is created with either Iler Campbell LLP or NLS Toronto by participating in this event.**

Federal government should prioritize moving MAID back up its legislative agenda

June 25th, 2020 by Celia Chandler

This article was first published on rabble.ca

Think back.

March 13, 2020.

While many of us moved our offices to our homes, scrambled to figure out how to school our children, fought for scarce toilet paper and Lysol, and started to get used to a completely different way of living, the government released its “What We Heard Report A Public Consultations on Medical Assistance in Dying.” The report resulted from a 14 day window in January when Canadians commented online about the medical assistance in dying law in Canada (called MAID).

Regular rabble.ca readers will know that I wrote a three-part series about the legalization of MAID and its implementation from my first-hand experience: my husband, Jack, died with medical assistance in November 2018.

The federal government legalized MAID in 2016. You’ll know from my account and those of many others, that the MAID law is not without its critics because of those excluded from the legislation: mature minors; those wanting to make “advance requests”; those whose only medical condition is mental illness; and those with physical illness but for whom death is not reasonably foreseeable. The Council of Canadian Academies has studied and reported on the first three of these issues.

Continue reading “Federal government should prioritize moving MAID back up its legislative agenda”

The right to know? Balancing health risks and privacy rights for landlords during COVID-19

May 29th, 2020 by Claudia Pedrero

This article was first published on rabble.ca

What is a landlord’s responsibility when a tenant in a multi-residential building tests positive for COVID-19? Is a landlord obligated to share this information with other residents so they can take extra precautions? On the flip side, what expectation of privacy do tenants have if they share this information with their landlord?

Many of our firm’s housing clients have had to grapple with this difficult balance over the past few months as they weather the challenges brought on by the pandemic. Continue reading “The right to know? Balancing health risks and privacy rights for landlords during COVID-19”

Community living in the time of COVID-19: navigating the law

May 6th, 2020 by Iler Campbell

This is part of a series of webinars we’re running all May long. Check out the other events here!

We’ve just posted a recording of Celia Chandler’s webinar, “Community living in the time of COVID-19: navigating the law.” Check it out below.

 

Continue reading “Community living in the time of COVID-19: navigating the law”

Defining ‘urgent’ in the global pandemic

May 1st, 2020 by Karly Wilson

This article was first published on rabble.ca

Seven weeks ago, we rolled our eyes when an email was labelled “Urgent.” It felt like a term thrown around too often, and with little meaning or weight. Like new alerts popping up on cell phones, there didn’t seem to be enough discernment about what was and was not worthy of panic and alarm.

Now, everything is urgent. There is an urgent need for medical supplies, for funding, for mental health support, for employment insurance reform, for a vaccine, for a cure. This has created an awkward and noticeable push to fill needs that social justice advocates have always considered urgent, but are suddenly (urgently!) gaining widespread support.

Individuals with disabilities, long having been told that their needs are too big to accommodate, are watching mass support roll out to assist the workforce. Advocates for a universal basic income are watching as the Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB) is instituted in a matter of weeks. At our firm, a large part of our practice focuses on supporting affordable housing initiatives, and we too have watched as our city (Toronto) has suddenly been at the forefront of creating new housing solutions for individuals experiencing homelessness.

In short, we are seeing concerns long considered urgent to finally be met with a sense of … well … urgency. Continue reading “Defining ‘urgent’ in the global pandemic”