OHRC Offers Free Training on the Policy on Competing Human Rights

October 26th, 2012 by Celia Chandler

In April, the Human Rights Commission released its Policy on Competing Human Rights.  This policy provides importance guidance on what to do when to accommodate the rights of one person leads to a possible breach of the rights of another.   This comes up sometimes for our clients and so we were excited to receive an invitation today to attend a free training session on how to use this policy.  We plan to be there and you may want to too!    

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Employees beware: The perils of posting on Facebook

October 25th, 2012 by Priya Sarin

The dramatic growth of social media use in Canada on such sites as Facebook has raised novel legal issues for employers and employees. One such issue is whether or not an employee’s off-duty conduct online (i.e. posting personal status updates, photos or comments on Facebook at home) can get that employee fired. In short, the answer is yes.

Many Canadians still erroneously believe that what they post on their personal Facebook page is private. They feel little hesitation in coming home after a difficult day at work and griping publicly about their company, boss, co‑workers or quality of work. While it is important to protect freedom of expression and healthy discourse on labour relations issues, posting this type of content online may have serious consequences.

Read more on rabble.ca

Reporting Deadline under the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act for Organizations with 20 or more Employees Nears

October 18th, 2012 by Shelina Ali

As of January 1, 2012 all organizations that provide goods and services to members of the public and that have at least one employee in Ontario are required to comply with the Accessibility Standard for Customer Service regulation (the Regulation) under the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act.  In addition, if your organization has 20 employees or more, it must file an online report with the Ministry of Community and Social Services regarding  its compliance with the Regulation by December 31, 2012. Please visit the Ministry of Community and Social Service website for more information about filing you Customer Service Accessibility Compliance Report.

For more information on the requirements of the legislation, see our previous post on the topic.

Ontario Court of Appeal confirms broad scope of environmental protection in the Ontario Environmental Protection Act but Supreme Court of Canada hearing pending.

October 18th, 2012 by Laura Bowman

The Supreme Court of Canada recently granted leave to hear an important Environmental Protection Act case.  In Ontario (Environment) v. Castonguay Blasting Ltd., 2012 ONCA 165 (CanLII) Castonguay, a construction subcontractor caused fly rock to be flung 90 metres into the air during highway construction near Marmora, Ontario in 2007.  The fly rock caused damage to a nearby home and vehicle.

A year later, Castonguay was charged with failure to report the discharge of a contaminant under s.15(1) of the Ontario Environmental Protection Act (EPA).  This provision requires reporting of discharges of contaminants likely to cause an adverse effect to the Ontario Ministry of the Environment, (MOE) so that it can be investigated and addressed accordingly.

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Prorogation stops co-op housing eviction law reform bill in its tracks – for now

October 17th, 2012 by Celia Chandler

At the beginning of October, in an unusual moment of unanimity, all parties at Queen’s Park showed enthusiasm for Bill 65, a bill to put in place a new eviction process for housing co-ops. In our earlier blog on this bill, we summarised comments from the second reading debates, and predicted that, with some minor tweaking, the legislature would quickly pass this bill.

When we wrote that blog, like the rest of the world, we did NOT anticipate McGuinty’s bombshell on Monday evening – resignation and proroguing parliament until a new Liberal leader is in place. Prorogation cleans the legislative slate. When MPPs return to Queen’s Park, all bills caught in the prorogation will need to be reintroduced. Will the co-op housing sector be able to get this back on the government’s radar? Stay tuned…

The “Unco-operative Co-oper”

October 17th, 2012 by Celia Chandler

Ever had a housing co-op member who dominated the board agenda with demands for action? How about someone who bullied the co-op’s staff either in person or on-line? And then there are those who bombard other members of the co-op with endless paper or who post endless notices in the co-op’s hallways?

If these circumstances sound familiar, you are not alone. More and more of our housing co-op clients are reporting having members who take up valuable board energy and time at the expense of other matters being dealt with. If you’re interested in sharing ideas about the “uncop-operative co-oper” please join us Saturday at the Co-operative Housing Federation of Toronto’s Fall Member Education Event. For more information, check out the CHFT website at: www.coophousing.com