The Ontario Court of Appeal has ruled an employee was in the right when she rescinded her retirement notice after circumstances changed. In September 2016, Elisabeth English, a 64-year-old employee at Manulife, resigned after the company said it would be implementing a new computer system, citing her concern with learning a new system. When she met with […]
A new ruling by the Alberta Court of Appeal says civil claims for privacy breaches can be filed more than two years after the breach occurred. Calgary-based Moore’s Industrial Service Ltd. requested the dismissal of a civil claim, which was filed by a former employee whose privacy had been breached after his termination. The request […]
Quebec’s universal pharmacare program offers better drug coverage and quicker approval for new drugs coming to market than the rest of Canada, according to a new study by the Fraser Institute. Looking at drugs approved by Health Canada between 2008 and 2017, the report found Quebec went on to cover 33.4 per cent of them, […]
The federal government has reached a tentative settlement on multiple class action lawsuits filed by current and former female and male members of the Canadian Armed Forces and Department of National Defence who experienced workplace sexual harassment, assault and discrimination based on gender or sexuality. The lawsuits collectively sought almost $1 billion in damages. The […]
Plan sponsors are increasingly adopting plan design tools to manage their drug plan costs, according to Telus Health’s annual drug trends report. It found private plan drug costs have grown 0.3 per cent per year on average for the past 10 years, made up of an average 2.1 per cent annual decrease in the cost […]
If the Canada-United States-Mexico trade agreement goes through it could have a significant impact on the cost of private drug plans. Currently on hold until members of Parliament return to Ottawa after the summer break, the agreement as written would extend the data protection term for biologic drugs to 10 years from the current eight. If […]
The union representing employees of Dominion Stores supermarkets in Newfoundland is accusing parent company, Loblaw Companies Ltd., of using an increasing number of part-time employees in order to eliminate full-time jobs. Loblaw offered voluntary buyout packages to its full-time staffers in Newfoundland in June, with the aim of eliminating 44 positions, as part of what […]
The Canadian Women’s Foundation, AfterMeToo and the Aboriginal Peoples Television Network is receiving more than $2.7 million from the federal government to create an online tool that will educate employees who’ve experienced workplace harassment or violence about their legal rights and how to report their experiences. The project, Roadmap to Future Workplaces, aims to help […]
Canada’s national standard for psychological health and safety in the workplace provides employers with benchmarks they can measure themselves against. Would making it mandatory improve employer uptake, or impose unnecessary and duplicate regulations? Brian Gottheil, human resource advisor and lawyer at Bernardi Human Resource Law LLP: The national standard helps employers proactively assess and improve their […]
Last year, the University of Toronto added breastfeeding-friendly spaces for female faculty, staff and students. While women are welcome to breastfeed anywhere on campus, the new spaces are in quieter areas close to amenities. The new spaces are the work of the university’s Family Care Office, a division of the human resources department, in collaboration […]