Posting of Trade-Marks as the name of a business

Posted on December 22, 2011

Stephanie Weschler - 

Recently, the Office québécois de la langue française (the Office) issued a press release launching an awareness campaign regarding the posting of trade-marks as the name of a business. The objective of this campaign is to encourage businesses located in the province of Quebec to adhere to the Charter of French Language (Charter). The Office has created a website which provides additional information to businesses regarding this campaign at http://respectdelaloi.gouv.qc.ca/.

The Charter, adopted in 1977, establishes French as the official language of the province of Quebec, and governs its use in a wide range of activities, including in areas such as education, employment and business and commerce. 

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L'Affichage des marques de commerce comme nom de l'entreprise

Posted on December 22, 2011

Stephanie Weschler - 

Récemment, l’Office québécois de la langue française ( l’Office) a publié un communiqué de presse pour lancer une campagne de sensibilisation concernant l’affichage des marques de commerce comme nom d’entreprise. L’objectif de cette campagne est d’encourager les entreprises situées dans la province de Québec à respecter la Charte de la langue française (la Charte). L’Office a créé un site web qui fournit l’information aux entreprises concernant ladite campagne à : http://respectdelaloi.gouv.qc.ca/.

La Charte, adoptée en 1977, établit la langue française comme la langue officielle de la province de Québec et régit son utilisation dans diverses activités, y compris dans des domaines tels que l’éducation, l’emploi et le commerce et les affaires.

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Federal government reintroduces proposed PIPEDA amendments

Posted on December 21, 2011

William Hockin -

On September 29, 2011 the federal government introduced Bill C-12, entitled the “Safeguarding Canadians’ Personal Information Act.”  The bill, which is currently in the “first reading” stage, reintroduces the amendments to the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA) proposed in Bill C-29 relating to what constitutes valid consent and various circumstances in which personal information can be collected without consent.  Bill C-29 expired in March 2011 when Parliament was dissolved.

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End to mandatory retirement for federally regulated employees

Posted on December 21, 2011

Kelly O’Ferrall -

Last week, the federal government repealed certain provisions of the Canadian Human Rights Act which currently permit federally regulated employers to make it a term of employment that employees retire upon reaching a specified retirement age.

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Employee dismissed for incomplete medical disclosure prior to hiring

Posted on December 19, 2011

Rébecca Laurin - 

Although the employee acted in good faith and did not voluntarily try to mislead her future employer by not revealing certain aspects of her medical history, the arbitrator in Association des policières et policiers provinciaux du Québec et Sûreté du Québec (K.T.) confirmed the employee’s dismissal on the grounds of vitiated of consent in the formation of the employment contract.

After an intervention in which she had to assist a colleague who was in a car accident, the patrol officer had to go on a disability leave for post-traumatic stress disorder. As her symptoms persisted long after the incident, preventing her from returning to her patrol position, the employer required a psychiatric examination. 

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Une employée congédiée en raison de déclarations incomplètes sur son état de santé dans un questionnaire préembauche

Posted on December 19, 2011

Rébecca Laurin - 

Bien que l’employée eût été de bonne foi et n’eût pas volontairement tenté de tromper son futur employeur en omettant de déclarer certains antécédents médicaux, l’arbitre a maintenu le congédiement de la plaignante sur la base du vice de consentement dans la formation du contrat de travail, dans la décision Association des policières et policiers provinciaux du Québec et Sûreté du Québec (K.T.).

Suite à une intervention lors de laquelle elle a dû porter secours à une collègue victime d’un accident de la route, la policière s’est absentée du travail en raison d’un choc post-traumatique. Devant la persistance de ses symptômes plusieurs mois après l’incident ainsi que son incapacité à reprendre son poste de patrouilleuse, l’employeur a demandé une expertise psychiatrique.

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Proposed amendments to Ontario's Employment Standards Act, 2000

Posted on December 13, 2011

Kathleen Chevalier -

On December 8, 2011, the McGuinty government introduced Bill 30, Family Caregiver Leave Act (Employment Standards Amendment), 2011.  Bill 30, if passed, will amend the Employment Standards Act, 2000 to create an additional type of job-protected leave: Family Caregiver Leave.

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Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act: tools for compliance

Posted on December 13, 2011

Kathleen Chevalier -

As previously discussed, if you are a private sector organization that provides goods or services directly to the public, or to other businesses or organizations, you are required to be fully compliant with the Accessibility Standards for Customer Service Regulation (the Customer Standard) set out in the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, 2005 (the Act) by January 1, 2012.

Stikeman Elliott has developed a Customer Standard primer, checklist and FAQ to assist organizations with meeting their accessibility obligations, which can be found here.  Should your organization require further assistance, members of the Stikeman Elliott Employment group routinely provide client-specific advice regarding statutory compliance.

A Parliamentary Committee of the Quebec National Assembly recommends the review of the Labour Code's anti-scab provisions

Posted on December 13, 2011

Rébecca Laurin -

On November 9, 2011, the Committee on Labour and the Economy (the Committee) filed its awaited report on the update of anti-scab provisions (available in French only). In its single recommendation, the Committee, composed of Members of Parliament from all parties, asked the Ministère du Travail (Ministry of Labour) to review the concepts of "establishment" and "employer" in the Labour Code of Quebec in order to take into account the evolution of economic and technological realities and with the objective of establishing a balance of power between negotiating parties in a labour dispute.

In Quebec, section 109.1 of the Labour Code prohibits an employer from using, during a strike or a lockout, replacement workers to perform the duties of the employees who are on strike or lockout in the establishment in which there is a labour dispute (unless the workers are volunteers or managers, subject to certain conditions). The employer can nonetheless utilize the services of a contractor or of employees of another employer, subject to the condition that the work is being performed outside of the establishment where the strike or lockout has been declared. In Canada, only British Columbia provides for similar prohibitions on the use of replacement workers (section 68 of British Columbia’s Labour Relations Code).

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Une commission parlementaire de l'Assemblée nationale recommande la révision des dispositions anti-briseurs de grève du Code du travail

Posted on December 13, 2011

Rébecca Laurin -

Le 9 novembre 2011, la Commission de l’économie et du travail (la Commission) a déposé devant le parlement québécois son rapport attendu sur la modernisation des dispositions anti-briseurs de grève. Dans son unique recommandation, la Commission, composée de députés de toutes allégeances, demande au ministère du Travail de revoir les notions d’ « établissement » et d’ « employeur » prévues au Code du travail du Québec afin de tenir compte de l’évolution des réalités économiques et technologiques et ce, dans le but d’établir un juste équilibre du rapport de force entre les parties négociantes lors d’un conflit de travail.

Au Québec, l’article 109.1 du Code du travail interdit essentiellement à un employeur, lors d’une grève ou d’un lock-out, d’avoir recours à des travailleurs de remplacement pour faire exécuter les tâches des grévistes dans l’établissement en conflit de travail (à moins qu’il ne s’agisse de bénévoles ou de cadres et ce, à certaines conditions). L’employeur peut toutefois utiliser les services de salariés d’un autre employeur ou d’un entrepreneur à condition que le travail soit effectué hors de l’établissement en grève ou en lock-out. Au Canada, seule la Colombie-Britannique prévoit de semblables interdictions de recourir à des travailleurs de remplacement (art. 68 du Labour Relations Code de Colombie-Britannique). 

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Ontario Court of Appeal to hear Blue Mountain Resorts OHSA case

Posted on December 09, 2011

Kathleen Chevalier -

The Ontario Court of Appeal recently granted leave to appeal to Blue Mountain Resorts Ltd. (Blue Mountain), from the recent decision of the Ontario Divisional Court, which was discussed in an earlier post.  On December 24, 2007 a guest at Blue Mountain’s unsupervised swimming pool drowned.  Blue Mountain did not report the fatality to the Ministry of Labour, as it did not believe that under the Occupational Health and Safety Act (the OHSA) it was required to report an incident that did not involve a worker.  The Court held that Blue Mountain was required to report the incident, thereby significantly expanding the scope of what employers had previously understood to be their reporting requirements under the OHSA.  Until the Court of Appeal rules on this issue, when determining whether to report an incident involving a non-worker, an employer will need to consider whether a worker could have been potentially affected by the hazard that caused the incident.  If the answer is “yes”, the employer is likely under an obligation to report the incident to the Ministry of Labour.  We will provide an update upon the release of the Court of Appeal’s decision. 

R v. Cole Update: Supreme Court of Canada grants leave to appeal

Posted on December 09, 2011

Kathleen Chevalier -

The Supreme Court of Canada has granted leave to appeal in R. v. Cole, a decision of the Ontario Court of Appeal.  As previously discussed here, R. v. Cole was notable from an employment perspective for the Court’s determination that where certain factors are present, employees may have a reasonable expectation of privacy regarding the contents of employer-provided electronic devices.   While R. v. Cole may not directly apply to private sector employers given that it arose out of a criminal proceeding involving a Charter claim, the Supreme Court’s ruling will likely influence the legal considerations of this issue moving forward.  As such, it remains prudent for employers to implement properly drafted internet and electronic use policies, particularly regarding electronic devices. We will provide an update upon the release of the Supreme Court decision, which is not expected until sometime in 2013.