The City of Saskatoon’s failed attempt to unilaterally change the terms of its pension plan has produced an arbitration ruling that will likely make it more difficult for employers to do so going forward. “The decision expands the law to suggest that past conduct can operate to make a pension plan part of a collective […]
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police pension plan doesn’t discriminate against women, a federal judge has ruled. Allison Pilgrim, Joanne Fraser and Colleen Fox all joined the RCMP in the 1980s. When job-sharing became available in 1997, they each took advantage of the program to care for their young children. But they didn’t realize that job-sharing officers couldn’t buy […]
The sale of Stelco Inc. to Bedrock Industries Group LLC can proceed, Ontario Superior Court Justice Herman Wilton-Siegel ruled this morning in Toronto. At the hearing, U.S. Steel, salaried employees, the province and the court-appointed monitor supported the new plan. “You can’t always get what you want, but it’s good enough,” said James Harnum, counsel for Stelco’s […]
The Ontario Superior Court of Justice recently found an employer wasn’t liable for defamation when it provided a truthful — but negative — reference about a former employee. In Papp v. Stokes, the plaintiff, Adam Papp, worked as a staff economist for the defendant, Stokes Economic Consulting Inc. In 2013, the president of the company, […]
Alberta has published proposed amendments to the province’s employment standards code and labour relations code that would support family-friendly workplaces and bring the province’s standards into alignment with the rest of Canada. If passed, the Fair and Family-Friendly Workplace Act, which is the first major overhaul of Alberta’s workplace rules in almost 30 years, would […]
The Alberta government says legislation to overhaul workplace rules could come as early as next week. Government House Leader Brian Mason says it’s “pretty likely” a bill will be tabled then. “It’s generally well known that there is some legislation to improve the rights of workers in Alberta that is coming to make sure that […]
The British Columbia Supreme Court has rejected an American multi-employer pension plan’s claim for $1.25 billion against a U.S. company’s Canadian subsidiary. The case revolved around the claim that a Canadian subsidiary was on the hook for the unfulfilled pension withdrawal liabilities of one of its parent company’s U.S. subsidiaries. The parent company, Walter Group, includes U.S., […]
In 2010, David Styles moved to Alberta from Ontario to work as vice-president of relationship investments for the Alberta Investment Management Corp. While the decision to uproot his life wasn’t easy, Styles says the opportunity to earn a sizeable compensation, if he performed well, was a big draw. The majority would come from AIMCo’s long-term […]
Canadian employers are generally familiar with dealing with employees with disabilities from the outset of a condition through to accommodation and helping them return to work successfully. But what happens to health and dental benefits when it’s not possible for an employee to return to work? It’s a question that can be a difficult one for […]
The British Columbia Court of Appeal has overturned a ruling that gave a copper mine employee an 18-month severance package upon retirement. At trial last year, the B.C. Supreme Court had awarded Albert Aubrey, an employee at mining company Teck Highland Valley Copper Partnership in Logan Lake, B.C., $176,250 in damages for a breach of an employment contract. […]