The federal government is providing $2.4 million in funding to two organizations that are working to address sexual harassment in Canadian workplaces. These organizations — Legal Information Society of Nova Scotia and the Canadian Association of Statutory Human Rights Agencies — are aimed at improving access to justice for individuals who experience sexual harassment in their workplace, according to a press […]
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 […]
The American Association of Retired Persons Foundation and the law firm Garrison, Levin-Epstein, Fitzgerald and Pirrotti have filed a class-action lawsuit on behalf of Yale University employees who are objecting to their employer instituting fines for those who don’t participate in its wellness program. The university’s program requires its 5,000 unionized staff and their spouses to submit to medical […]
A Nova Scotia arbitrator has ruled that sex addiction isn’t a disability that employers must accommodate, especially where the condition doesn’t affect the employee’s ability to perform their duties. The arbitrator, Augustus Richardson, also expressed doubt that a condition called “sex addiction” existed, noting it wasn’t generally recognized by an accredited professional body such as the American […]
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 […]
About 150 employees at Baycrest Health Sciences have been dismissed for benefits fraud. Last year, in the course of establishing an approved provider network for its employee benefits, the Toronto geriatric hospital said concerns were raised about some of the extended health-care claims employees were making under the benefits plan. “As a result, we retained a third […]
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 […]
The Federal Court of Appeal has ruled that an airport parking pass provided to a flight attendant by a commercial airline is an employee benefit for the purposes of income because he received “economic value” from the pass despite the fact that the employer provided it to improve its employees’ reliability and flexibility. “The established […]
Toronto Uber drivers are joining the United Food and Commercial Workers Canada union to bargain for sick days and vacation days, as well as a guaranteed minimum wage. During a media conference in Toronto on Wednesday, Pablo Godoy, the national co-ordinator for gig and platform-employer initiatives at UFCW Canada, said many drivers spoke of a “resounding […]