The Supreme Court of Canada won’t hear an appeal from a former Nortel Networks Corp. employee who claimed her charter rights were violated over the issue of disability payments. The employee, Jennifer Holley, had argued the 2015 agreement setting out disability benefits in the wake of Nortel’s bankruptcy was unfair and unreasonable. According to a news […]
A recent decision by the Superior Court of Ontario has confirmed that working notice doesn’t count when an employee is away from work due to medical factors. The case, McLeod v. 1274458 Ontario Inc., dealt with Keith McLeod, who had worked as a mover at Frontier Sales in Scarborough, Ont., since 1998. In September 2015, he […]
Sears Canada’s plan to pay out millions in bonuses to keep executives and key staff on board while not paying severance to laid-off workers is being met with shock and disbelief. “It definitely should not go to them,” said Marinella Gonzalez, who worked as a planner at the retailer’s head office for 18 years before […]
Sears Canada Inc. has reversed course and will continue to make special payments to its defined benefit pension plan and provide post-employment benefits plans until Sept. 30, 2017. Have your say: Does the Sears Canada case signal the need for changes to better protect employees? The agreement, which the company reached with employees and retirees […]
U.S. Steel Canada Inc. has successfully restructured and has exited protection under the Companies’ Creditor Arrangement Act with Bedrock Industries Group LLC as its new owner. The Financial Services Commission of Ontario filed its regulation relating to the U.S. Steel Canada pension plans on June 30, confirming the agreement between the company’s new owner and […]
British Columbia’s pension regulator is cracking down on vague termination expense assumptions over fears unrealistic calculations have caused some plans to overstate their solvency ratios. “We’re becoming a little more rigorous in our expectations,” says Michael Peters, the acting superintendent of pensions at the Financial Institutions Commission of British Columbia in Vancouver. Guidance issued […]
Two groups that represent injured workers in Ontario and a former Ottawa employee have launched legal proceedings against the Workplace Safety & Insurance Board and the provincial government over the treatment of chronic mental stress claims. The application, filed by the Ontario Network of Injured Worker Groups, Injured Workers Consultants and Margery Wardle on June […]
A retired lieutenant in the naval reserve has launched a $100-million lawsuit against the Canadian Armed Forces for “chronic, excessive and unreasonable” delay in paying discharged members their pension benefits. Donald Jost, 50, has commenced a proposed class proceeding on behalf of all members of the regular and reserve Canadian forces who were discharged as […]
Employers with staff in Saskatchewan will see their insurance premiums rise by six per cent this August due to a new tax introduced by the provincial government in its 2017/18 budget. The six per cent provincial sales tax will apply to all group benefits plans with life, accident and health insurance policies. “This new tax […]
Employers are under no obligation to offer benefits. But if they do, they must offer them to all staffers in the same situation or face potential discrimination claims. Over the past few years, the British Columbia Teachers’ Federation has grieved the top-up policies of three school boards that barred teachers from receiving benefits for both […]