Section
Law Files
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Righting a Wrong
The Ontario Court of Appeal recently awarded $266,000 in damages to a woman who had accused her former employer of mocking and abusing her after she lost her hearing. The court decision, authored by Judge Gloria Epstein and released on…
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Put to the Test
A recent case that the British Columbia Human Rights Tribunal (BCHRT) heard in Prince George has brought to light employers’ dilemmas and oh&s repercussions associated with accommodation issues involving the growing use of medical marijuana across Canada. While employers are…
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Express Route to Safety
A bill proposing to amend the Criminal Code of Canada to take violence against transit operators into consideration may result in stiffer penalties against those who assault bus and taxi drivers.
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What Lies Beneath
Excavating and trench work can be like diving into murky water: no one knows exactly what lies below the surface and will never know without getting wet. But unlike swimmers, equipment operators and workers with a job to do cannot opt out of…
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Under the Radar
Public transit workers in Toronto may soon be subject to random alcohol and drug testing as the city’s transit service was given the green light to expand testing for employees in safety-sensitive positions. While specifics about how the program will…
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COURT CLARIFIES JHSC COVERAGE
The Court of Appeal for Ontario has weighed in on the meaning of “regularly employed” workers under the Occupational Health and Safety Act, and that opinion may have implications for when joint health and safety committees (JHSCs) are required. The…
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BEYOND ESTABLISHED BORDERS
Representatives for a popular vacation resort in Ontario plan to again appeal a directive for the business to notify the Ministry of Labour (MOL) of all critical injury and fatality incidents involving non-workers. “It’s the absurdity of the whole thing,”…
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LONG STORY SHORT
A professional engineer facing a charge under Ontario’s Occupational Health and Safety Act came out on top during a recent showdown between individual rights and the public interest. The charge against Wayne Vollick alleged he had provided negligent or incompetent…
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Rights and Wrongs
The Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario seems to be a more frequent stop for injured workers with accommodation concerns since changes to the provincial human rights system were adopted two years ago.
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Seeing the Possibilities
It is often said that hindsight is 20/20. Foresight, however, may be a little less reliable. Sometimes there is no way to envision every conceivable possibility, as an Alberta judge recently noted in …
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Court Adjourned (April 19, 2010)
It has taken 18 years and three court rulings since a deadly explosion at a Northwest Territories mine to get …
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A Firm Footing On Change
It has been around for more than 40 years and has undergone multiple revisions. But now the Canadian standard for gear at the foot of personal protection, the safety boot, is receiving yet another shi…
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Know Your Surroundings
Canada — with its distinctive attribute of sea to sea to sea — demands a sharp eye from employers looking to stay on the right side of occupational health and safety requirements found in various ju…
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Hands-Off Documents
The story has all the makings of a compelling Hollywood flick: a confidential, privileged report a company had been assured would be destroyed finds its way into the hands of a provincial inspector an…
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Taking a Broader View
Tunnel vision — the term can carry hefty negative connotations. That is certainly the case when it comes to occupational health and safety, where failure to consider anything but what’s directly ahead can be hazardous indeed.Take a road…
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Changing The Look Of Violence
Theresa Vince, Pierre Lebrun and Lori Dupont — their names have become synonymous with work-related violence, harassment or both.
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Giant Mine Saga Nears End
THE WIDOWS OF NINE WORKERS killed in a deliberately set explosion during a hard-fought labour dispute at Yellowknife’s Giant Mine have asked Canada’s highest court to decide, once and for all, what co…
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Regina v. INCO: Righting an Old Wrong
MANY WILL SAY that the recent Ontario Court of Appeal decision in R. v. Inco Limited (released June 6, 2001) has been too long in coming. On the surface, the question at issue was a simple one: When does an inspector, entering the premises of a co…
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DELEGATING SAFETY
Do the contractor safety practices at your workplace consist of reliance on contractual sign-offs in which the contractor agrees to be “fully responsible for compliance with all applicable health and safety legislation and standards”? Or do your p…
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DISCIPLINE FOR SAFETY INFRACTIONS… OR SUFFER THE CONSEQUENCES
The corporation’s thorough written health and safety system has been detailed in all respects to the court in an effort to establish due diligence. Yet several company supervisors, under cross-examination by the prosecution, have now admitted that…
