On June 27, 2008, the Supreme Court of Canada (“SCC”) released its decision in Keays v. Honda Canada Inc. and overturned the decision of the Ontario Court of Appeal and narrowed the scope of Wallace damages for the “bad faith” manner of dismissal. This decision arises from a decision of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice which awarded $500,000 in punitive damages to a dismissed employee in addition to 24 months salary in lieu of notice ...
On May 27, 2008, Line Beauchamp, Minister of Sustainable Development, Environment and Parks, announced an envelope of $60 million under the Assistance program to reduce or avoid greenhouse gas emissions by implementation of intermodal projects in freight transportation, to fund new projects aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions ...
On May 9, 2008, the Ministère du Développement durable, de l’Environnement et des Parcs (MDDEP) presented its new pricing system for applications for environmental authorizations. The Order-in-Council provides for a rate grid based on the nature of the work covered by the application for authorization. The base rate is $500, unless another rate is stipulated in the rate grid ...
On April 29, 2008, the Minister of Sustainable Development, Environment and Parks, Line Beauchamp, announced the adoption of new measures to improve water quality and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. An amount of $16.4 million has been allocated to enable agricultural operations to intensify their actions favouring the preservation and improvement of water quality ...
Supreme Court of Canada Considers Duty to MitigateMay an employer fire an employee without cause, and then avoid paying damages by offering him temporary work? ‘Yes, sometimes’ declared the Supreme Court of Canada in Evans v. Teamsters Local Union No. 31 in a 6-1 ruling released in May 2008.Background FactsMr. Evans worked as a business agent for the Teamsters for twenty-three years. He was dismissed following the election of new union leadership. Mr ...
On November 18, 2004, the Supreme Court of Canada released its decisions in Haida Nation v. British Columbia (Minister of Forests) and Weyerhaeuser, 2004 S.C.C. 73 (“Haida”) and Taku River Tlingit First Nation v. British Columbia (Project Assessment Director), 2004 S.C.C. 74 (“Taku”) ...
On July 17, 2008, the Supreme Court of Canada in Hydro-Québec v. Syndicat des employé-e-s de techniques professionnelles et de bureau d'Hydro-Québec, 2008 SCC 43 clarified that there are limits to the employer’s duty to accommodate ...
Driving is the most dangerous work activity that most people undertake. An average 20 people are killed and 250 seriously injured every week in crashes involving someone who was driving, riding or otherwise using the road for work purposes. Up to a third of road accidents involve someone who was driving at work. Health and safety law applies equally to on-the-road work activities, and the risks should be managed within an effective health and safety system ...
Concerns over global climate change have sparked a series of legislative and policy responses on the provincial, federal, regional, and international levels. The challenge of complying with climate change policy is that different governments have invoked a number of different policy tools to respond and adapt ...
"Shouldn't you be at work?" - sports presenter Des Lynam's famous words during the BBC's World Cup 98 coverage may well be repeated by many an employer over the next week or so. For as the Beijing Olympics reach a crescendo, businesses are once again facing up to the challenges posed by a major sporting event. But there are ways to ensure that the 29th Olympiad does not add to the headaches being suffered by credit-crunched employers ...
In this October edition of Pensions Bulletin we consider a recent Government paper on surplus payments and highlight that schemes must take action if they wish to preserve a power to pay surplus to a sponsoring employer in the future. We also comment on the impact of the latest developments in the Sea Containers case on the use of the Regulator's power to issue Financial Support Directions ...
A new Swedish Competition Act will enter into force on 1 November 2008. The Act was passed by parliament on 11 June 2008. The new legislation means further harmonisation with EC competition rules and it also introduces a number of new features in order to enhance cartel enforcement. One of the new features is the introduction of trading prohibitions. The rules regarding fines will become both clearer and stricter in an aim to enhance legal certainty ...
On September 23, 2008, the Western Climate Initiative (“WCI”) released its Design Recommendations for the WCI Regional Cap-and-Trade Program (the “Program”) ...
With the UK economy continuing to be buffeted by the storm of the global financial crisis the effects are starting to be felt nearer to home in the "real" economy. For many businesses slashing costs is now a priority and, sadly, that often includes making staff redundant ...
As national governments have taken increasingly drastic steps to shore up their banking systems so the Commission has been working overtime dealing with the State aid fallout. Many of the measures taken by Member States could distort competition - a serious worry in the current volatile climate. Against this backdrop, the Commission has been keen to stress that it wants to work with Member States to ensure financial stability ...
On 16 September 2008, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) gave a preliminary ruling in joined cases C-468/06 - C-478/06 specifying that a refusal by a pharmaceutical undertaking that holds a dominant position on a relevant pharmaceutical market to supply wholesalers with a view to impeding parallel export of such wholesalers from one Member State to other Member States constitutes an abuse of a dominant market position under Article 82 of the EC Treaty ...
Government Regulation No. 2 of 2008 regarding the Types and Rates of Non-tax State Revenue Derived from the Utilization of Forest Areas for the Development of Non-forestry Activities Applicable to the Department of Forestry ("GR No. 2/2008") introduces a new scheme of forest exploitation fees for non-forestry companies such as those engaged in mining, oil and gas, geothermal power and telecommunications companies conducting activities in forest areas ...
As reported in our September WortHReading, if you want to employ workers from outside the Economic European Area or Switzerland ("migrants") after 27 November don't forget that the new points-based immigration system will be up and running and you will need to become a licensed sponsor to do so. An employer without a sponsorship licence, but which employs migrants, will be acting illegally ...
In Chief Constable of West Yorkshire Police v Homer, Mr Homer argued that he could not obtain a degree in time to benefit from it financially before he retired aged 65, but younger employees would be able to and the policy was therefore indirectly discriminatory on the grounds of age ...
Following consultation with national competition authorities and the public, the European Commission has published enforcement priorities guidelines, which it will follow when applying Article 82 to exclusionary conduct by dominant companies. Throughout the guidelines, the Commission reiterates that Article 82 should protect competition and consumers – rather than individual competitors (an approach previously advocated by Commissioner Kroes) ...
Many employers are rightly concerned about the significant amounts they are required to pay to the Commission de la santé et de la sécurité du travail in respect of employment injuries sustained by their employees. The general rule underlying the financial system of the regime is that the cost of benefits paid following an industrial accident sustained by an employee is imputed to his employer’s account, irrespective of whether the employer is at fault ...
The various amendments recently made to the Act respecting labour standards(1) (hereinafter the “ARLS”) essentially apply to the following:• the introduction of a new type of authorized leave for employees who are also reservists of the Canadian Forces and take part in operations;• the clarification of the concept of spousal cohabitation especially with regard to leave for family or parental reasons;• details on the advance notice to be given by employees who want to take pat
Pat McFadden, the Minister for Employment Relations and Postal Affairs, has confirmed that the extension of the right to request flexible working to parents of children up to the age of 16 will be implemented in April 2009, as planned ...
Today when financial experts are busy in measuring the depth of present financial turmoil, layman is cursing Governments and experts are blaming sub-prime mortgage payment defaulters but no-body in the economic fraternity could appreciate that it was a policy failure. Moreover, no one in the financial world could imagine the enormous size of the trouble that lending on sub-prime would bring the world’s biggest financial catastrophe of the century ...
Family Intervention Tenancies (FITs) are a new type of tenancy to be introduced by Sections 297-298 of the Housing and Regeneration Act 2008. They will be another tool for registered providers (the new term for both Registered Social Landlords and local authorities to tackle anti-social behaviour ...
