( Disponible en anglais seulement )
Ontario Superior Court recognizes new tort of harassment
A recent decision by the Ontario Superior Court (Caplan v. Atas, 2021 ONSC 670) has created a new civil cause of action for harassment. The ruling arose from a set of extraordinary facts, wherein four lawsuits filed against the defendant were...
( Disponible en anglais seulement )
Political opinion about masks does not attract protection on the basis of creed
A recent decision of the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario (the “Tribunal”) may assist school boards, many of which have received requests for mask exemptions on the basis of “a sincerely held belief” by a parent that their child should...
( Disponible en anglais seulement )
Privacy Law & Data Protection
The federal Digital Charter Implementation Act was introduced for First Reading on November 17, 2020 as Bill C-11. If enacted, the new Consumer Privacy Protection Act will replace the privacy portions of the current Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (“PIPEDA”),...
( Disponible en anglais seulement )
Ontario government moves to ban suspension for students in Grades K to 3
The author would like to acknowledge the contribution of 2020 Summer Student and 2021/2022 Articling Student Kayla Cockburn. On July 9, 2020, the Ontario government announced “New Changes to Advance Equal Opportunity for Black, Indigenous and Racialized Students.” [1] The...
( Disponible en anglais seulement )
School board held liable for historical sexual abuse of student
The author would like to acknowledge the contribution of 2020 Summer Student and 2021/2022 Articling Student Lindsay Armstrong. In a recent decision of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice, the Trillium Lakelands District School Board was held negligent and vicariously...
( Disponible en anglais seulement )
Changes to education leadership in Ontario
Over the past few months, 14 of the 72 Ontario Directors of Education have either announced their retirement or left their positions. Such a significant turnover in leadership will not only be felt by the school boards with vacancies, but...
( Disponible en anglais seulement )
COVID-19: Emergency preparedness and communications
On March 9, 2020 we presented an urgent “Morning Recess” webinar summarizing for our school board clients their legal rights and responsibilities in the face of the global spread of the COVID-19 virus. Please contact us if you would like...
( Disponible en anglais seulement )
Failure to cooperate during investigation justifies suspension
A recent arbitration decision provides insight into what constitutes reasonable discipline in response to a failure by a teacher to participate in an investigation. In Ontario English Catholic Teachers’ Association v Brant Haldimand Norfolk Catholic District School Board, 2019 CanLII...
( Disponible en anglais seulement )
When might a school board obtain an order for an independent medical evaluation
A recent arbitral decision ruled that a school board was entitled to request an independent medical evaluation (IME) by a psychiatrist regarding whether its employee was fit to return to work, even though the employee previously provided the school board...
( Disponible en anglais seulement )
Arbitrator rules that compliance with kindergarten class size regulations is required only as of determination date
A recent arbitral decision clarified the requirements that must be satisfied in order for a school board to comply with regulations in Ontario regarding kindergarten class sizes. The Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario (the “ETFO”) filed a grievance claiming that...
