Clik here to view.
Slaw: Guide for investigating workplace corporate negligence
Send to KindleOn the 20th anniversary of the deadly Westray explosion that killed 26 miners in Nova Scotia, the Canadian Labour Congress (CLC) has released a guide for investigating corporate criminal...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Update: pleas regarding scaffolding incident
Send to KindleAs discussed here, here and here, on Christmas Eve, 2009, four workers fell to their death at a Toronto construction site from a scaffold that did not use proper fall arrest systems. A...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Expanded citizen’s arrest law and the Canadian workplace
Send to KindleThe Conservative government is poised to enact the first substantive expansion of citizen’s arrest laws in Canada since 1955. The catalyst for the Bill C-26 amendment to the citizen’s...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Metron construction director fined $90,000 under OHSA
Send to KindleIn a previous First Reference Talks blog post, we informed you that on June 15, 2012, one company (Metron Construction) entered a guilty plea to one charge of criminal negligence causing...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Commentary and update on Metron and Swartz OHS and Criminal Code cases
Send to KindleImage: citytv.comAs you already know, and we discussed before, the Ontario Court of Justice recently decided that Metron Construction should be fined under the Criminal Code $200,000 plus...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Leave related to the death or disappearance of a child
Send to KindleEffective January 1, 2013, under the Canada Labour Code, federally-regulated employers must provide employees who have completed six consecutive months of continuous employment; and,...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Slaw: The state of whistleblowing in Canada
Send to KindleWhistleblowing occurs when employees reveal corporate wrongdoing, usually in their organization, to law enforcement. Unfortunately, it is common for whistleblowers to experience demotion,...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Citizenship and Immigration Canada proposes regulatory changes to the...
Send to KindleBackground In early April 2013, it was reported that 45 Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) employees in Toronto would be losing their jobs because the company had outsourced some technology...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Is driving a bus unsafe? It depends who you ask….
Send to KindlePublic transit is an integral part of Canada’s national transportation system and as such, the safety of bus drivers is federally regulated under the Canada Labour Code (“CLC”), (as well...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Fine increased in Metron OHS criminal negligence causing death case
Send to KindleAs you may recall, charges under both the Occupational Health and Safety Act and the Criminal Code of Canada were laid against the company Metron for the death of four workers at a...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Fatalities at work: are they leading to stiffer consequences?
Send to KindleIn the 2012 Metron Construction and Swartz decisions concerning the deaths of four workers and serious injury of a fifth worker, the Ontario Court of Justice imposed substantial fines but...
View ArticleOntario Employment Law Conference wrap-up: We learned the latest!
On Tuesday, June 10, over 100 businesses from across Ontario joined us and the employment law team from Stringer LLP to discuss pressing employment issues like avoiding occupational health and safety...
View ArticleThe Government of Canada introduces legislation to prevent barbaric cultural...
On November 5, 2014, Citizenship and Immigration Minister Chris Alexander announced that the Government of Canada had tabled its proposed Zero Tolerance for Barbaric Cultural Practices Act (the...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Betting you don’t have a gambling policy
We have recently survived the Superbowl and the Oscars. Over the next few weeks you may also experience some March Madness amongst your employees. And we have all heard the story of a mega-jackpot win...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Project manager convicted of criminal charges in Christmas Eve swing stage...
The tragic Christmas Eve 2009 swing stage collapse which led to the deaths of four workers and the serious injury of another at a west Toronto construction site continues to have legal repercussions...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Project manager guilty of health and safety criminal negligence in Metron...
Vadim Kazenelson was the project manager at the work site where Metron Construction was repairing 18-story apartment buildings using a swing stage. As you may recall, in the fall of 2009, Metron...
View ArticleClik here to view.
How to create an occupational health and safety policy manual
Fundamental legal obligation With heightened scrutiny over workplaces and increased penalties for workplace incidents causing injuries—or worse, death—employers must ensure they understand their...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Construction manager is given prison sentence of three and one half years
As previously reported on First Reference Talks, Vadim Kazenelson’s sentence hearing took place regarding the Metron Construction case on October 16, 2015. On January 11, 2016, we learned that he has...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Ontario court sends message of deterrence by sentencing project manager to...
As most of you recall, on December 24, 2009, five construction workers fell from a stage swing on a residential building that was been used so that the workers could fix the concrete on the building....
View ArticleClik here to view.
Changes in the Criminal Code: Employee rights in a time of legal chaos
In 2016, employees may be faced with requests from employers or from others whom the employees serve to participate in activities that are prohibited by the Criminal Code. There are two areas, in...
View Article
