by admin | Mar 30, 2017 | Charity & Not-for-Profit Law, Faith-Based Organizations
On February 23, 2017, the Supreme Court of Canada granted leave to appeal in Trinity Western University, et al. v Law Society of Upper Canada and in Law Society of British Columbia v Trinity Western, et al. The two cases will be heard together with a tentative hearing date set for November 30, 2017. This is a significant case of national importance because it concerns how to balance the right to freedom of religion and the right to equality under the Charter.
Trinity Western University (“TWU”) is a private evangelical university, which obliges its students and faculty to sign a community covenant that requires them to adhere to certain behavior, including abstaining from sexual intimacy outside of a marriage between a man and a woman. The governing bodies of lawyers in the provinces of British Columbia, Ontario and Nova Scotia declined to accredit the TWU law school on the grounds that the community covenant is discriminatory.
The Nova Scotia Court of Appeal affirmed the lower court decision that the Nova Scotia Barristers Society did not have jurisdiction to refuse accreditation; no appeal was taken from this decision. On June 29, 2016, the Ontario Court of Appeal upheld the LSUC’s decision not to accredit TWU’s law school in Trinity Western University v The Law Society of Upper Canada. On November 2, 2016, the British Columbia Court of Appeal quashed the LSBC’s decision not to accredit TWU’s law in Trinity Western University v The Law Society of British Columbia. More detail on the Ontario Court of Appeal decision can be found in the article “Ongoing Conflicting Decisions in Trinity Western Cases” in our July/August 2016 Charity & NFP Law Update. More detail on the British Columbia Court of Appeal decision can be found in our Charity & NFP Law Bulletin no. 394.
by admin | Mar 30, 2017 | Charity & Not-for-Profit Law, Employment Law
On February 23, 2017, the Ontario Court of Appeal (the “Court”) released its decision in Wood v Fred Deeley Imports Ltd., which held that a termination clause that contravened the minimum standards prescribed by the Employment Standards Act, 2000 (“ESA”) was unenforceable. Deeley Imports Ltd. employed Julia Wood as a Sales & Event Planner for eight years, from April 2007 to April 2015. As the termination clause was interpreted by the Court as excluding Deeley’s statutory obligations to make benefit contributions during the notice period and to pay severance pay, it was held to be unenforceable. In the result, Ms. Wood was entitled to termination compensation based on common law principles, as opposed to the contractual amount. For charities and not-for-profits, the Deeley decision demonstrates the importance of carefully drafted employment contracts, which include termination clauses that meet at least the minimum requirements of the ESA.
For the balance of this Bulletin, please see Charity & NFP Law Bulletin No. 400.
by admin | Mar 30, 2017 | Charity & Not-for-Profit Law, Privacy Law & Anti-Spam
On March 17, 2017, the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada (“OPC”) published a Guidance on two provisions of the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (“PIPEDA”) that deal with the disclosure of personal information by private-sector organizations (“organizations”) without prior knowledge or consent of the individual to whom the information pertains (the “Guidance”).
In particular, the Guidance reminds organizations, including charities and not-for-profits, that while paragraphs 7(3)(d.1) and 7(3)(d.2) of PIPEDA provide exceptions to the knowledge and consent principles enumerated in PIPEDA, these exceptions do not permit the indiscriminate disclosure of personal information. In particular, the above noted paragraphs of PIPEDA allow organizations, in certain limited circumstances, to disclose personal information to “another organization” (not another individual or family member), without prior knowledge or consent. For example, where fraud is being investigated, disclosure is permitted when it is reasonable to expect the disclosure with knowledge or consent of the individual would compromise the investigation. However, the Guidance warns that these exceptions are not to be applied in an overly broad manner and do not allow for widespread disclosures and casual sharing of personal information, and are “limited to certain purposes, under defined circumstances, and given specific conditions”.
The Guidance also reminds organizations of the importance of developing privacy policies and procedures setting out how the organization responds to disclosure requests, making these policies available to the public, and accompanying any related policies and procedures with training for employees on an on-going basis.
While this Guidance assists organizations in determining if a disclosure is permitted under PIPEDA, the guidance states that the OPC expects organizations to “carry out due diligence and exercise good judgement when availing themselves of these exceptions”, “carefully consider each of the requirements explicitly outlined in the provisions” and “take care to ensure the limits set out in these provisions are respected”. Given this caution from the OPC, prior to disclosing any personal information, charities and not-for-profits should seek assistance from legal counsel to determine if the disclosure is permitted under PIPEDA.
by admin | Mar 30, 2017 | Charity & Not-for-Profit Law, Employment Law
In the Tax Measures: Supplementary Information (the “Supplement”) on Budget 2017, the government proposes that employers be allowed to provide electronic T4-Statement of Remuneration Paid slips to current active employees without obtaining express prior consent. Sufficient privacy safeguards, to be specified by the Minister of National Revenue, will need to be in place before employers can begin this practice. The change, if passed, will apply from 2017 onward, and is contained in a Notice of Ways and Means Motion to Amend the Income Tax Act and Other Related Legislation included in the Supplement. The measure is intended to “reduce costs and increase efficiencies for employers.” Employers will be required to provide paper copies of the T4 to “employees who do not have confidential access to view or print their T4s (e.g., employees on leave and former employees)” and to employees who request them.
by admin | Mar 30, 2017 | Charity & Not-for-Profit Law
Carters is pleased to welcome Esther Shainblum and Adriel N. Clayton to Carters. Esther joins Carters to practice charity and not-for-profit law with a focus on privacy, health law and lobbyist registration, after more than a decade as General Counsel and Chief Privacy Officer for the Victorian Order of Nurses. Adriel rejoins the firm to lead Carters’ knowledge management and research department, as well as to practice in commercial leasing and real estate after having practiced in the GTA upon completing his articles with Carters.
by admin | Mar 30, 2017 | Charity & Not-for-Profit Law
Carters is pleased to announce that our Ottawa office has moved to a new more spacious location. The new office is in the same complex at 117 Centrepointe Drive, in Ottawa but in Suite 350.
For a map or directions, see https://www.carters.ca/contact/
