Law Times

February 13, 2012

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SENSITIVE CASES LSUC releases guide on helping sex abuse victims P2 NEWLY REVISED AND UPDATED FOR 2012 Separation Agreements and Marriage Contract/Agreement + New Pension Clauses for Ontario $4.00 • Vol. 23, No. 6 vorceMate-EAR_LT_Feb13_12.indd 1 SURPRISING PAYOUT Layoff triggers common law award P7 FOCUS ON Family Law/Trusts & Estates P8 COVERING ONTARIO'S LEGAL SCENE • WWW.LAWTIMESNEWS.COM February 13, 2012 L AW TIMES 12-02-07 6:52 PM ntitled-3 1 BY KENDYL SEBESTA Law Times its various unions battle over a secret additional wage increase negotiated for some employees only. Ten facilities management co-or- T dinators working in the accommoda- tion services section lost their jobs in 2010 aſt er the provincial government decided to scrap it and replace it with something else. Th e move also includ- ed the addition of at least six new re- gional program and business advisers later that year. But that ruffl ed the feathers of at least seven of the co-ordinators who lost their jobs. Th ey then went to the Ontario Labour Relations Board to fi le disputes arguing the provincial gov- ernment violated terms of the collec- tive agreement preventing job loss. In another twist, six of the newly hired regional program and business advisers are also at the labour board where they're arguing the Association of Management, Administrative, and Professional Crown Employees of Ontario (AMAPCEO) must provide them with fair representation in the termination dispute as well. But AMAPCEO isn't likely to budge on the matter any time soon. The employees involved in the dispute over the government's new positions worked in the accommodation services section at the Ministry of the Attorney General's offices on Bay Street in Toronto. Photo: Laura Pedersen Michael Mitchell, counsel for AMAPCEO and a part- ner at Sack Goldblatt Mitchell LLP, says the outcome of the ministry's restructuring has created very real consequences for the union's members that it's unlikely to shy away from fi ghting against. he Ontario government is coming under fi re for cutting several positions at the Minis- try of the Attorney General as 5/4/10 2:49:21 PM MAG changes prompt employee dispute Provincial unions at labour board over wage increase, job losses "Th ere are much more dire conse- quences than people simply being shiſt - ed from union to union," says Mitch- ell, who's representing AMAPCEO in Novak v. Association of Management, Administrative, and Professional Crown Employees of Ontario. "Th at doesn't really happen. Th e real consequence here is that people lost their jobs. AMAPCEO is saying the people who originally lost their jobs shouldn't have been let go." Such situations aren't uncommon, according to Mitchell, who points to a lengthy history of cases involving both AMAPCEO and the Ontario Public Service Employees Union over the last several years. "All of these cases arise because the provincial government creates a posi- tion in a new bargaining unit that elimi- nates an existing position in the original bargaining unit," he says. "Th at inevitably replaces employees who originally held those jobs. In the past, OPSEU has complained that all the new jobs should be in their bargaining unit. Th is is specifi cally where cases for jurisdictional disputes come into play." Currently, both AMAPCEO and OPSEU represent members based on where their jobs land in relation to the unions' jurisdictional boundaries. When there's a dispute about where those boundaries are, they enter into collective See ALOC, page 5 Billions of dollars invested, not a penny lost. BY KENDYL SEBESTA Law Times F ormer attorney general Mi- chael Bryant has leſt Norton Rose Canada LLP to become chief executive offi cer of Hu- militus Group Ltd. Bryant ended his two-year ca- reer as a senior adviser with Nor- ton Rose on Dec. 31 but will still take part in work there from time to time, fi rm chairman Norman Steinberg confi rmed last week. "We had a discussion with Mi- chael in December aſt er he ap- proached us saying he felt it was time to leave the fi rm to pursue his other interests," says Steinberg. "We eventually reached an un- derstanding that we would stay together to help one another with several projects we had coming up and to continue that friendship." Th ose plans will likely include projects related to the energy and natural resources sec- tors, says Steinberg. "He's a very friend- ly guy with a great sense of humour, and we wanted to make sure he knew he would be supported by us as he pursues his other interests." Bryant had been senior a adviser at TitlePlus_LT_Feb9/16_09 2/4/09 2:02 PM Page 1 Norton Rose and its predecessor Ogilvy Renault LLP since De- cember 2009. He joined the fi rm nearly four months aſt er an inci- dent while driving in downtown Toronto that leſt cyclist Darcy Al- lan Sheppard dead. Bryant was driving home aſt er Michael Bryant celebrating his wedding anniver- sary in the summer of 2009 when the scuffl e with Sheppard took place. Police charged Bryant with dangerous driving causing death and criminal negli- gence causing death, but the prosecution eventually dropped the charges aſt er dis- covering Sheppard's pattern of aggression with drivers as evi- denced by a number of previous incidents. Despite Bryant's notoriety at the time of the incident, Steinberg says Together we have all the tools To ensure your clients get the most comprehensive coverage in one title insurance policy, take a look at the TitlePLUS Program , your Bar-related real estate partner! ® ® PROTECTION AS GOOD AS IT GETS 1-800-410-1013 ® TitlePLUS, the TitlePLUS logo, OwnerEXPRESS and LAWPRO are registered trademarks of Lawyers' Professional Indemnity Company. ® BAR-RELATED Mark is a registered Mark of North American Bar Related Title Insurers used by LAWPRO under License. titleplus.ca 1 Please refer to the policy for full details, including actual terms and conditions. The TitlePLUS policy is underwritten by Lawyers' Professional Indemnity Company (LAWPRO®). Contact LAWPRO for brokers in Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Alberta and Québec. TitlePLUS policies issued with respect to properties in Québec and OwnerEXPRESS® policies do not include legal services coverage. 1 Ogilvy Renault decided to pursue talks about hiring him given that he was "innocent until proven guilty." "A lot of fi rms shied away from hiring him because they thought he was too controversial," says Steinberg. "In times of crisis, friends can oſt en come few and far between, so I think he was particularly grateful that we sup- ported him during that diffi cult time in his life and later when he was exonerated." Bryant wasn't available for comment about his new posi- tion, but his LinkedIn profi le lists him as working in legal services and notes he "off ers a range of consulting services and project delivery to clients in private and public sectors." LT www.lawtimesnews.com PM #40762529 Michael Bryant leaves Norton Rose to become CEO

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