On March 28, 2016, Morgan Rowe spoke about disability rights and her book, Exploring Disability Identity and Disability Rights Through Narratives, on Disability Beat. Disability Beat is a radio program about and for people with disabilities, emphasizing social justice, community supports, inclusion and accessibility.
The program is available to listen to here.
On April 7, 2016, James Cameron presented on “When Mental Health Interferes with Work, What You Need to Know”, an Infobytes session presented by the Association of Professional Executives of the Public Service of Canada (“APEX”). Together with registered psychologist, Dr. Ron Seatter, James spoke on the legal and medical issues that arise when mental health issues interfere with work. The session included information on rights, entitlement, time limits, coverage and sick leave, from a legal perspective. The presentation also addressed information on what types of issues might result in a need to see a psychologist versus a psychiatrist, paperwork and/or reports which might be required, what happens if an insurer denies a claim, appeal rights, and what kind of expert evidence might be required if a dispute goes to court.
[This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice, which cannot be given without consideration of your individual circumstances.]
The Canada Pension Plan (CPP) disability benefit is a taxable monthly payment that is available to people who have contributed to the CPP while working and who are not able to work regularly at any job because of a disability.
To qualify for a CPP disability benefit, you must:
To be eligible for a CPP disability benefit, you must have a severe and prolonged medical condition. What is important is how the medical condition and its treatment affect your ability to work at any job on a regular basis. Your condition must be expected to last at least one year or be likely to result in death.
To qualify for a CPP disability benefit, you must have contributed to the CPP while at work in:
However, there are certain provisions that may help you qualify for CPP disability benefits, even if you fail to meet these requirements. For example, you may be eligible if you stayed at home and raised children, if you applied too late for CPP disability benefits, if you are separated or divorced, if you lived and worked in another country, or if you were physically or mentally unable to apply for CPP disability at a specific time. You can obtain more information on these provision on the Service Canada website, by calling your nearest Service Canada centre, or by seeking legal advice.
You should apply as soon as you develop a severe and prolonged or terminal medical condition that prevents you from working regularly at any job.
You must apply for CPP disability in writing by printing out the main application form (ISP 1151), the consent forms, and any other necessary forms that can be found on the Service Canada website or at one of the Service Canada centers near you. Fill out the necessary forms and mail them to the nearest Service Canada office.
If you disagree with the decision regarding your CPP disability application, you may request a reconsideration of the decision. A reconsideration is a new review of your application by Service Canada.
You must make your request for reconsideration in writing within 90 days after you are notified in writing of the decision. Your written request for reconsideration should be mailed to the return address on the decision letter.
Prepare your written request for reconsideration and include:
If you are still dissatisfied with the reconsideration decision, you can appeal to the Social Security Tribunal.
If you are receiving disability income from other sources, such as a private insurer or a provincial social assistance program, you may still be eligible to receive the CPP disability benefit. However, these other sources may adjust their payments if you are approved for a CPP disability benefit. For example, if you are receiving monthly Long Term Disability (LTD) benefits from your private insurer, once you are approved for CPP disability, your private insurer will reduce the amount of monthly LTD benefits you are entitled to by the amount you are now receiving under CPP disability.
We are here to help navigate the CPP disability application and appeal process. Consult one of our experienced Disability lawyers at Raven, Cameron, Ballantyne and Yazbeck LLP if you are considering making a claim for CPP disability benefits or if your claim for benefits has been denied.
* If you are aged 60 to 64 and you think you might qualify for a CPP disability benefit, you may also want to apply for a CPP retirement pension. While you cannot receive both at the same time, you may qualify to begin receiving a retirement pension while you wait for your CPP disability benefit application to be assessed, which usually takes longer.
On March 10, 2016, Kim Patenaude will be presenting a bilingual advanced seminar on the Duty to Accommodate at Health Canada on behalf of REACH Canada. REACH has offered lawyer referrals and public education for individuals living with disabilities since 1981. Ravenlaw is a long-term, proud supporter of REACH and its mission to improve the quality of life for citizens with disabilities.
March 8th is International Women’s Day, a day that marks the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women. Not just a celebration, International Women’s Day is a call to action for all the work that remains to be done. At a time when recent reports reveal that Canadian women earn only 72% of men’s wages for similar work, it is important to reflect on the labour roots of International Women’s Day and the struggles that remain for working women in Canada and around the world.
History of International Women’s Day
The origins of International Women’s Day can be traced back to the early 1900s. At that time, work was increasingly industrialized, leading to dangerous and unfair working conditions. In response, women began organizing to demand better working conditions, including shorter working hours and better pay. In 1908, 15,000 female garment workers marched through New York City to call for these improvements. This march would inspire the International Ladies Garment Workers’ Union to stage a strike to protest working conditions in the city’s sweatshops. Although this initial strike was short-lived, it led to a General Strike, which lasted for three months and brought important gains for many workers.
In 1909, the Socialist Party of America, a social-democratic political party in the United States, designated February 28 as National Women’s Day in honour of the garment workers’ strike.
At the same time, European women were struggling to achieve greater fairness and protections in the workplace. In 1910, a second International Conference of Working Women was held in Copenhagen, with over 100 women from 17 countries in attendance, including union leaders and the first 3 women elected to the Finnish Parliament. At this Conference, Clara Zetkin, leader of the Women’s Office of the German Social Democratic Party, tabled a proposal for an annual woman’s day – a day for women to collectively raise their demands for better working conditions, suffrage and political representation. The proposal was unanimously approved.
As a result of Zetkin’s efforts, the first International Women’s Day was observed on March 19, 1911 in Austria, Denmark, Germany and Switzerland. More than one million women and men attended rallies to mark the day, raising awareness of issues of women’s rights to work, to vocational training and discrimination in the workplace, as well as the right to vote and hold political office. Sadly, only a week after the first International Women’s Day, a deadly fire at the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory in New York City killed more than 140 working women. This tragedy brought greater attention to the issues of workplace conditions that the garment workers had protested in 1908.
International Women’s Day became increasingly prominent in Europe and became a vehicle for the peace movement during World War I. Protesting the war, Russian women observed the day for the first time in 1913. In 1914, women around Europe held solidarity rallies on March 8. In 1917, Russian women selected March 8 as a day of protest and held a strike for “Bread and Peace”. The women continued to strike for 4 days and were joined by other protests and strikes, contributing to the forced abdication of Czar Nicholas II. The Provisional Government then granted Russian women the right to vote. March 8 was later declared a national Soviet holiday by Lenin.
In 1975, International Women’s Year, the United Nations officially sanctioned International Women’s Day and began celebrating International Women’s Day on March 8 of every year. International Women’s Day is now an official holiday in many countries around the world.
International Women’s Day – Today and in the Future
Nowadays, International Women’s Day is a day for celebrating the achievements of women. The history of International Women’s Day reminds us that these achievements include the role of women in advancing the rights of workers around the world. Women have played a significant role in the labour movement, and the radical action of working women has led to important social change.
March 8th is also a day to reflect on the work yet to be done. In the workplace alone, issues of pay inequity, the disproportionate burden of childcare, gender-based job discrimination, and sexual harassment continue to impact Canadian women. Globally, women face significant inequalities in all areas of their lives. For example, harkening back to the roots of International Women’s Day in the activism of New York’s garment workers in 1908, the day was marked in Bangladesh this year by garment workers protesting for safe working conditions, equal pay and an end to violence against women.
All workers, women and men, in Canada and abroad, should use this day to reflect on the ways in which women’s rights and workers’ rights intersect, and how both movements can work in concert to advance the cause of equality.
[This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice, which cannot be given without consideration of your individual circumstances.]
In a decision rendered on January 25, 2016, adjudicator Linda Gobeil of the Public Service Labour Relations Board concluded that the Parole Board of Canada failed to accommodate a grievor suffering from “emotional stress” in a manner consistent with the requirements of Canadian Human Rights Act.
The adjudicator found that the emotional stress suffered by the employee as a result of her proximity to a particular co-worker amounted to a disability that triggered the employer’s duty to provide reasonable accommodation. The employer was ordered to find workspace for the grievor in another building and to compensate her for lost wages and benefits during the relevant time frame.
The grievor was represented by Kim Patenaude of RavenLaw, who told the Ottawa Citizen that the Adjudicator’s decision “has the potential to broaden an employer’s responsibility to provide accommodation” and is a win for employees with disabilities, especially those with mental health concerns. For more information, click here.
On November 30, 2015, in Attorney General of Canada v PSAC, 2015 FCA 273, the Federal Court of Appeal dismissed the Government’s appeal of the decision of the Federal Court rendered last year. The case dealt with Part XX of the Canada Occupational Health and Safety Regulations, which imposes a host of obligations on employers to prevent and respond to workplace violence. The Court’s decision affirmed the broad definition of workplace violence under the Regulations, and the mandatory obligations on employers to appoint an impartial person to investigate employee complaints.
The Court of Appeal adopted the approach of the Federal Court judge, and held that an employer does not have unfettered discretion to determine whether a workplace violence complaint warrants an independent investigation: “I agree with the Respondent that allowing the employers to conduct their own investigations into complaints of work place violence and to reach their own determination as to whether such complaints deserve to be investigated by a competent person would make a mockery of the regulatory scheme and effectively nullify the employees’ right to an impartial investigation of their complaints with a view to preventing further instances of violence.”
The Court found that employers can only decline to appoint a competent person to investigate if it is plain and obvious that the complaint does not raise allegations of workplace violence on its face. The Court emphasized that the “employer has very little discretion in this respect.” This judgment affirms the right of employees to an impartial investigation when they experience psychological harassment or other forms of violence in the workplace.
The appeal was argued by Andrew Raven of RavenLaw. You can read about the Federal Court decision about the case in our blog.
RavenLaw is proud to sponsor an event on the Public Service Alliance of Canada’s struggle for pay equity, co-hosted by PSAC, the Workers’ History Museum, and the University of Ottawa Human Rights Research and Education Centre. The event will take place on December 10, 2015 at the University of Ottawa Alumni Hall, beginning at 5:30 pm for the English event and 7:30 pm for the French event. The event will tell the story of the PSAC pay equity struggle, with questions and answers, as well as entertainment provided by the Just Voices Choir.
With Parliament officially re-opened following the federal election, everyone is watching to see whether the many campaign promises made by the incoming Government will be kept. One area that was the subject of more than its share of pledges was labour legislation. After nearly a decade in power, the Conservatives left behind a raft of anti-union laws that the incoming Liberals have vowed to clean up. Based on open letters and other public statements issued by the Liberals before and during the campaign, labour lawyers and workers’ advocates expect to see the following key pieces of legislation either reformed or repealed by the incoming Government:
Bill C-377
Bill C-525
Bill C-4
Bill C-59
Workers and unions will be watching to see whether the Liberal Government follows through on these campaign promises, and to see what form the more abstract commitments will take. For example, will “revisiting” Bill C-4 mean simply restoring the former essential services regime, or will the Liberals develop a new regime in consultation with workers’ representatives?
Beyond formal legislation, the Government has also promised a more positive approach to labour relations generally. This raises its own host of questions, including:
It will take years to fully assess the Government’s ability to restore trust and respect to federal labour relations. In the meantime, workers will look for early signs that the Government will follow through on the clear commitments it made in its efforts to get elected.
[This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice, which cannot be given without consideration of your individual circumstances.]
Our office hours during the holidays are as follows:
December 24 – closed at noon
December 25-28 – closed
December 29-30 – opened
December 31 – closed at noon
January 1 – closed
Thank you and Happy Holidays.