Latest news with #TTC
CTV News
5 hours ago
- General
- CTV News
Full closure of King-Church intersection beginning a month ahead of schedule on June 2
The intersection of King Street East and Church Street will be fully closed to all traffic starting on Monday, about four weeks earlier than initially expected. Last month, the City of Toronto and TTC began working to replace sections of the 142-year-old watermains and rebuild pipes and streetcar tracks at King and Church streets resulting in traffic being reduced to one lane in each direction. The city said that 'unexpected underground conflicts' on the south side of King necessitated changes to the construction approach, as part of the watermain that was originally planned to be replaced will now be 'relined to extend its service life.' To stay on schedule, the watermain work and advance streetcar track replacement will be done in tandem. As a result, the TTC will implement a number of diversions, notably the 504C and 504D/304D King routes, around the intersection due to the construction. As with the full closure, this routing change is also happening earlier than planned, with buses will diverting via Jarvis, Front, (eastbound), Wellington (westbound), and Yonge streets. Existing diversions to the 503/303 Kingston Rd and the 504/304 King streetcars will remain as they are. The 504 King streetcar, meanwhile, will divert both ways via Shaw Street and the 503 Kingston Road streetcar will continue to divert via Spadina and Queen, running west on King Street to the Dufferin Loop. This expedited work schedule will now mean that the intersection is expected to reopen by mid-August. The construction work, while is needed to bring this infrastructure to a state of good repair and is part of the City Council's approved 2025 Capital Works Program, was to originally ramp up in July and conclude in late August.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Howard Levitt: Think the issue of workplace vaccine mandates is long-settled? Not quite, say courts
Some employers (and employees) might believe that firing workers for non-compliance with vaccine mandates is settled law. After all, vaccines were the best response to a public health emergency and all levels of government both imposed and supported them. So, when an employee refuses to get vaccinated, one would think the employer has a pretty clear case for discharge. Now that the acute phase of COVID-19 has essentially ended, this topic may seem of little relevance. But the wheels of justice spin slowly and many cases are still winding their way through the courts. Although the arbitration cases have been mixed, the courts have primarily found that employers had the right to impose vaccine mandates, with the leading case being my own in Seneca College. (Seneca won both initially and on appeal.) As one court noted in a case involving the TTC, 'If even one TTC rider or worker dies or is seriously harmed after catching Covid-19 from an unvaccinated TTC employee, it will be one too many. That is harm that is truly irreparable.' In the unionized context, employers could suspend or layoff workers pending either the employee being vaccinated or the policy changing. Employers of non-union employees, however, felt that they did not have that recourse because both layoffs and suspensions are generally constructive dismissals. There were always exceptions for employees with medical or religious exemptions, if an accommodation could be found without risking the health of others. And, of course, if an employee refused to provide proof of their vaccination status, the employer could treat them as being unvaccinated and terminate their employment. Unvaccinated employees invariably argued that they should be permitted to work from home as, without contact with customers or coworkers, their vaccination status would be irrelevant. But now that employers have begun work recalls, such employees should not have special status and be permitted to work from home on the basis of being unvaccinated while vaccinated employees are forced to return to the office. But what if an employer has no real interest in enforcing a vaccine mandate for a particular employee? That issue recently arose in a case involving 37-year-old Jocelyn Paul, who had been employed for 10 years as a senior account manager with Sensient Colors Canada Ltd. Her performance appraisal for the first year of the pandemic was highly positive, noting that she was able to 'close a tremendous gap in revenue' despite the challenges of Covid-19. By the fall of 2021, Sensient introduced a vaccine mandate. Paul did not claim a medical or religious exemption. She simply refused to disclose whether she was vaccinated. She was the only employee who refused to comply and was fired with just cause alleged. The court found that 'in certain cases, a refusal to vaccinate may sufficiently undermine an employee's ability to carry out their duties so as to justify dismissal for cause. However, this will not be true in every case.' It said there must be a sufficient connection between a worker's responsibilities and the vaccination requirement to justify imposing 'the ultimate penalty' of termination. Ontario Superior Court Justice Chris De Sa looked at the relevant factors in Paul's case: Ninety per cent of her work time since the pandemic started was from home. During the pandemic, her performance exceeded the job requirements. None of her 10 top clients required her to be vaccinated to do an on-site visit. Prior to her termination and during the pandemic, she continued to do on-site visits with clients in Ontario with no problems. She had no United States-based clients. Even though her job required that she attend certain meetings in the U.S., the employer could have arranged much of the training in other ways. She complied with all other safety requirements, such as masking. What did the court find Sentient should have done? 'A more proportionate response here may have been to review and revise Ms. Paul's customer portfolio to the extent required, temporarily suspend her from customer-facing sales or even possibly put her on a leave of absence.' In short, the court found that Sensient should have accommodated Paul's refusal by changing her job, thereby advantaging her over others who were vaccinated and creating some inconvenience or inefficiency for the employer. Howard Levitt: The key factors determining severance in wrongful dismissal cases Howard Levitt: Why Ottawa should stop interfering and let Canada Post and the union duke it out The suggestion that she could potentially be suspended for months or placed on unpaid leave is also interesting, since that would generally be treated as a constructive dismissal. This case is symptomatic of the court's increasingly employee-friendly approach, particularly in Ontario. And, to the point, if an employer is going to succeed in enforcing a vaccine mandate in court, they will need to — if this case is any predictor — show some genuine prejudice. One size, judicially speaking, does not fit all. Howard Levitt is senior partner of Levitt LLP, employment and labour lawyers with offices in Ontario, Alberta and British Columbia. He practices employment law in eight provinces and is the author of six books, including the Law of Dismissal in Canada. Sign in to access your portfolio
CBC
3 days ago
- General
- CBC
Toronto road closures expected this weekend for biking, walking events
Social Sharing If you're planning on driving in the city this weekend, here are some road closures to keep in mind. Saturday: The following roads will be closed for the We Walk UHNited event on Saturday from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m., according to the city: Elizabeth Street between College Street and Dundas Street W. Dundas Street W. between Bay and Bathurst streets. St. Patrick Street between Dundas Street W. and Elm Street. Elm Street between Murray and McCaul streets. McCaul Street between Baldwin Street and Dundas Street W. TTC Diversions: The 505 Dundas streetcars will divert both ways on Bay and College streets on Saturday, due to the We Walk UHNited event. Replacement buses will operate. Check the TTC website for boarding and transfer points. Sunday: Both the Don Valley Parkway and Gardiner Expressway will be closed for the Bike for Brain Health event from 12:01 a.m. to 4 p.m. All eastbound traffic on the Gardiner Expressway will exit onto Lake Shore Boulevard W. at Humber River.
CTV News
3 days ago
- General
- CTV News
Trespasser on tracks prompts brief suspension of subway service on part of Line 1
A Toronto Transit Commission sign is shown at a downtown Toronto subway stop Tuesday, Jan. 31, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Graeme Roy Subway service has resumed along a portion of Line 1 after a trespasser on the tracks snarled service during the morning rush hour. Service between College and St. Clair stations was impacted for about an hour but the issue cleared just after 10 a.m. Shuttle buses were utilized during the service suspension.
CTV News
3 days ago
- General
- CTV News
Trespasser on tracks prompts suspension of subway service on part of Line 1
A Toronto Transit Commission sign is shown at a downtown Toronto subway stop Tuesday, Jan. 31, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Graeme Roy Subway service has been suspended along a portion of Line 1 due to a trespasser on the tracks. The TTC says that service between College and St. Clair stations is currently impacted. No timeline has been provided for the restoration of service. Shuttle buses are on the way.
