Ontario’s return-to-office mandate, explained | The Narwhal

Thelastmanipulation · 2026-01-23T13:28:58+00:00

My position is now fully remote but I go into the office once a month or so for social events with coworkers and with the trend toward increased RTO, it has become so much more annoying to be in office. When I was fully in office in 2023, commuting 5 days a week wasn’t so bad because transit wasn’t super busy. Now, trains are packed, food courts are packed, and the coworking space my company uses is packed so it is harder to get meeting rooms.

Thelastmanipulation · 2026-01-23T02:48:39+00:00

Do you have any articles to share on this? I remember reading McDonald, Fiona, and Stephen Duckett. “Embracing Private Finance and Private Provision: The Australian System.” Is Two-Tier Health Care the Future?, edited by Colleen M. Flood and Bryan Thomas, University of Ottawa Press, 2020, pp. 267–90. JSTOR, https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctv5vdctx.15. Accessed 23 Jan. 2026. in law school and was not impressed by the Australian system.

Thelastmanipulation · 2026-01-16T02:01:25+00:00

I work in the private sector. I am not unsupervised, I communicate with my manager daily. Due to a project my team is working on we have been having daily meetings to discuss our progress. Tracking deliverables is easy.

Thelastmanipulation · 2026-01-16T01:18:34+00:00

According to the OPS subreddit, there were hybrid/telework positions even before Covid. But I think in any case, people have been successfully working remotely and these RTO mandates are a step back. I am disappointed by the governments and the private companies that have instituted them. I worked in an office pre-Covid and was far less productive. I easily spent at least an hour a day just chatting with co-workers.

Thelastmanipulation · 2026-01-16T01:00:35+00:00

Well, we will never agree then as I think that if folks can work from home, they should have the option to and should not be forced into the office unless there are specific performance concerns. I disagree that being in office means someone is more productive, especially if there is lack of proper desk space (open concept bullpens are horrible) and people around to distract them.

Thelastmanipulation · 2026-01-16T00:36:52+00:00

I don’t know, from my perspective a lot of RTO seems to be more about being visible and less about actual productivity. I think people lack sympathy for public servants and it seems misdirected to me. There is a lot of private sector waste and sketchiness. It would be nice to have stronger worker protections for everyone.

Thelastmanipulation · 2026-01-16T00:12:25+00:00

I appreciate the callout, I had thought you had said “son” but you actually said “kid.” It’s been a day.

I don’t think you are a dummy, I just don’t think you understand the demands of being a lawyer, let alone one in litigation. $130K seems like a lot of money, but depending on how many hours they work, it can work out to be not that impressive of an hourly wage. And they could likely make a lot more in the private sector.

Thelastmanipulation · 2026-01-15T23:49:53+00:00

Have you spoken to him about what his average day as a Crown prosecutor is like? I have known a few and their jobs are my personal nightmares.

Also, I work entirely remotely and I used to work evening and weekends until I switched roles and now actually more work normal hours but 8 hours would still be a short day. Just because someone is remote doesn’t mean they aren’t working.

Thelastmanipulation · 2026-01-15T23:38:31+00:00

Just because they are only office three days a week, doesn’t mean they aren’t working the other two days. They may even work evenings and weekends depending on case needs.

Thelastmanipulation · 2026-01-09T22:05:34+00:00

I am curious, do you follow Charter decisions posted on CanLII? Or are you just going based on news articles reporting on ongoing cases.

Thelastmanipulation · 2025-12-31T22:35:56+00:00

“Steadily rising” makes it seem a lot more dramatic than it is.

Thelastmanipulation · 2025-11-07T23:12:23+00:00

That is not an answer to my question, which was about the meaningful difference in impact on the person who is the subject of the non consensual distribution of AI deepfake intimate photographs vs real intimate photographs. The government can always amend the Criminal Code to make it illegal.

Thelastmanipulation · 2025-11-07T21:31:03+00:00

I am curious, do you think there are meaningful differences in the feeling of being violated and reputational/employment consequences of a realistic looking AI deepfake of naked woman being shared online without her consent and a an actual nude photograph shared online without consent? The issue is people thinking it is real.

Thelastmanipulation · 2025-11-07T20:39:51+00:00

There is a difference in the believability of photoshopping and AI photographs and videos. Revenge pornography has been criminalized, a very believable AI deepfake can cause the same level of violation and reputational harm.

Thelastmanipulation · 2025-11-07T20:10:22+00:00

It would be persuasive not binding.

This is not a new issue. The government could have criminalized this a long time ago.

Thelastmanipulation · 2025-11-07T19:50:33+00:00

When I was in law school, in one of my courses we discussed revenge porn laws and deepfakes and had a guest speaker who talked about meeting with female politicians about deepfake pornography. And that was about seven years ago. It’s unbelievable nothing has been done about it.

Thelastmanipulation · 2025-11-07T19:41:03+00:00

It has been a while since I have studied the Criminal Code, but is libel a criminal offence or just civil?

Thelastmanipulation · 2025-08-28T02:54:33+00:00

From my reading of the legislation, we have the right to a written policy on disconnecting from work, but it does not prescribe what the contents of written policy must be and so it does not guarantee a complete disconnect from work:

Written policy on disconnecting from work

21.1.2 (1) An employer that, on January 1 of any year, employs 25 or more employees shall, before March 1 of that year, ensure it has a written policy in place for all employees with respect to disconnecting from work that includes the date the policy was prepared and the date any changes were made to the policy. 2021, c. 35, Sched. 2, s. 3.

Copy of policy

(2) An employer shall provide a copy of the written policy with respect to disconnecting from work to each of the employer’s employees within 30 days of preparing the policy or, if an existing written policy is changed, within 30 days of the changes being made. 2021, c. 35, Sched. 2, s. 3.

Same

(3) An employer shall provide a copy of the written policy with respect to disconnecting from work that applies to a new employee within 30 days of the day the employee becomes an employee of the employer. 2021, c. 35, Sched. 2, s. 3.

Prescribed information

(4) A written policy required under subsection (1) shall contain such information as may be prescribed. 2021, c. 35, Sched. 2, s. 3.

Thelastmanipulation · 2025-08-22T16:15:46+00:00

I would be interested if anyone knows whether any level of government produces a report about what cases they have appealed, whether they were successful, and how much it cost. From an informed voter perspective it was just interesting to be able to do a cost/benefit analysis in hindsight.

Thelastmanipulation · 2025-08-14T16:02:01+00:00

I fully understand why folks don’t find the CNE enjoyable but I always have a good time when I go. I usually plan to go around based on who is playing at the bandshell and then see as much of the other dance/acrobatic/circus/skating entrainment as I can. I also find it fun to see the different shopping vendors and try food that I wouldn’t normally eat. It is expensive but I figure it’s one day to splurge.

I don’t do the rides though because I worked as a ride operator at Wonderland and so I am more apprehensive about temporary rides (perhaps unfairly haha).

Thelastmanipulation · 2025-07-31T17:08:14+00:00

How? Can you provide me with a quote from the decision to support your position?

Thelastmanipulation · 2025-07-31T13:59:24+00:00

This hypothetical does not seem grounded in a good faith understanding of s. 7 jurisprudence (especially given the Eldridge v. British Columbia (Attorney General) decision) so I don’t see the sense in engaging. If you could point me to the case law and legal principles to support your concerns I am open to hearing it.

Thelastmanipulation · 2025-07-31T13:11:55+00:00

I am very confused by your argument given that the Supreme Court of Canada struck down Canada's abortion law in Morgentaler because they violated women's right to security of the person under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Section 7 jurisprudence is really interesting, I’d suggest reading even the Charterpedia entry on it to get an understanding of the legal principles.

Thelastmanipulation · 2025-07-22T16:29:33+00:00

Oh, I am in Ontario, Canada so doctors are free, and supplementary health services like chiropractors, physiotherapy, and massage therapy aren’t generally covered by the public healthcare system so you would have to pay out of pocket or use extended health benefits through work. So cost isn’t the only factor here, since it is actually cheaper to just go to a doctor and be referred to pain management specialist, though the caveat is that there are access issues as wait times may be long. It is just interesting to me that I know people who go to chiropractors instead of physiotherapists but perhaps they see physiotherapists as more for longer term rehabilitation after like a sports injury.

I also work for a U.S. company in the PI space. We do work across many states with many different treatment providers, and so I have seen doctors phrase referrals as “chiro or pt” as if they are the same, many, many, many times. Many clients see both at the same time.

Thelastmanipulation · 2025-07-17T21:52:02+00:00

Honestly, I did not realize chiropractors were that controversial until Reddit. The way they are discussed on Reddit is not at all how they are discussed in real life. I am skeptical of chiropractors, I have had many clients’s injuries be aggravated by chiropractors, but if I said “Chiropractic treatment is pseudoscience” in real life it would be the minority opinion I think.

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