News Briefs

Ont. ban on using phones while driving takes effect Oct. 26

Toronto — As of Oct. 26, it will be illegal for Ontario drivers to use hand-held communication or entertainment devices such as cellphones or MP3 players. There will be a three-month period of educating drivers about the new rules and then, as of Feb. 1, 2010, police will issue tickets, for up to $500, to drivers who talk, text, type, dial or email using hand-held devices. Police, paramedics and firefighters will be allowed to use hand-held devices while on the job. All drivers can use hand-held devices to call 911, when they have pulled off the road or are legally parked. The province is granting a three-year phase-out period for the commercial use of two-way radios, including mobile and CB radios, to allow for hands-free technologies to be developed in transport-related industries and some areas of the public service such as highway maintenance workers.

N.S. introduces new fines for OH&S violations

Halifax — The Nova Scotia government hopes a new penalty system will improve workplace safety. As of January, the Department of Labour and Workforce Development’s occupational health and safety division will be able to issue fines for violations of workplace health and safety laws. Currently, monetary penalties are only assigned by the courts. Penalties imposed on employers and supervisors will be larger than those imposed on employees and the fines will increase for repeat offences. In 2008, there were 29 workplace fatalities and 8,000 lost-time injuries in Nova Scotia. The occupational health and safety division issues about 4,000 occupational health and safety orders each year.

Tories to extend EI parental benefits to self-employed

Ottawa — The federal government will introduce new rules for employment insurance that will extend parental benefits to self-employed Canadians. The changes, as reported by the Globe and Mail, would mark the second major overhaul to EI this fall and are expected to be introduced sometime between Thanksgiving and Christmas. The bill would directly affect the more than 2.7 million Canadians who are self-employed. In September, the Conservatives introduced legislation to provide up to 20 extra weeks of EI benefits to unemployed, “long-term” workers — individuals who have worked and paid EI premiums for a significant period of time and have previously made limited use of EI benefits.

U.S. jobless rate hits 9.8 per cent

Washington — The jobless rate in the United States hit 9.8 per cent in September, the highest since June 1983. The economy shed a net total of 263,000 jobs last month, worse than the 180,000 predicted job losses. If the latest survey had included laid-off workers who have settled for part-time work or given up looking for new jobs, the unemployment rate would have been 17 per cent, said labour department officials. In all, 7.2 million jobs have been lost since December 2007. Canada’s unemployment rate was at 8.7 per cent in August but September’s numbers weren’t available at press time.