Owen Sound RBW plant closing: what 360 workers are owed

On October 14, TC Transcontinental told about 360 employees of its RBW Graphics printing plant in Owen Sound that the plant will close at the end of January 2027. Here are the facts, what Ontario law says about a closure this size, and the dates that matter for you.

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The facts so far

• October 14: TC Transcontinental announced the closure, affecting about 360 employees, citing productivity gains and changes in its product mix (company news release).
• Employees were told that afternoon at a meeting at the Harry Lumley Bayshore Community Centre. The company's chief operating officer said it can operate with one fewer plant, that the work will move to five other plants in its network, and that U.S. tariffs had nothing to do with the decision (Bayshore Broadcasting, Oct. 14).
• He said the company will be "respectful with severance arrangements", has hired a career services firm, and may have some jobs elsewhere in its network (Bayshore Broadcasting; CTV News London, Oct. 16).
• Grey County, the City of Owen Sound and YMCA Employment Services are organizing job search and retraining help (Owen Sound Current, Oct. 15; Bayshore Broadcasting, Oct. 16).

No union in sight. None of the reports mention a union, and the Ontario Labour Relations Board's decisions about the plant point the same way: a union's 2007 application against the employer went no further, and workers have since taken their complaints to the Ministry and the Board on their own (2012, 2025). The workers appear not to be represented by a union, so the Employment Standards Act and the courts set what they are owed.

What the law says about a closure this size

Longer notice. When 50 or more employees at one establishment are terminated within four weeks, Ontario's Employment Standards Act (ESA) sets the notice by the number of jobs, not your years of service (s. 58). For 200 to 499 employees, it is at least 12 weeks (O. Reg. 288/01, s. 3). From October 14 to the end of January is longer than that.

A notice for the Ministry, and for you. The employer must file the prescribed information with the Director of Employment Standards, post it at the plant and, since 2023, give it to each affected employee on the first day of the notice period (s. 58(2)).

Nothing changes while you work your notice. Your wage rate and other terms can't be reduced, and benefit contributions must continue until the end of the notice period (s. 60).

Severance pay on top. With 5 years of service or more, severance pay is owed when a closure ends the jobs of 50 or more employees within six months, or when the employer's payroll is $2.5 million or more (s. 64). It is a week of regular wages for each year of service, partial years included, up to 26 weeks (s. 65), and it is in addition to your notice (s. 65(7)).

An example with made-up facts: 14 years and 4 months of service gives about 14.3 weeks of ESA severance pay, owed even after working the full notice.

Three days to look for work. Since November 27, 2025, an employee who received a mass termination notice may take up to three unpaid days during the notice period for job searches, interviews and training (s. 50.3). Tell your employer three days ahead if you can.

No union: the ESA is only the floor

Without a collective agreement, an employee dismissed without cause can also claim reasonable notice, the pay courts award in place of notice, which can be longer than the ESA minimum. The working notice you get counts toward it. So before you sign a release in exchange for a package, compare the offer with what a court could award.

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Found a new job? Check this date before you quit

You can leave early, but two rules decide whether you keep your severance pay:

1. Written notice. After a mass termination notice, give your employer written notice before you quit: 1 week with under 2 years of service, 2 weeks with 2 years or more (s. 58(6)).
2. The right window. Your resignation keeps your severance pay when you give at least two weeks' written notice and it takes effect during the statutory notice period (s. 63(1)(e)): the last 12 weeks before your termination date, when the notice you got is longer than the law requires. If your last day is January 31, 2027, that window opens in early November. Severance pay is then counted up to the day you leave (s. 65(3)).

Leaving before the window opens may cost you that severance pay. Check your own termination date first.

How courts have ruled

A late form costs days, not the whole notice. In W. v. CTS of Canada Co., 2018 ONCA 758, a manufacturer closing its Streetsville plant gave more than a year of working notice but filed the mass termination form 12 days late. The Court of Appeal held the form is due at the start of the minimum notice period, so each employee was owed 12 more days of pay, not the whole notice again.

The same decision protects your job search. The employer lost credit for working notice in the weeks employees worked overtime beyond what the ESA allows, and for 18 key employees forced to work up to 60 hours a week.

The two-year clock may start with the letter. In B. v. Milo-Food & Agricultural Infrastructure & Services Inc., 2017 ONCA 1004, an employee given two years' working notice sued after his last day. The Court of Appeal held that a wrongful dismissal claim arises on the date notice is given, so that claim was out of time. It let his claim for ESA severance pay go ahead, since it arguably runs from the end of employment.

What to expect

• Now to January: same pay and benefits. Ask for the mass termination information you are owed, and keep every letter with its date.
• Early November (for a January 31 last day): the last 12 weeks begin, the window to resign for a new job without losing severance pay.
• Your last day: your final pay, including severance pay, comes due.
• Before you sign a release: compare the package with what a court could award.
• Two years from October 14: the latest date to sue for wrongful dismissal may run from the notice, not from your last day.

Who to call

YMCA Employment Services in Owen Sound offers free help with job searches and retraining (519-371-9222, according to the Owen Sound Current). The calculator shows both the ESA minimum and what courts award for a profile like yours. If you are covered by a collective agreement after all, ESA rights are enforced through it and a grievance, not a Ministry complaint (s. 99): start with your steward.

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