Recently, in Howard v. Benson Group, the Ontario Superior Court of Justice determined that a termination clause was ambiguous and therefore unenforceable. Consequently the Employer had an obligation to provide reasonable notice at common law as opposed to the minimum statutory requirements under the Employment Standards Act, 2000 as amended (“ESA”). The Employee was a […]
In Western Grain By-Products Storage Ltd. v. Donaldson, the Federal Court of Appeal decided that employers are entitled to more detailed medical information to establish an employee’s fitness to work after an absence of six months or longer. Peter J. Donaldson had been employed by Western Grain By-Products Storage Ltd. (“Western Grain”) for about 20 […]
In Drummond v. Community Living Ajax Pickering Whitby, (“Drummond”), the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario (the “Tribunal”) barred the Employee from filing any future applications against the Employer and declared the Application unsubstantiated. In Drummond, an Employee filed an Application alleging discrimination with respect to employment because of disability and reprisal contrary to the Human […]
In the case of Keenan v. Canac Kitchens, the Ontario Superior Court of Justice reminds employers of the factors to be considered in discerning whether an independent contractor agreement or relationship is actually not an employee relationship… or something else. Lawrence Keenan worked for Canac from 1976 to 2009. Mr. Keenan’s wife worked for Canac […]
The Federal Court has recently ruled that the Canadian Human Rights Act (the Act) does not include a stand-alone right to procedural accommodation. In a recent application to the Federal Court, the Canadian International Development Agency requested that the Court overturn a decision of the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal. The Tribunal had allowed a complaint […]
In Potter v. New Brunswick Legal Aid Services Commission, the Supreme Court of Canada concluded that a non-unionized employee who is suspended with pay is constructively dismissed when there is no express or implied authority for the suspension of the employee and the suspension is both unjust and unreasonable. Mr. Potter, the employee, was a […]
In Saskatchewan Federation of Labour v. Saskatchewan, the Supreme Court of Canada established that the right to strike is constitutionally protected by the freedom of association guaranteed by section 2 of Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms (the “Charter”). The Saskatchewan Federation of Labour on behalf of several unions challenged the constitutionality of the Public […]
In Mounted Police Association of Ontario v. Canada (Attorney General), the Supreme Court of Canada decided that excluding members of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (“RCMP”) from collective bargaining under the Public Service Labour Relations Act, (“PSLRA”), and imposing a non-unionized labour relations regime violated the freedom of association guaranteed by section 2(d) of the […]
Legislative Updates: Bill C-45 and Bill 525 – Amendments to the Canada Labour Code New formula for holiday pay The Jobs and Growth Act, 2012 (“Bill C-45”), amended the Canada Labour Code (“Code”) on March 16, 2015 to simplify the formula for calculating holiday pay for all employees of federally regulated employers, replacing the various formulae that have […]
The Firm welcomes our new Associate, Marie-Michèle Pellerin-Auprix. Marie-Michèle recently completed her articles and has been called to the Bar. We are proud to announce that our Partner, Annie G. Berthiaume, has been appointed as Vice-Chair to the Canadian Industrial Relations Board effective January 2015.