A recent ruling of the Ontario Court of Appeal has clarified that where an employment agreement provides for a specific amount to be paid to the employee in the event of termination without cause and is silent with respect to mitigation, the employee will not be required to mitigate. The employee in this case, Peter […]
In June 2012, the Ontario Court of Appeal released its’ decision in the Mounted Police Assn. of Ontario v. Canada (Attorney General) case. The decision addresses the scope of section 2(d) of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms (the “Charter”) which protects freedom of association, a controversial subject which has been addressed by the […]
In early December 2011, the Supreme Court of Canada once again confirmed that decisions of arbitrators should be given a high level of deference. The Court’s decision in Nor-Man Regional Health Authority Inc. v. Manitoba Association of Health Care Professionals involved an arbitrator’s decision of a grievance disputing the interpretation of an article in the […]
The Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, 2005 was enacted with the objective of making Ontario completely accessible to people with disabilities by the year 2025. In order to work towards this goal, various Accessibility Standards have been developed. The Customer Service Accessibility Standard The Customer Service Accessibility Standard requires businesses to ensure that the […]
While the Supreme Court of Canada determined in Mowat that the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal (CHRT, the “Tribunal”) does not have the authority to award costs, a recent decision of the Federal Court of Appeal has confirmed other powers of the Tribunal, finding that orders issued by the Tribunal carry the same weight as court […]
Cannot Award Costs Donna Mowat filed a human rights complaint with the Canadian Human Rights Commission (CHRC) alleging that she had been discriminated against by the Canadian Forces on the ground of sex, contrary to the Canadian Human Rights Act (CHRA). The Canadian Human Rights Tribunal found the complaint substantiated in part, and awarded damages […]
The following 2011 arbitral decisions clarified the law with respect to terminations for workplace violence, what medical information an employer is entitled to, and attendance management. Kingston v. CUPE, Local 109: An employee with 28 years of service with the City of Kingston had a history of angry outbursts, and had received many warnings and […]
In previous newsletters we have reported on the progress of R. v. Cole, a criminal prosecution case that was set to define an employee’s privacy rights with respect to personal information stored on a work-issued computer. Cole was a high-school teacher whose school had provided him with a laptop computer to facilitate his duties. While […]
In a recent decision of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice, an embassy employee was awarded $240,000 in damages for wrongful dismissal. Sandra McDonald was 57 years old at the time of her termination, and had been employed by the Embassy of the United States of America in Ottawa for 29 years. After receiving surgery […]
On June 19th, 2012, Bill 33, known as Toby’s Act, received Royal Assent. The Bill amends Ontario’s Human Rights Code to prohibit discrimination and harassment on the basis of gender identity and gender expression. This amendment will help to protect transsexuals, transvestites, cross dressers, and other individuals who do not identify with the gender identity […]