PRIVACY POLICY
Bird Richard recognizes the importance of privacy and the sensitivity of personal information it collects about its employees and clients. READ MORE >>>
BIRD RICHARD
508-130 Albert St,
Ottawa, Ontario
K1P 5G4
T: 613-238-3772
F: 613-238-5955
DISCLAIMER
Before you send an e-mail to Bird Richard, please be aware that your communications with us through this message will not create a lawyer-client relationship with us. Do not send us any information that you or anyone else considers to be confidential or secret unless we have first agreed to be your lawyers in that matter. Any information you send us before we agree to be your lawyers cannot be protected from disclosure.
Reminder: January 1st, 2016 AODA Compliance Obligations
/in Fall 2015 /by BirdRichardEMPLawyers’ Update has kept its readers informed about the Integrated Accessibility Standards Regulations under the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, 2005 (AODA), which creates obligations for employers in the areas of customer service, employment, information and communications, transportation and the built environment on an ongoing basis. January 1st, 2016 will mark the deadline for […]
Consultations with the Ministry of Labour
/in Summer 2015 /by BirdRichardThe Changing Workplaces Review The MOL has launched public consultations on the changing nature of the modern workplace. The Changing Workplaces Review will consider the broader issues affecting the workplace and assess how the current labour and employment law framework addresses these trends and issues with a focus on the Labour Relations Act (LRA) and […]
Employer to Pay Reasonable Notice due to “Ambiguous” Termination Clause
/in Summer 2015 /by BirdRichardRecently, 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 […]
Fit As A Fiddle?: Employer Entitlements to Medical Information
/in Summer 2015 /by BirdRichardIn 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 […]
Human Rights Application Withdrawn on First Day of Hearing Warrants Sanctions
/in Summer 2015 /by BirdRichardIn 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 […]
Beware the Dependent Contractor: Court Awards 26 Months’ Notice
/in Summer 2015 /by BirdRichardIn 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 […]
No Stand-Alone Procedural Rights under the Canadian Human Rights Act
/in Winter 2014 /by BirdRichardThe 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 […]
Suspension with Pay May Constitute Constructive Dismissal
/in Spring 2015 /by BirdRichardIn 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 […]
Canada’s Top Court Constitutionalizes the Right to Strike
/in Spring 2015 /by BirdRichardIn 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 […]
Supreme Court Defines “A Meaningful Collective Bargaining Process”
/in Spring 2015 /by BirdRichardIn 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 […]