In June 2017, the Supreme Court of Canada released a decision in Teal Cedar Products Ltd. v. British Columbia, 2017 SCC 32, which acted to further strengthen the principle of finality to be applied with respect to commercial arbitration awards. Teal Cedar follows the Supreme Court’s 2014 decision in Sattva Capital Corp. v. Creston Moly...
Mr. Nemirovski, a 40 year old product manager at Socast Inc. (the “Company”), was terminated without cause after 19 months of service. It took Mr. Nemirovski more than nine (9) months to find alternative employment, which ultimately paid less than his previous job. The Company refused to provide a reference letter and the employment contract...
On October 26, 2017 the Supreme Court of Canada dismissed the application for leave to appeal of the Appellant from the decision of the Ontario Court of Appeal in Chapman v. GPM Investment Management and Integrated Asset Management Corporation. WVCD successfully acted for the Respondents in the appeal. The case concerned whether the Appellant had...
A private member has introduced a bill proposing the addition of four new protected grounds to the Ontario Human Rights Code (“Code”). As many of you know, the Code was established in 1962 and provides protection against discrimination in employment as well as in other spheres such as housing, contracts, goods, services and facilities. It...
As a follow-up to our June 2, 2017 alert regarding the proposed changes to the Ontario Employment Standards Act, 2000, (the “ESA”), employers should be aware that the Standing Committee on Finance and Economic Affairs (the “Committee”) adopted significant amendments to Bill 148, The Fair Workplaces, Better Jobs Act, 2017 (“Bill 148”), which are currently...
In Carroll v. Purcee Industrial Controls Ltd, 2017 ABQB 211, the Court of Queen’s Bench of Alberta (the “Court”) recently decided whether requesting a severance package amounted to a resignation. Background Mr. Carroll worked in sales and development for Purcee Industrial Controls Ltd (the “Company”) for almost five (5) years in Calgary and overseas. There...
In one of the first of its kind, a recent Ontario Superior Court of Justice decision found an employer liable for the tort of harassment and awarded significant monetary damages. In Merrifield v Canada (Attorney General), the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (“RCMP”) was ordered to pay general damages of $100,000 and special damages of $41,000 to a...
The Supreme Court of Canada has ruled that an employee’s termination was not discriminatory despite his acknowledged drug addiction in a landmark decision involving drugs in the workplace. Ian Stewart was employed by Elk Valley Coal Corporation, a mine in Alberta, as a loader. He was involved in a collision with another truck while at...
Employers in Ontario and Alberta may be in for some big workplace changes in 2018 – at significant costs to employers. Ontario: On May 30, 2017, Premier Kathleen Wynne announced the Liberal government’s intention to introduce The Fair Workplaces, Better Jobs Act, 2017, which provides for broad ranging amendments to the Ontario Employment Standards Act,...
Many employers have a “no reference” policy, refusing to confirm anything but the bare minimum regarding a former employee’s employment – dates of employment and title. This practice stems largely from the idea that if you can’t say anything nice, it’s best to say nothing, or at least very little, for fear of being accused...