Don’t Delay in Making A Human Rights Application – One-year Limitation
The Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario has recently decided a number of cases where people have come forward with a human rights claim after the one-year limitation period established for…
Civil Remedies For Human Rights Claims
Jaffer v. York University, 2010 ONCA 654 In this case, the plaintiff was a student at York University who had a disability-related learning impairment. He commenced a civil action in…
Pick Your Forum Wisely: the Supreme Court Affirms That Human Rights Tribunals Are Not Entitled To Review Human Rights Decisions of Other Administrative Decision Makers
In its 2006 decision Tranchemontagne v. Ontario (Director, Disability Support Program), the Supreme Court of Canada affirmed that all administrative tribunals, and not just human rights tribunals, are entitled and…
Employer’s Unilateral Cost Cutting Measures Amount To Constructive Dismissal: Ontario Superior Court of Justice
Lorenzo Russo had worked for his employer, Kerr Bros. Ltd., for 37 years, making over $100,000 per annum, when his company decided to introduce cost-cutting measures in 2009. Kerr Bros.…
Remedies Available To Employees and Timeliness of Complaints Under Bill 168
As a result of Bill 168, the Occupational Health and Safety Act (the “OHSA” or “Act”) now imposes obligations on employers to maintain policies and programs with respect to preventing…
Notice Periods and Stocks – Recent Decision Turns A $1 Stock Buy-back Into A $3.2m Wrongful Dismissal Award
In most wrongful dismissal cases the plaintiff’s damages are calculated based on several factors, including the plaintiff’s age, position, years of service, and salary. But what happens when part of…
Denying Disability Benefits To Alcoholics and Drug Addicts Is Discriminatory, Says Ontario’s Top Court
In a unanimous ruling in September 2010, the Court of Appeal for Ontario held that denying disability benefits to those who are severely disabled by alcoholism or drug addiction is…
Access Denied: Limits On Employers’ Rights To Their Employees’ Medical Information
The issue of an employer’s right to its employees’ medical information is a fiercely contested one in the Ontario workplace. Ontario law provides employees with a degree of security that…
You’re Out of Order! Civil Contempt of Court
Civil contempt of court is defined as a private injury to a litigant arising from the opposing party’s disobedience of a court order or court process. When a court order…
Union Fines Are Not Legally Enforceable – Part III
Is a Union Member’s Refusal to Pay Union Fines a Contractual Breach? The first argument advanced by unions in favour of civil enforcement of their fines was that the provisions…