In a Divisional Court decision, the court had the opportunity to comment on limitation periods in constructive dismissal matters. This decision concerned a class certification motion brought by employees of Allstate Insurance Company. The representative plaintiffs alleged that they, along…
In an important decision released on May 2, 2014, the Federal Court of Appeal ruled that the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) breached the Federal Canadian Human Rights Act by taking the position that it did not have a duty…
Employees who are terminated or constructively dismissed by their employers must give serious consideration to offers of re-employment following termination. This was illustrated in a recent case from the Ontario Court of Appeal, Chevalier v. Active Tire & Auto Centre…
With the start of the 2014–2015 school year, Ryerson University launched its much-anticipated Law Practice Program (LLP). The LLP began when the Law Society of Upper Canada approved the Pathways Pilot Project in November 2012 to allow candidates for lawyer…
Trinity Western University’s (“TWU”) new law school in British Columbia has lost its bid to become accredited by Ontario’s Law Society of Upper Canada (“LSUC”). On April 24, 2014, Convocation, the governing board of the LSUC, voted against the accreditation…
In the recent case of Tsimidis v. Certified General Accountants of Ontario, 2014 ONSC 4236, the Divisional Court granted Mr. Tsimidis’s application for judicial review of the CGA’s decision to withdraw him from its program of professional studies for having…
The Supreme Court of Canada has paved the way for more Ontario litigants to obtain a final judgment without the time or expense of a full trial. The Supreme Court released companion decisions which broaden the circumstances under which judges…
We previously wrote about the Small Claims Court decision Bray v. Canadian College of Massage and Hydrotherapy, 2015 CanLII 3452, here. In addition to the lesson for plaintiffs in choosing the right forum, the Bray decision is also a cautionary…
Several media outlets recently reported on former ING Financial Services trader Anthony Rotondi, who was ejected from a New York Knicks game at Madison Square Garden (MSG) on January 7, 2014. The allegations are that he was attending the game…
Several media outlets recently reported on former ING Financial Services trader Anthony Rotondi, who was ejected from a New York Knicks game at Madison Square Garden (MSG) on January 7, 2014. The allegations are that he was attending the game…
The importance of issuing a claim for wrongful dismissal in the right forum became abundantly clear in the recent decision Bray v. Canadian College of Massage and Hydrotherapy, 2015 CanLII 3452. The plaintiff, Kelly Bray, brought a wrongful dismissal and…
In a decision released in December 2013, the Supreme Court held that employee pension payments should not reduce the severance payment or damages otherwise payable by an employer for wrongful dismissal. The facts of the Supreme Court’s decision are as…
The Ontario human rights case of Islam v. Big Inc., 2013 HRTO 2009 garnered recent media attention due to the cumulatively large damage award made to the applicants. However, this case also provides a useful reminder of the evidentiary burden…
Overtime Exemptions for Supervisory and Managerial Employees in Ontario In Ontario, not all employees are entitled to overtime pay. While the Employment Standards Act, 2000 (the “Act”) requires that an employer pay an employee overtime pay of at least 1.5…
In December 2013, Minister of Labour Yasir Naqvi announced a new bill that, if passed, would involve significant changes to the Employment Standards Act (ESA). Highlights: Many of the proposed amendments to the ESA were recommended by the Law commission…
In the recent summary judgment motion of Baywood Homes v. Alex Haditaghi, 2013 ONSC 2145, Justice Belobaba, for the Ontario Superior Court of Justice in Toronto, took the opportunity to opine on the test for summary judgment under Rule 20…
In November 2012, the Supreme Court of Canada released a decision that has increased access to public education for persons with disabilities in Canada. Moore v. British Columbia (Education), 2012 SCC 61 was the case of a child named Jeffrey…
Background The legal status of random drug and alcohol testing in Canadian workplaces has been very unclear for some time. It has been accepted that drug and alcohol addiction is a disability within the context of human rights law, and…
Incorporating New Technologies into the Rules of Civil Procedure Incorporating new technologies into the Rules of Civil Procedure can sometimes present challenges for both litigants and courts. In the recent case of Stewart v. Kempster, 2012 ONSC 7236, Justice Heeney…
Luciano Branco is a Portuguese-Canadian welder who was working with a Saskatchewan company overseas in Kyrgyzstan when he was severely and permanently injured on the job in 1999 after a steel plate fell on his foot. Mr. Branco had workers’…