Labour & Employment
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July 19, 2024
Toronto flash floods: What businesses need to take away
The rainstorm that affected many across the city this week was a big wake-up call for businesses. Whether it was the power outages or ensuring your staff got home safely if they were required to leave the office, employers felt the impact.
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July 19, 2024
Defamation action dismissed on summary judgment motion
In general, defamation actions are not conducive to dismissal on a summary judgment motion. As explained by the Court of Appeal for Ontario in Baglow v. Smith, 2012 ONCA 407, this general rule is based on the recognition that the threshold over which a statement must pass in order to be capable of being defamatory of a plaintiff is relatively low and the long-held view that the question of whether a statement is, in fact, defamatory is to be determined by the trier of fact on a full factual record with cross-examinations and possibly expert testimony.
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July 18, 2024
Federal Court orders government to disclose redacted information in $102M contract with Ford Canada
The Federal Court has directed the federal government to disclose some previously redacted information related to an agreement through which the government committed to contribute $102.4 million towards an engine program at the Ford plant in Windsor, Ont.
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July 18, 2024
A new criterion for evaluating regulators
There is an increasing tendency to evaluate the performance of regulators of professions. Most of these evaluations are conducted by oversight bodies, such as the various superintendents in British Columbia, or by third-party consultants retained by the regulators themselves. Most evaluations have focused on the regulatory effectiveness of the body or the functionality of their governance. A new criterion for evaluation is emerging relating to their internal culture, particularly related to staff.
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July 17, 2024
Feds launch $900M strategy to help Canadians save on energy bills, regulations coming by 2028
The federal government has announced the launch of its $903.5 million Canada Green Buildings Strategy to help Canadians save money on their energy bills, with regulations coming in 2028 to phase out the use of oil and gas heating systems. Ottawa predicts the program will also generate more than a million jobs and will enhance opportunities for the clean economy.
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July 17, 2024
Ontario decision on back-to-work legislation ‘interesting’ despite mootness ruling: legal scholar
An Ontario judge has turned back a constitutional challenge of federal back-to-work legislation that put an end to a labour dispute with the union representing postal workers, saying it was moot despite finding the law violated the Charter’s protections for freedom of association.
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July 16, 2024
Two appointments for Aird & Berlis
Aird & Berlis has announced that Ryan Evans has joined the firm as a partner and member of the intellectual property and litigation & dispute resolution groups. And Anna Lu has joined as an associate in Aird & Berlis’s municipal and land use planning group.
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July 16, 2024
WORKERS’ COMPENSATION — Benefits — Causation — Overpayments
Appeal by Workplace Health, Safety and Compensation Commission (Commission) from decision of Workers’ Compensation Appeals Tribunal (WCAT). The Commission argued that WCAT erred in law by finding that the Commission could not recover an overpayment of $34,441 in benefits paid to Levesque, despite the finding that he misrepresented his disability and capacity to work.
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July 16, 2024
Be careful what you promise: BCSC considers factors in inducement of long-time employee
In Ferweda v. Mercer Celgar Limited Partnership, [2024] B.C.J. No. 882, the British Columbia Supreme Court ruled that Celgar induced Ferweda from their previous employment. Upon without cause termination of Ferweda’s employment, Celgar owed Ferweda 12 months in lieu of notice after less than two and half years of employment.
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July 15, 2024
How to undermine your dismissal for just cause | Stuart Rudner
“In light of what he did, we just can’t trust John and there’s no way he can continue as an employee … once we get through the trade show next month, we’ll terminate his employment.”