Canada in Focus

Who has to prove what, when, and how? Summary judgment for wrongful dismissal in Alberta

By Malinda Yuen on August 14, 2019

After a number of open questions, Alberta Courts have continued to clarify the law of summary judgment, particularly as it applies to wrongful dismissal. In Rudichuk v. Genesis Land Development Corp, 2019 ABQB 133, the Court addresses evidence and burden of proof. The plaintiffs, Rudichuk and Scott, were executives with Genesis Land Development (“Genesis”). On termination of employment, Genesis alleged the employees had breached a non-solicitation provision contained in each of their employment agreements. The employees…

Canada in Focus

Ontario Divisional Court clarifies termination of employment contract due to frustration

By Alyssa Barbuzzi on August 6, 2019

In Katz et al. v Clarke 2019 ONSC 2188, the Ontario Divisional Court clarified an employer’s duty to accommodate an employee where there is a frustration of contract. The Divisional Court confirmed that an employer’s duty to accommodate ends when the employee is no longer able to fulfil the basic obligations associated with the employment relationship for the foreseeable future. In such circumstances, the employment contract terminates due to frustration. The facts are as follows.…

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Ontario Court of Appeal provides fresh guidance on capped notice periods and post-termination bonus entitlements

By Alexis Radojcic & Titus Totan on July 31, 2019

On June 19, 2019, the Ontario Court of Appeal released its decision in Dawe v. Equitable Life Insurance ‎Company, 2019 ONCA 512 (“Dawe”), finding that:‎ only “exceptional circumstances” warrant a reasonable notice period in excess of 24 months;‎ employers can stipulate “active employment” as a precondition to the payment of bonus ‎entitlements, provided that the precondition is clearly and carefully drafted; and ‎ ‎employers must draw an employee’s attention to any precondition that purports to…

Canada in Focus

The most common mistakes made in Quebec vacation policies

By Carly Meredith on July 10, 2019

As employment counsel, we routinely work with employers to identify issues with their policies and practices as they relate to vacation (annual leave) and vacation pay under Quebec’s An act respecting labour standards (the “Act”). In this post, we identify four of the most common errors and misconceptions made by employers in order that they may review their policies and practices for compliance before taking off on their own well-deserved summer vacation. 1) Vacation must…

Canada in Focus

Canadian tax proposals target employee stock options

Posted on July 5, 2019

On June 17, 2019, Canadian Federal Finance Minister Bill Morneau released draft legislation (first announced in the Federal Budget released on March 19, 2019) that will impact on the preferential tax treatment of employee stock options. According to the Government, the policy objective for this preferential tax treatment is to help “smaller, growing companies” (such as start-ups) attract and retain talent, since these companies may not have significant profits or may have cash flow challenges…

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Ontario Court of Appeal says “moral blameworthiness” a factor in sentencing for Occupational Health and Safety Act offences

Posted on June 13, 2019

In the recent decision in Ontario (Labour) v New Mex Canada Inc., the Ontario Court of Appeal found that it may be appropriate to impose harsher sentences for offences under the Occupational Health and Safety Act (the “OHSA”) where offenders’ conduct shows elevated “moral blameworthiness”. The facts of the case were tragic. In 2013, an employee fell to his death from an elevated order picker in a Brampton furniture warehouse. He was not wearing…

Canada in Focus

BC appoints new Human Rights Commissioner

By Dana F. Hooker on June 5, 2019

In late 2018, the BC government passed legislation re-establishing the British Columbia Human Rights Commission, which had been disbanded by the previous provincial government in 2002. The mandate of the new Commission is to promote and protect human rights in the province through inquiry and education. It will not replace the BC Human Rights Tribunal, which continues to have jurisdiction to hear and resolve complaints of discrimination under the Human Rights Code. On November 26,…

Canada in Focus

Common law reasonable notice of termination for independent contractors?

Posted on May 7, 2019

In the recent decision in Cormier v 1772887 Ontario Limited, an Ontario Superior Court judge stated that in some circumstances it would be reasonable to consider an employee’s years of service as an independent contractor in calculating his or her common law reasonable notice period. The facts of the case were straight-forward. Ms. Cormier worked for the employer as a contractor from 1996 to 2004, at which time she was hired as an employee.…

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Bill amending the Employment Standards Act, 2000 and Labour Relations Act, 1995 receives Royal Assent

By Michael S. Richards on May 6, 2019

On April 3, 2019 the Restoring Ontario’s Competitiveness Act, 2019 (“Bill 66”) received Royal Assent. The most significant change to the Employment Standards Act, 2000 (“ESA”) was the removal of the requirement that the Director approve excess hours and overtime averaging agreements. This change means that employers and employees are free to agree on employees’ hours of work and terms of overtime averaging without the Director’s approval (subject to the restrictions set out in section…

Canada in Focus

Important deadlines for new BC Employer Health Tax

Posted on May 3, 2019

The following deadlines are approaching for the new BC employer health tax: employers required to pay instalments in 2019 must register by May 15, 2019; and the first instalment payment must be paid by June 15, 2019. Employers whose total BC remuneration (on an associated group basis) paid in 2018 exceeds $600,000 are required to pay instalments in 2019. Employers not required to pay instalments in 2019 must register by December 31, 2019 and file…

Canada in Focus

Blog Authors

Who has to prove what, when, and how? Summary judgment for wrongful dismissal in Alberta

Ontario Divisional Court clarifies termination of employment contract due to frustration

Ontario Court of Appeal provides fresh guidance on capped notice periods and post-termination bonus entitlements

The most common mistakes made in Quebec vacation policies

Canadian tax proposals target employee stock options

Ontario Court of Appeal says “moral blameworthiness” a factor in sentencing for Occupational Health and Safety Act offences

BC appoints new Human Rights Commissioner

Common law reasonable notice of termination for independent contractors?

Bill amending the Employment Standards Act, 2000 and Labour Relations Act, 1995 receives Royal Assent

Important deadlines for new BC Employer Health Tax

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