Tag: Canada

New year, new accessibility obligations

by Jackie VanDerMeulen Establishing proactive measures to ensure accessibility is becoming common ground in Canada. Ontario has the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA). Manitoba is in the process of rolling out similar legislation, which will start impacting the private sector in 2018. British Columbia is in the process of rolling out its Accessibility […]

Managing the risks posed by distracted driving

by Carla Oliver We’ve all seen it. Maybe when looking around while stuck in stop-and-go traffic on a highway. Maybe when noticing that a car in front of us doesn’t move when the traffic light turns green. It’s the distracted driver—texting away on his or her handheld device instead of paying attention to the traffic […]

B.C. Court of Appeal addresses termination and severance issues

by Kevin O’Neill, Q.C. In Canada, in Hall v. Quicksilver Resources Canada Inc., 2015 BCCA 291, the British Columbia Court of Appeal addressed two important termination and severance issues: 1. In the sale of a business, when and how do an employee’s years of service continue to bind the purchaser? 2. What is the proper […]

Further clarification on ‘unjust’ dismissals

By Louise Béchamp As we reported previously, employers in Canada’s federal sector have had the right to dismiss employees without cause with one caveat. Only if the dismissal was not “unjust” within the meaning of section 240 of the Canada Labour Code. In Wilson v. Atomic Energy of Canada, the Federal Court of Appeal determined […]

Legal haze: accommodating employees who use medical marijuana

by Kyla Stott-Jess One of the hot topics discussed during the recent Canadian federal election was the possible legalization of marijuana. The Liberal Party, which won the election, took a position in favor of legalization as part of its platform. As the country waits to see whether the new government will put forward legislation to […]

BYOD: privacy issues for Canadian employers

by Lorene A. Novakowski Bring Your Own Device, or BYOD, programs are increasingly popular in Canada, as they are in the United States. Under a BYOD program, employers require or expect employees to use their own mobile devices for business purposes. The practice raises privacy concerns as well as concerns about ownership of company data […]

Incentive plan entitlements on wrongful dismissal

By Richard E. Johnston In Canada, the wording of incentive plans can have a significant impact on the payments required on termination without cause. This point was highlighted by three Ontario decisions earlier this year.