For all of the emphasis on technology during the pandemic, there are still some basic fundamentals that need to be addressed to bring the justice system in Canada into the 21st century.

In Ontario, the provincial government has commenced a process last year to “modernize” the justice system, introducing electronic filing for over 400 court documents, a cloud-based e-hearing platform, and greater use of virtual hearings. Earlier this year, they passed new legislation for further changes, with the Attorney General stating,

Justice accelerated is justice delivered. No matter where you live in our province, the growth and well-being of

In my last post, I considered the Ontario Agricultural, Food and Rural Affairs Appeal Tribunal’s (“AFRAAT) and Ontario Divisional Court’s rejection of the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union’s (“UFCW”) constitutional challenge to the Agricultural Employees Protection Act (“AEPA”). Here I argue that the AFRAAT and the Divisional Court have reinforced the distinctions between the AEPA and the Labour Relations Act, 1995 (“LRA”). In doing so, they refused the Supreme Court of Canada’s invitation in Fraser to be flexible in their interpretation of the AEPA. . . . [more]

The bulk of civil litigation in business law is not conducted by what are referred to as “sophisticated parties,” described by the Court as being aware of the risks of foreign legal systems, understanding the meaning of legal terms, familiar with negotiations, able to draft clear exclusion and limitation clauses, and well-advised by counsel.

Instead, many of these disputes are far more informal in nature, and often for smaller amounts that properly put these disputes within the monetary jurisdiction of the small claims court.

The nature of the communication in this contexts reflects this informality, and there is no shortage . . . [more]

Face mask mandates are now common place across Canada, which started being enshrined in law over a year ago. Many of these can be found in municipal by-laws, but they can also be found in regulations to provincial statutes.

For example, Ontario’s O. Reg. 364/20 – Rules for Areas in Stage 3 under the Reopening Ontario (A Flexible Response to COVID-19) Act, 2020 states,

(3.1) The person responsible for a business or organization that is open shall ensure that any person in the indoor area of the premises of the business or organization, or in a vehicle that is operating

Written by Daniel Standing LL.B., Editor, First Reference Inc.

John Locke once lamented the limited ability of language to express an idea when he said, “So difficult it is to show the various meanings and imperfections of words when we have nothing else but words to do it with.” He could very well have been talking about an employment contract dispute. An employee may try to introduce ambiguity into a provision that the employer considered watertight at the time of drafting. In this article, Bryant v Parkland School Division, 2021 ABQB 391, a case in which the plaintiffs sought . . . [more]

INTRODUCTION

The Supreme Court of Canada in Fraser concluded that, with the minor adjustment of reading in an additional provision, the Ontario Agricultural Employees Protection Act (“AEPA”) is constitutional. In UFCW v. MedReleaf Corp. Phase 2 (“MedReleaf”), the Ontario Agricultural, Food and Rural Affairs Tribunal (“the Tribunal”) concluded that the caselaw since then does not warrant a different outcome. The recent Divisional Court decision in United Food and Commercial Workers International Union v. Aurora Cannabis Enterprises Inc. (“Aurora”) upheld the Tribunal’s decision.

The United Farm and Commercial Workers International Union (“UFCW”) had also brought complaints about MedReleaf’s conduct during the . . . [more]

Industrialization transformed western society, reorganizing economies for the purpose of manufacturing and wealth generation. These changes came with at considerable costs, some of which are only being more recently recognized, such as harm to the environment.

The more immediate and obvious harms to workers were of a greater concern a century ago and were in many ways the focus of organized labour, both before and after unions became legal on 1872, with the passing of the Trade Unions Act. This statute was enacted specifically to gain union support prior to the election that year, forming the 2nd Parliament of . . . [more]

By Lewis Waring, Paralegal, Student-at-Law, Editor, First Reference Inc.

In Moore v Instow Enterprises Ltd, (2021 BCSC 930) (“Moore”), a British Columbian employee was entitled to less notice than the standard amount of one month per year of service mainly due to his failure to mitigate his losses. By refusing to make a reasonable attempt to find alternative similar employment, the employee failed to meet his obligation to mitigate his loss of income as a result of his dismissal. . . . [more]

It is axiomatic that nobody should be above the law, and perhaps equally accepted that law enforcement is a necessary component for ensuring adherence to the law.

However, public confidence requires that police officers who use excessive force are also dealt with appropriately by the courts, and that their roles within the justice system does not result in complete immunity from prosecution.

The Manitoba Court of Appeal recently released a decision in R v Letkeman, which reviewed the non-custodial sentence imposed on an RCMP officer. The accused was sentenced to a 3-year probation order for criminal negligence causing bodily . . . [more]

Written by Daniel Standing LL.B., Editor, First Reference Inc.

COVID-19 has caused much suffering and death worldwide since its discovery in late 2019. Part of Canada’s response has been tightening restrictions on those who enter Canada by air by enacting emergency orders under the federal Quarantine Act. These measures were the focus of a wide-ranging Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms (Charter) attack by several applicants in the Federal Court case of Spencer v Canada (Health), 2021 FC 621 (CanLII). With two limited exceptions, Chief Justice Paul Crampton rejected the claims that the emergency orders were unconstitutional. The . . . [more]

In 2016, Justice David Stratas of the Federal Court of Appeal took the unusual step of posting “A Plea for Doctrinal Coherence and Consistency” online, stating,

Our administrative law is a never-ending construction site where one crew builds structures and then a later crew tears them down to build anew, seemingly without an overall plan…

Administrative law matters. Resting at its heart is the standard of review, the body of law that tells us when the judiciary can legitimately interfere with decision-making by the executive—a matter fundamental to democratic order and good governance, a matter where objectivity, consistency

Written by Lewis Waring, Paralegal, Student-at-law, Editor, First Reference

In Hunsley v Canadian Energy Services LP, 2020 ABQB 724 (CanLII) (“Hunsley”), the Alberta Court of Queen’s Bench (“ABQB”) found that a wrongfully dismissed employee was entitled to receive his regular pay and benefits during his notice period despite the reality that the employer had reduced compensation for employees during a pandemic pay cut. Although workers who stayed actively employed during the pandemic were subjected to the employer’s unilateral pay cut, this cut was recognized to be an act of constructive dismissal and thus did not factor into the employee’s . . . [more]