The Ontario Superior Court of Justice recently found that the communications and conduct of the employer’s lawyer regarding sexual harassment investigation were not privileged and could be referred to in the employee’s Statement of Claim in the litigation against the employer

What happened?

A long-service employee (employed since 2002), while being placed on a performance improvement plan (PIP), raised allegations that her supervisor was bullying and sexually harassing her. In response, her employer:

• Conducted an investigation but failed to interview the complainant employee during this process;
• Concluded that the claims were unsubstantiated.

Last week the Ontario government announced a radical change to the manner in which cannabis will be sold and consumed in the Province of Ontario.

Highlights of the announcement, which was initially made by Ontario Finance Minister Vic Fedeli and Attorney General Caroline Mulroney, and followed by the introduction of Bill 36, An Act to enact a new Act and make amendments to various other Acts respecting the use and sale of cannabis and vapour products in Ontario (or the “Cannabis Statute Law Amendment Act, 2018” for short), include the following:

Timeline for Implementation

The government confirmed that when legalization . . . [more]

The Administrative Labour Tribunal in Quebec recently held that an employer cannot terminate a worker with a criminal conviction for acts of sexual abuse as it constitutes discrimination based on criminal records. Moreover, the nature of the criminal offence does not automatically justify the dismissal of an employee. . . . [more]

You may have read about the Supreme Court of Canada deciding Rogers can be paid its costs for telling a copyright owner the identity of movie downloading customers. What isn’t talked about is the notice and notice system that puts this in motion.

A summary of the Rogers v Voltage decision is here. Omar has written about this on Slaw as well.

This is a complex and controversial issue. The essence is that sections 41.25 and 41.26 of the Copyright Act allow the owner of a copyright (eg a movie studio) to create a notice to send to people . . . [more]

The Canadian Research Institute for Law and the Family, an independent organization affiliated with the University of Calgary, closed on 31 August 2018. The closure of the Institute is somewhat of a national tragedy, given that it was one of the very few organizations conducting empirical research on family law, justice processes and access to justice in Canada, and was the inevitable result of today’s singularly infelicitous funding climate.

The Institute has conducted some remarkable, innovative and often ground-breaking work over the 31 years of its existence. Highlights include some of the first work on the financial consequences of . . . [more]

The Nova Scotia Court of Appeal clarified that stress from a workplace investigation is a non-compensable workplace event. . . . [more]

In a recent decision, the Ontario Court of Appeal clarified that the limitation period for a wrongful dismissal claim does not start at the end of employment, but rather as soon as working notice is provided. . . . [more]

In a recent decision, the Ontario Court of Appeal clarified that the limitation period for a wrongful dismissal claim does not start at the end of employment, but rather as soon as working notice is provided. . . . [more]

In a dramatic about-face, the Ontario government announced today that privately owned cannabis retail will be coming to the province.

Under the newly-announced framework, the sale of recreational cannabis will initially be available only online in the province when the Federal Government brings the Cannabis Act into force on October 17, 2018. However, the provincial government will be implementing a privately owned retail framework which will be developed after consultation with a variety of stakeholders. These consultations are set to begin almost immediately.

Municipalities will have a large say over the shape of private retail in the province as the . . . [more]

There is a recent article that suggested that implementing a scent-free or fragrance-free environment policy would help employers know if their employee is high at work from cannabis use, and what actions to take when they catch them high at work.

Most people are familiar with smoking dried cannabis in hand-rolled cigarettes, pipes or water pipes-but people can consume cannabis in many forms, including: “vaping”; eaten in cannabis-infused foods called “edibles” (e.g., cooking oils and drinks); applied as oils, ointments, tinctures, cream and concentrates (e.g., butane hash oil, resins and waxes); and of course, ingested as oral pills and oral . . . [more]

New Brunswick violence and harassment provisions under the Occupational Health and Safety Act and General Regulation 91-191 aimed at identifying and preventing violence and harassment in the workplace will take effect September 1, 2018. Currently, New Brunswick is the only Atlantic province that does not specifically address the issue of workplace violence in its health and safety laws. All Atlantic provinces do not currently address harassment in health and safety laws. New Brunswick will be the first.

While certain occupational groups, such as health-care workers, tend to be more at risk of workplace violence or harassment, these new regulations will . . . [more]

The Ontario Superior Court recently awarded 30 months’ notice period and bonus payments in full during that notice period to a long-service employee. The Judge noted that termination without cause in this case resulted in forced resignation as comparable employment was not available for the 62-year-old employee who had devoted 37 years to the company, and was therefore entitled to 30 months’ notice period. Moreover, the altered conditions of employment whereby bonus payments would only be payable if employed on date of payout was struck down as it was not appropriately communicated to affected employees-as the Judge noted that posting . . . [more]