As demonstrated by the Ontario Superior Court’s recent decision in Diamantopoulos v. KPMG LLP (“KPMG“), the answer to this question is still “it depends.” In determining the issue, courts will look at a number of contextual factors to determine “the intention of the parties” when they entered the employment agreement. In KPMG, the plaintiff commenced a…
Practice Area: Litigation
Court of Appeal Reduces 24.5 Months’ Notice Granted to 70 Year Old Employee
In 2013, the decision of Kotecha v. Affinia garnered some attention among employment lawyers and human resources professionals. The motion judge’s award of 24.5 months’ notice (22 months’ notice, in addition to the 11 weeks of working notice already provided) to a 70 year old employee was seen by some as a potential indicator marking…
Supreme Court Affirms Broad Public Sector Decision-Making Privilege
Below is a post I wrote for All About Information regarding a significant decision rendered by the Supreme Court of Canada last Friday on the scope of the “advice and recommendations” exemption from disclosure found in the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act: “Yesterday the Supreme Court of Canada held that the “advice and recommendations” exemption…
No Jurisdiction to Determine Unjust Dismissal Complaint Where Employee Terminated Without Cause Pursuant to Employment Contract
In a recent adjudication under the Canada Labour Code (the “Code”), Adjudicator Rose relied on the Federal Court decision in Atomic Energy of Canada v. Wilson to grant an employer’s preliminary objection and dismiss an unjust dismissal complaint. In doing so, he found that in the case of without cause terminations an adjudicator lacks jurisdiction under the…
B.C. Court of Appeal Stays Decision Rendering Teachers’ Collective Bargaining Legislation Unconstitutional, Pending Appeal
In our blog post of February 18, 2014, “British Columbia Supreme Court Awards $2 Million in Damages for Freedom of Association Violation,” we reported that the B.C. Supreme Court declared Bill 22, legislation relating to teachers’ collective bargaining rights, unconstitutional. The Court concluded that this legislation was “essentially identical” to earlier legislation (Bill 28) that…
Privacy Rights vs. Union’s Duty to Represent its Membership: The Bernard Case Concludes
The Supreme Court of Canada dismissed the appeal in Bernard v. Canada (Attorney General), thus ending the “legal odyssey” of an employee who did not want her personal information disclosed to the unions which she declined to join during her years of employment with the federal government, but to which she was mandatorily obligated to…
British Columbia Supreme Court Awards $2 Million in Damages for Freedom of Association Violation
Last month, the British Columbia Supreme Court (“BCSC” or “Court”) released the latest in a series of cases dealing with collective bargaining and the right to freedom of association as guaranteed by section 2(d) of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms (“Charter“). This 683-paragraph decision follows a previous decision of the BCSC dated April…
Class Action on Reduction of Retiree Benefits to Proceed
A proposed class action brought in Québec by retirees against their former employer was recently authorized by the Supreme Court of Canada. The claim advanced in Vivendi Canada Inc. v. Dell’Aniello related to unilateral changes made by the employer in 2009 to the retirees’ supplemental health insurance plan. The Court found that the four criteria…
New Roadmap for Summary Judgment Motions Developed by SCC
In a case involving the use of summary judgment motions (Hryniak v. Mauldin, 2014 SCC 7) , the Supreme Court of Canada discussed access to justice issues in providing courts with guidance on the test for such motions. It held that summary judgment rules must be “interpreted broadly, favouring proportionality and fair access to the…
SCC authorizes Québec class action regarding reduction of retiree benefits
The Supreme Court of Canada (“SCC”) recently released a unanimous decision authorizing a class action on behalf of retirees against their former employer, relating to announced changes to their supplemental health insurance plan (“Plan”). The case, Vivendi Canada Inc. v. Dell’Aniello, was decided under the specific wording of the Québec class proceedings statute. In 2009,…