Practice Area: Human Rights

What Nexus is Required to Establish a Tribunal’s Jurisdiction over Discriminatory Conduct Arising at a Workplace?

· 4 min read

The Supreme Court of Canada will be delivering a decision likely to provide further clarity on the scope of the jurisdiction of British Columbia Human Rights Tribunal (Tribunal) to hear a complaint alleging discrimination regarding employment involving parties who work for different employers. On October 13, 2016, the Supreme Court of Canada granted leave to…

Duty to Accommodate Does Not Extend to Permitting Excessive Employee Absenteeism

· 3 min read

In Ontario Public Service Employees Union v Ontario (Children and Youth Services), the Divisional Court recently affirmed that an employer’s duty to accommodate does not extend to allowing an employee not to work, stating that the “purpose of the duty to accommodate is to allow employees to fulfill their employment duties, not to allow employees not…

Tribunal Rejects the Johnstone Test for Establishing Family Status Discrimination in New Eldercare Case

· 5 min read

In a significant recent decision relating to eldercare accommodation, the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario (Tribunal) indicated its intention to depart from the test for family status discrimination outlined by the Federal Court of Appeal in Canada (Attorney General) v. Johnstone and Canadian National Railway v. Seeley…