A five-member panel of the Saskatchewan Court of Appeal has overturned a lower court decision which had found in part that restrictions on the right to strike in The Public Service Essential Services Act infringed the freedom of association guarantee in section 2(d) of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. The Court of Appeal…
Practice Area: Litigation
Overtime Eligibility Class Action Certification Dismissal Upheld on Appeal
On April 23, 2013, the Ontario Divisional Court unanimously dismissed an appeal from a decision of Justice Strathy in which he denied a motion for certification of a proposed class action against CIBC and CIBC World Markets. We summarized the lower court decision in a previous FTR Now. In this FTR Now, we provide an…
SCC to Render Leave to Appeal Decision in Carrigan
On March 28, 2013, the Supreme Court of Canada will render its leave to appeal decision in Quinn v. Carrigan. The majority of the Ontario Court of Appeal awarded the payment of the pre-retirement death benefit payable under an Ontario registered pension plan to a member’s designated beneficiaries rather than to his common law spouse…
The Science of Data Breach Prevention and the Art of Breach Response
Organizations should be paying close attention to data loss prevention and response in light of recent developments. Recent media frenzies over the loss of portable storage devices illustrate that individuals’ fears and perceptions can cause great pressure on organizations even when the risk of real harm to individuals is remote. In addition, the risk of…
Divisional Court Confirms that Section 80(3) of the PBA Deems Employment to Continue Following Sale of Business
In Ontario Pension Board v. Ratansi, the Ontario Divisional Court confirmed that the Pension Benefits Act (“PBA”) deems that following a sale of business transaction, both employment and pension plan membership continue under the predecessor employer’s pension plan while the employee continues in employment with the successor employer. The decision overturns an earlier decision of…
College Update – Second Edition
Dear Friends, Spring is just around the corner and with the changing of the season, what better time for us to welcome our second edition of College Update! Hicks Morley’s College Practice Group is pleased to periodically provide our College clients with specific information relevant to your particular interests. In this edition we discuss labour…
Rules Amending Federal Courts Rules Registered
On February 8, 2013, the federal government registered Rules Amending the Federal Courts Rules (“Rules”). The Rules are the result of a consultation process and are housekeeping in nature. Among other things, the Rules give greater flexibility to the Chief Justice to schedule motions days, specify formatting requirements for documents, set out exceptions to general…
Alberta Court of Appeal Considers Restrictive Covenants and Fiduciary Duties
In Evans v. The Sports Corporation, the Alberta Court of Appeal provides some important guidance on what classes of employees will be considered fiduciaries and what type of conduct will constitute solicitation of clients. Richard Evans was employed for six years by The Sports Corporation (“TSC”) as a sports agent responsible for TSC prospects and…
Arbitrator Considers Employer’s Ability to Collectively Bargain Changes to Retiree Benefits
In TRW Canada Ltd. and Thompson Products Employees’ Assn. (Retiree Benefits) (Re), collectively bargained changes to vested retiree benefits were found to have been made without lawful authority. The changes had been proposed by the employees’ association (“Association”), following a particularly hard round of collective bargaining, and after the employer threatened to close one of…
Finding that Non-Worker Injury Reportable Under OHSA Overturned by Court of Appeal
Today, the Court of Appeal for Ontario rendered its long anticipated decision in Blue Mountain Resorts Limited v. Ontario (Labour). It overturned a finding of the Ontario Labour Relations Board, upheld on judicial review by the Divisional Court, that the drowning of a Blue Mountain hotel guest in the hotel’s swimming pool was reportable under…