In Parmar v Tribe Management Inc., the British Columbia Supreme Court recently found that an employee was not constructively dismissed when she was placed on an unpaid leave of absence for refusing to comply with her employer’s mandatory COVID-19 vaccination policy (Policy). The Court held that the employer’s decision to place the employee on the…
Publication Name: Case In Point
Court Finds ESA-Only Termination Clause Unenforceable Due To Wording of Conflict of Interest and Confidential Information Clauses
In Henderson v. Slavkin et al., the Ontario Superior Court of Justice found that a termination clause in an employment contract which limited entitlements upon termination to only the minimums required by the Employment Standards Act, 2000 (ESA) was unenforceable due to the wording of the provisions related to “confidential information” and “conflict of interest.”…
Arbitrator Finds University’s Vaccination Policy to be Reasonable
On July 22, 2022, Arbitrator Wright released a preliminary award, Wilfrid Laurier University v United Food and Commercial Workers Union, in which he found that the University’s mandatory vaccination policy (Policy) was reasonable. In so finding, he cited the fact that the University implemented the Policy in accordance with the instructions and advice issued by…
Class Action Dismissed in Favour of Defendant
In Rebuck v. Ford Motor Company, the Ontario Superior Court recently granted the defendants’ motion for summary judgment to dismiss the plaintiff’s class action. The class action involved an allegation of misleading advertising under the federal Competition Act. Factual History In 2014, a consumer filed a lawsuit after noticing that the miles per gallon (MPG)…
Appellate Court Substantially Reduces Reasonable Notice Award for Failure to Mitigate
In Humphrey v. Mene Inc., the Ontario Court of Appeal found that a dismissed employee failed in her duty to mitigate by rejecting a comparable job offer with a new employer seven months following her termination of employment. The former employee, who had been the employer’s Chief Operating Officer, was 32 years old when her…
Appellate Court Considers Certification Under Class Proceedings Act, 1992 and Requirement That Pleadings Disclose a Cause of Action
In Bowman v Ontario, the Ontario Court of Appeal considered a motion for certification of a class action under the Class Proceedings Act, 1992 (CPA) which was dismissed by a certification judge. The Court of Appeal allowed the appeal in part, concluding that the judge erred in holding that the proposed class action did not…
Arbitrator Finds Two-Dose Vaccination Policy No Longer Reasonable
On June 17, 2022, Arbitrator Nairn held in FCA Canada Inc. v Unifor, Locals 195, 444, 1285 that a two-dose mandatory vaccination policy (Policy) implemented by an employer was no longer reasonable going forward due to the evolving scientific evidence regarding the COVID-19 virus. In so finding, she cited a number of pre-print scientific studies…
Class Action Brought by Off-Reserve Indigenous Children and Their Families Certified
In Stonechild v. Canada, Justice Phelan of the Federal Court recently certified a class proceeding brought on behalf of off-reserve Indigenous children and their families. Under the Federal Court system, this avoids the necessity or prospect of up to thirteen separate provincial and territorial class actions. The claim seeks to hold the government of Canada…
Ontario Court of Appeal Upholds Human Rights Tribunal Decision Concerning Gender Discrimination in Compensation Practices for Ontario Midwives
In Ontario (Health) v. Association of Ontario Midwives, the Ontario Court of Appeal dismissed an appeal by the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care (Ministry), upholding the finding of the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario (Tribunal) that the Ministry engaged in gender discrimination in compensation setting practices for midwives. In this Case in Point,…
Arbitrator Finds Grievor was Prima Facie Discriminated Against when Employer Denied her Requested Exemption to the COVID-19 Vaccine
In Public Health Sudbury & Districts v. Ontario Nurses’ Association, Arbitrator Robert Herman accepted that an employee may be entitled to an exemption from an employer’s mandatory COVID-19 vaccination policy on the basis of creed where they held a sincere belief that the relationship between the COVID-19 vaccines and fetal cell lines was contrary to…