Labour and Employment Law Blog

Litigation takes time and money. Effective legal counsel use various processes available to help clients achieve the best outcome in each case. 

Summary trials are an important procedural option in litigation.  In many cases, they can provide an efficient and quicker means to obtain a judgment.  In January 2024, Alberta’s old summary trial process was replaced with a ...

Following the discovery of what are believed to be the remains of 215 indigenous children in unmarked graves at a former residential school in Kamloops, BC, the federal government fast-tracked Bill C-5, An Act to amend the Bills of Exchange Act, the Interpretation Act and the Canada Labour Code (National Day for Truth and Reconciliation). The legislation received royal ...

As British Columbia battles the third wave of COVID-19, the government has introduced legislation^[1] which, if passed, will provide employees with paid leave to get the COVID-19 vaccine.

On April 1, 2021, the British Columbia government introduced an unpaid job-protected leave of absence for employees to get the COVID-19 vaccine, or to assist a dependent in getting ...

This is the first installment of a two-part blog discussing sweeping changes to the Alberta Workers' Compensation Act (WCA) and Occupational Health and Safety Act (OHSA) made as part of the government's initiative to "cut red tape." While the Legislature passed the amendments in December 2020, most of the changes to the WCA come into force on April 1, 2021, while the new OHSA ...

Workplace harassment is once again in the news given our former Governor General’s resignation from her post after a 132 page investigation report was issued following accusations of a toxic work environment at Rideau Hall.

While the Government of Canada took the correct steps in hiring an independent investigator once the allegations surfaced, meeting with all ...

Federally regulated employers in the private sector should mark their calendars for September 1, 2020, when changes to the Canada Labour Code (“Code”) and the new Standards for Work-Integrated Learning Activities Regulations (the “Regulations”) will come into force.

These upcoming legislative changes are part of the federal government’s ongoing ...

In a recent decision, Waksdale v. Swegon North America, 2020 ONCA 391, the Ontario Court of Appeal (“ONCA”) held that a “without cause” termination provision in an employment agreement was unenforceable because a separate “with cause” termination provision did not comply with the Ontario Employment Standards Act, 2000 (the “ON ESA”).

Mr. Waksdale had ...

In the recent case of Quach v. Mitrux Services Ltd., 2020 BCCA 25 (CanLII), the British Colombia Court of Appeal clarified how mitigation applies to fixed-term contracts, commented on when aggravated damages may be awarded in wrongful dismissal cases, and mused about the necessity of fresh consideration to ensure the enforceability of new contractual terms.

In this case ...

Valentine’s Day is almost here. This is not intended to remind you to love your employees and coworkers. You shouldn’t “love” them anyways. Just do your job, be professional and go home happy, which is what some of the employees I dealt with over Halloween and Christmas should have done. There are times, however, when people choose to express their creative side at ...

In the spirit of the season, our December blog posts provide “legal gifts” for employers. Last week, we confirmed that occasional flexibility in start times does not create a contractual right to start work later. This week, our legal gift comes from the British Columbia Supreme Court decision of Belanger v. Tsetsaut Ventures Ltd., 2019 BCSC 560, where the Court ...