Supreme Court Declines to Further Expand the Duty of Good Faith in Employment Context
Back in February, 2019, we blogged about the long-anticipated decision in the case of Matthews v Ocean Nutrition. This morning, Mr. Matthews prevailed and is now a millionaire due to a simple and cautious decision penned by Mr. Justice Kasirer. The Facts Mr. Matthews worked for Ocean Nutrition (the “Company”) for 14 years as a […]
Matthews v Ocean Nutrition
Can an employer rely on exclusion clauses to escape liability after deliberately mistreating and constructively dismissing an employee? Four (4) years ago, the Supreme Court of Canada issued its decision in Bhasin, which recognized an “organizing principle of good faith” in contractual relationships: where a defendant is dishonest in the performance of a contract, it […]
How will the “right to die” impact the Power of Attorney?
The recent Supreme Court of Canada decision on the ‘right to die’ issue, known as “Carter v. Canada”, found the provisions of the Criminal code dealing with assisted suicide to be invalid, as being contrary to the Canadian Charter of Rights. Although the Court struck out that Criminal code section, the Court did not impose […]
Suspending an Employee Indefinitely Without Pay May Amount to Constructive Dismissal
The Supreme Court of Canada released its decision today in Potter v. New Brunswick Legal Aid Services Commission overturning both the Trial Court and Court of Appeal decisions that David Potter had voluntarily resigned from his position. The fact that two lower courts concluded that Mr. Potter had resigned while the Supreme Court of Canada […]
Supreme Court of Canada Decision on Accessing Assistance
The Supreme Court, in a unanimous landmark decision has declared the provisions in the criminal code, which have prevented Canadians from accessing assistance in dying, to be invalid as they unjustifiably infringe section 7 Charter rights. The decision has been suspended for 12 months to allow the federal and perhaps provincial governments time to provide […]
Health Care Decision Making: Powers of Attorney for Personal Care
It has been 20 odd years since the Supreme Court of Canada upheld the ban against assisted suicide in the Sue Rodriguez case. In October the issue was before the Supreme Court again and on February 6 of this year, they unanimously decided to lift the ban against competent adults with irreversible medical conditions having […]
Human Rights Complaints in the Workplace
Seventy-seven percent (77%) of all applications received by the Ontario Human Rights Tribunal in 2010-2011 arose in the workplace.[i] Presentation by David Wright, Associate Chair of the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario to the Human Resources Professional Association, January 2012. Colleen Hoey is an Ottawa-based lawyer practicing in the areas of Employment Law, Human Rights Law, […]
