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In a series of cases the Court of Quebec looked at the question of an employer’s justification of termination for “serious reasons’ and held that an employer’s legitimate business reasons are not the same as “serious reasons” at law. The two cases Corporatek Inc. v. Khouzham and Premier Tech Ltée v. Dollo stand for the principle that, in non-disciplinary cases, prior to terminating employment for a “serious reason,” an employer must first notify the employee of the risk of termination, explain the reasons for the decision, and allow the employee to address their shortcomings. This applies even if the employee…

The recent decision of Michela v. St. Thomas of Villanova Catholic School reaffirms that employers have an obligation to provide reasonable notice to employees, regardless of the employer’s financial circumstances. This obligation is not reduced when the employer faces financial hardship and, as such, economic hardship is not relevant to calculating the length of the reasonable notice period. The case was brought by a number of long-tenured teachers, who were notified of their termination at the end of a school year, due to apparent financial difficulties that the school was facing. The court affirmed that the length of a reasonable…

In the recent case of Holland v. Hostopia.com Inc. the Court of Appeal for Ontario ruled that fresh consideration will be needed in order to enforce employment contracts signed mid-employment that introduce new material terms. Such situations often arise in cases like the one of Mr. Holland who, after several months of working with Hostopia, was presented with a new employment agreement that contained a new termination clause. This clause was not present in the initial agreement he signed when offered the position with the company. Several years later the employer relied on this clause to terminate Mr. Holland’s employment on a…

The advent of the Internet and social media, has introduced a myriad of new problems for privacy law, which has become an increasingly inadequate means of protecting people’s privacy rights. Fortunately, in the recent case of Doe 464533 v N.D. the court recognized this issue and decided to better align current privacy law with the modern state of technology, and as such give plaintiffs a novel means of punishing the breach of their privacy rights. In this case, a young woman decided to share a sexually explicit video of herself with her ex-boyfriend, who later posted the video on a…

Both the legal community and the public are used to understanding Human Rights Law as protecting cultural, ethnic and religious affiliation, but vegan rights groups such as Animal Justice, are fighting to expand this definition and make veganism another protected human right’s ground. The current version of the policy on preventing discrimination based on creed of the Ontario Human Rights Commission reads: “Creed may also include non-religious belief systems, that like religion, substantially influence a person’s identity, worldview and way of life”. The vegan groups argue that the recent changes in the definition of the word “creed” suggest, that ethical…

The recent case of Joseph Briggs, a child and youth care student arbitrarily detained by the Durham police, in what the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario has called a case of racial profiling, showcases the violations of human rights faced by minority individuals in the GTA, as well as the urgent need for reform of the policing culture in Ontario. Mr. Briggs, was detained after deciding to have a quick meal at his local Subway restaurant following a long study session when police officers decided to check the plates of his car with the police database and mistakenly believed that…

A recent decision of the Quebec Human Rights Tribunal underscores the need for tenants to be treated equally and fairly by landlords, regardless of their religion and ethnicity. After fours years of constant harassment by the superintendent of the apartment building where he resided with his son, Mohamed Azzedine Tighrine finally obtained justice last week, with the Quebec Human Rights Tribunal ordering a total of $13,000 in damages for discrimination on the basis of religion, sexuality and ethnicity. “He feels confused, belittled, humiliated and offended,” Judge Rosemarie Millar said in his judgment. For four years Mr. Tighrine has been subject…

In its recent decision, Mainieri v Kajotec Inc. et al., the Superior Court of Justice awarded an employee $25000 in damages after finding that he was induced to enter into an employment contract as a result of fraudulent misrepresentation by the corporation’s sole director, Joel Kaleu. FACTS Prior to hiring Mr. Mainieri, Kaleu informed the Plaintiff that his company was operating in the eco-products industry and selling various products listed on a website with corresponding patent numbers. Based on these representations, the Plaintiff entered into a six-month employment contract with a $30,000 salary. Shortly after, the Plaintiff found that Kajotec…

Another important victory for a De Bousquet Law client http://globalnews.ca/video/2162344/georgetown-ont-woman-fired-from-job-because-of-pregnancy

We might be told that the “peace of mind” that we buy when purchasing insurance is priceless, but for Mr. Branco submitting a claim was just the beginning of an almost 15 year old battle that ended last month. Mr. Branco, a Canadian citizen who was originally from Portugal took a job at a mine site in Kyrgyzstan with a subsidiary of Cameco Corporation of Saskatchewan. He was an exemplary welder and employee with a perfect attendance record. Through his employment, Mr. Branco had insurance with American Home Assurance Company (AIG), which provided him with benefits similar to worker compensation…