When an individual chooses to enter into an agreement via a management company, he has to accept all of the consequences of that decision, the good and the bad. This principle applies in particular to working relationships. In the Kucer case,1 the Superior Court recently confirmed that, (…)
Ariane Villemaire and Véronique Morin The Supreme Court held that the British Columbia Human Rights Code protects employees against all forms of discrimination in the workplace, even if the perpetrator of such discrimination is not their employer. On December 15, 2017, the Supreme Court (…)
On February 8, 2019, the Supreme Court of Canada dismissed the application by the Fédération des médecins spécialistes du Québec for leave to appeal from the judgment of the Court of Appeal of Quebec1 in a case concerning the freedom of association of physicians practising at a specialized medical (…)
In this era of a new industrial revolution, dubbed as “Industry 4.0”, businesses are facing sizable technological challenges. Some refer to smart plants or the industry of the future. This revolution is characterized by the advent of new technology that allows for the “smart” automation of human (…)
On February 1, 2018, the Supreme Court of Canada rendered an important decision in Commission des normes, de l’équité, de la santé et de la sécurité du travail (“CNESST”) v. Caron1 (“Caron”), confirming the position expressed by the Court of Appeal in 20152 as well as the state of the law regarding (…)
On August 31, 2017, the Ontario Court of Justice sentenced1 Detour Gold Corporation (“Detour Gold”) to pay a fine of $2,625,333 after it pleaded guilty to a charge of criminal negligence causing the death of an employee. Facts Detour Gold has operated an open pit mine near the Ontario-Québec (…)
On October 4, 2017, the Honourable Justice Pierre-C. Gagnon of the Superior Court of Québec, sitting in judicial review of an arbitral award, rendered a key decision1 on the criteria to be considered in order to uphold an administrative dismissal. The facts An employee working as an administrative (…)
Reversing a decision of the Tribunal administratif du travail (“TAT”), the Superior Court of Québec confirmed that the employer will meet the burden of demonstrating undue hardship, thus justifying a non-discriminatory administrative dismissal, where there is no evidence that the employee will be (…)
In a decision rendered on May 29, 2017,1 arbitrator Jean-Pierre Lussier confirmed the dismissal of a cashier employed by the Société de transport de Montréal who was convicted of procuring. The facts Hired in February 2008, the employee pleaded guilty to charges of procuring in 2014. The victim (…)
In a decision rendered on August 14, 2017,1 Arbitrator François Blais dismissed a grievance contesting a dismissal, holding that a breach of occupational health and safety rules constitutes an objectively serious fault which must be dealt with severely regardless of whether or not the breach caused (…)
Numerous studies confirm that the poor health of workers, among other things caused by the increasingly sedentary nature of positions and the illnesses associated with this, will ultimately result in significant costs for businesses related to: Absenteeism; Compensation for work-related injuries (…)
In May 12, 2017, the Court of Québec1 concluded that an emergency call centre had no liability for property damage caused by first responders who broke down the door of a residence in order to assist a user in respiratory distress. In this case, the Court held that a call centre who required the (…)
In Delgadillo c. Blinds To Go inc. and the Tribunal administratif du travail,1 the Court of Appeal of Québec rendered a very important decision regarding the concept of “senior managerial personnel” under the Act respecting labour standards (“ALS” or the “Act”). In the future, this decision should (…)