Can materials disclosed in a civil action be used in a criminal one?
Heather Douglas examines exactly this question in her recent article, “Can Discovery Evidence Be Used in a Criminal Case?” on SLAW. The Division Court in S.C. v N.S., 2017 ONSC 5566 said that it was entirely up to the trial judge: [35] […] this plain reading of the Rule does not mean that the appellant […]
Human Rights Tribunals: wider employment jurisdiction w/o clear limits
The complainant and Mr. Schrenk were working on a construction project for different employers. The complainant alleged that Mr. Schrenk made three derogatory statements relating to the complainant while on the worksite, and later sent offensive emails for which he was terminated. The question before the Supreme Court of Canada was a jurisdictional one: did […]
Secret recording by employee may justify termination
Donovan Plomp of McCarthy Tétrault draws our attention to an interesting decision from the Manitoba Court of Queen’s Bench: “an employee’s use of his work phone to secretly record meetings with management may support an employer’s decision to terminate for just cause”. It is especially interesting because the employer found out about the recordings after […]
“No return to work in the foreseeable future: an undue hardship for employers”
Ariane Villemaire and Céleste Brouillard-Ross of Lavery Lawyers in Quebec bring out attention to an employer-positive decision coming out of Quebec (Ville de Forestville c. Tribunal administratif du travail, 2017 QCCS 3999) on the issue of what constitutes “undue hardship … justifying a non-discriminatory administrative dismissal, where there is no evidence that the employee will […]
Updated “income sprinkling” proposals for private corporations
“Updated proposals related to “income sprinkling” have now been released by the Department of Finance. Income sprinkling generally refers to the transferring of income that would otherwise be taxed in the hands of one taxpayer at a relatively high tax rate to another taxpayer at a lower tax rate. This approach is commonly implemented to […]
Bill 148 and the government attack on independent contracting
Among the many provisions of Bill 148 is the Ontario government’s intention to hire many more employment standards officers (175) and send them out into the business world (you know, the folks that pay taxes) with a mandate to classify independent contractors as employees and then sanction the business now deemed to be an “employer”. […]
Gen. Lawson, RCAF
Gen. Tom Lawson (RCAF, ret.), former Chief of Defence Staff, gave an engaging talk to a Canadian Club crowd including many high-schoolers. I thank Gen. Lawson for making time for me at the end to discuss the F-35 and educate me a bit on it.
Unjust Enrichment
Unjust enrichment is a doctrine for the compensation of one who has unjustly received a benefit from another in a manner that the law will correct. It is a principle of “equity”. Thomson-Carswell’s Dictionary of Canadian Law (3d ed) neatly summarizes the doctrine: “ An action for unjust enrichment arises when three elements are satisfied: […]
On the proposed LSUC name change from “Upper Canada” to “Ontario”
LSUC Bencher Michael Lerner has asked our opinion on Convocation’s decision to change the Law Society’s name away from “Upper Canada”. Here is my letter in reply. Good morning, Mr. Lerner. Thank you for seeking our opinions. That said, and with respect, I really don’t think it should have been a benchers’ decision at all. […]
“Wrongful Dismissal Damages Awarded to an Employee with No Service” (!)
Lisa Carlson of Borden Ladner Gervais LLP (September 27, 2017) brings our attention to a BC case that may bode ill for employers: “Most employers are aware of the general requirement to provide notice or pay in lieu of notice to an employee who is being terminated without just cause during the employment relationship. However, […]
