First Reference Talks

Family status is a protected ground under the Ontario Human Rights Code[1] (the “Code”) and employers have an obligation to provide reasonable accommodation in the circumstances. In its recent decision, Aguele v. Family Options Inc.,[2] the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario confirmed that the duty for employers to accommodate family status as it relates to scheduling is not unlimited.

A very interesting case from BC is a must-read for any fundraiser who deals with restricted gifts. The case Boys and Girls Club of Greater Victoria Foundation v British Columbia (Attorney General), 2024 BCSC 442 (CanLII) (PDF) deals with cy pres or variation of a gift and the standard that is necessary. With the world changing so quickly, what might have seemed like a good idea a few decades ago or even last year may not have been such a good idea.

In the past several years, artificial intelligence (“AI”) has exploded into the public consciousness and emerged as a driving economic force that underpins some of the world’s largest companies and most exciting new start-ups. The emergence of AI in widespread commercial applications quickly led AI researchers within academia and industry to realize the potential risks of deploying these algorithms in real-world settings.

The Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada (OPC) investigated a complaint into the scraping of Facebook user data by the app “thisisyourdigitallife” (TYDL) and its subsequent selling of the data to Cambridge Analytica (CA) for psychographic modelling purposes between November 2013 and December 2015.

Congratulations to the IIA’s Standards Board for the substantial upgrade to the draft they released last year. It can never be perfect (and still has flaws that I consider important), but it is 1,000% better and now merits our careful attention. You can find GIAS here on the IIA Global website. Hal Garyn has shared with us an excellent approach.

In Wall v M.H. Roe Sheet Metal (no CanLII citation yet), Justice Kumaranayake of the Ontario Superior Court found the proper notice period for a 56 year old Office Administrator with 35 years’ service was 24 months. The only real issue was the Defendant’s allegation that the Plaintiff failed to conduct a reasonable job search thus the notice period should be reduced.

When an employee termination is conducted, most employers focus on determining contractual severance entitlements and ensuring compliance with statutory requirements. In so doing, their aim is to limit any potential claims for wrongful dismissal. By contrast, less thought tends to be given to return of property. This is not an unreasonable state of affairs, as in most cases, return of property (whether it be employer-owned assets or employee personal effects) occurs with little fuss.

Termination for cause, health and safety obligations and workplace disability accommodation are some of the most challenging employment law issues Canadian employers need to navigate when managing their workplaces. A recent case from Alberta, Quong v Lafarge Canada Inc., provides significant insights for employers, especially those operating in safety-sensitive industries. Here’s a breakdown of the key points and how you can apply them to your workplace.

With more and more people heading back to work in person, many are rethinking what appropriate work attire really means. In some cases, employers may choose to provide a dress code with guidelines for employees to follow. However, careful thought must be given to ensuring that a dress code is compliant with human rights legislation.

One morning you get an email from a colleague: Bill in accounting has not shown up for work for a week, never provided a note that he would be off work, and has not contacted the company at all during this period. In fact, Bill has been off sick several times, but did not tell anyone that he needed time off for illness. The answer seems straightforward, doesn’t it? Bob missed work without approval.