(A commentary by Nikita Gush, Articled Student and Dennis Ryan, Partner and Head of the Natural Resources Group, Doak Shirreff Lawyers LLP, Kelowna, BC © 2019) A new NAFTA? On November 30, 2018, the US, Canada, and Mexico signed a new North American free trade agreement called the United States Mexico and Canada Agreement (USMCA). …
Read More
While the general rule of thumb for the maximum reasonable notice that a court will award to a terminated employee hovered around 24 months. Regardless of the length of service or other factors, the line in the sand for maximum reasonable notice has slowly eroded over the past few years, particularly in Ontario Courts. This…
Read More
In McLeod v. Frontier Sales, 2018 ONSC 1866, the Divisional Court of Ontario dismissed the appeal by an employer who provided working notice to an employee on disability leave and in turn, sought to reduce the amount of reasonable notice that it was required to provide. The case confirms that working notice provided during a…
Read More
In a recent case out of Ontario, Chambers v. Global Traffic Technologies Canada Inc., 2018 ONSC 2000, the court maintained that bonuses earned by an employee prior to termination or during the reasonable notice period are, in fact, payable to the employee despite their being terminated from his/her employment. Additionally, the court awarded nine months’…
Read More
A recent decision out of Kelowna, B.C., found a long-term West-Kelowna firefighter, Kerry Klonteig, to be wrongfully terminated after he was arrested for impaired driving in a Fire Department vehicle while off-duty. The plaintiff in Klonteig v. District of West Kelowna, 2018 BCSC 124, who had been a firefighter for the District of West…
Read More
In an undefended case out of Ontario, Horner v. 897469 Ontario Inc. o/a Superior Coatings, 2018 ONSC 121, a short term employee was awarded $10,000 for wrongful termination and an additional $30,000 in aggravated and punitive damages for the aggravation of her known depression and the callous manner of termination when the employer failed…
Read More
If you have just been terminated from your employment, once the initial shock has worn off, your likely first step will be to search the internet for an employment lawyer in your area to help you understand your termination and to determine if the termination/severance package is appropriate for your employment history and circumstance.…
Read More
As has been discussed in previous postings, all employee/employer relationships are defined by an employment contract. Sometimes these contracts are written out, however, many employment contracts are implied. Simply put, this means that the terms, conditions and dynamics of the employment relationship are based on experience and on the reasonable expectations of the employee and…
Read More