The Berenstain Bears; Terminations for Cause; and Parallel Universes
Readers of certain age will recall the Berenstain Bears books – either you read them or they were read to you. I’m often reminded of them when I read decisions where a judge or arbitrator says, in effect, “Little Bear, this is what you should not do!” An example can be found in the recent case...
Continue reading the post titled The Berenstain Bears; Terminations for Cause; and Parallel UniversesSobering Thoughts: Hosting Social Functions with Alcohol and How to Reduce Your Liability
(This is a repost of an article originally published in 2013) The days are getting shorter and the weather cooler. Fall is clearly here. For many employers, this means that plans for the office holiday party are in the works. It also means that many employees will be consuming alcohol at an …
Continue reading the post titled Sobering Thoughts: Hosting Social Functions with Alcohol and How to Reduce Your LiabilityOntario Labour Relations Board (“OLRB”) increases demands on employers in construction sector Certification Applications
From the “are you kidding me??” file … When employers in the construction sector receive an Application for Certification by a Union, they have two business days to file a Response. You can imagine the whirlwind of activity this creates even if the Application comes to the attention of the r…
Continue reading the post titled Ontario Labour Relations Board (“OLRB”) increases demands on employers in construction sector Certification ApplicationsMTO to modernize intercity bus services
The Ministry of Transportation (“MTO”) is taking a closer look at what motivates the decisions Ontarians make about how they travel from city to city. More specifically, the MTO is interested in how people travel between communities in Ontario by intercity bus. As stated in a pro…
Continue reading the post titled MTO to modernize intercity bus servicesGreat Lakes Protection Act: public hearings and comments
We have blogged previously about Bill 66, the re-(re)introduction of the proposed Great Lakes Protection Act. This is the third time that the Ontario government has introduced a Bill of this nature to the Legislature. Previous versions of the proposed act (specifically, Bill 100, introduced …
Continue reading the post titled Great Lakes Protection Act: public hearings and commentsCourt Awards Former Employee 27 Months’ Pay in Lieu of Notice of Termination
A recent judgement by an Ontario court serves as a reminder to employers of the importance of having employment contracts in place to limit the business’ financial exposure when terminating an employee. Employers are likely aware that they generally cannot terminate employment without cause …
Continue reading the post titled Court Awards Former Employee 27 Months’ Pay in Lieu of Notice of TerminationWind turbines and radiation emitting devices act
Does operating a wind turbine contravene the federal Radiation Emitting Devices Act? I don’t think so. Here are four (alternative) reasons: First, in my view, a wind turbine is not a “device” within the meaning of this Act. In legal terms, physical things are divided into what we…
Continue reading the post titled Wind turbines and radiation emitting devices actEndangered Species Regulations go to Court of Appeal
Environmental groups will get a second chance to try to strike down regulations that weakened Ontario’s protections for endangered species and their habitat. Ecojustice, the Ontario Federation of Naturalists and the Wildlands League have obtained leave to appeal to the Court of Appeal.…
Continue reading the post titled Endangered Species Regulations go to Court of AppealClimate litigation: US youth sue the government for climate inaction
There is lots of climate-related legal action occurring in the US these days. A few weeks ago, for example, we blogged about the Clean Power Plan, Obama’s plan for reducing greenhouse gas emissions in the US. Several lawsuits have already been filed (and at least one has already been d…
Continue reading the post titled Climate litigation: US youth sue the government for climate inactionSupreme Court allows Ecuador pollution plaintiffs to sue Chevron Canada
Chevron has lost a skirmish, but the major battles are still ahead
Continue reading the post titled Supreme Court allows Ecuador pollution plaintiffs to sue Chevron Canada