Labour Law

York Region District School Board v Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario: The Application of the Charter to Ontario School Boards

In York Region District School Board v Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario, 2024 SCC 22 [YRDSB], the Supreme Court of Canada (“SCC”) reviewed an arbitrator’s decision regarding the reasonable expectation of privacy of two teachers at an Ontario public school. The majority conducted a correctness review to set aside the arbitrator’s decision, holding that the […]

The Clashing of Wage Restraint Legislation with s. 2(d) Collective Bargaining Rights

In Ontario English Catholic Teachers’ Association v. Ontario (Attorney General), 2024 ONCA 101 [OECTA], the majority of the Ontario Court of Appeal (“ONCA” or the “Court”) upheld the Superior Court finding that Ontario’s Bill 124 (“the Bill” or “the Act”)- which places a cap on wages in the public sector–is unconstitutional in its application to […]

Unreasonable Search and Seizure in the Workplace: SCC Grants Leave in YRDSB v ETFO

In Elementary Teachers Federation of Ontario v York Region District School Board, 2022 ONCA 476 [Elementary Teachers], the Ontario Court of Appeal (“ONCA”) explored whether employees had a right to be protected against unreasonable search and seizure in the workplace under section 8 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms [Charter]. Determining that employees have section 8 Charter rights, the ONCA also ruled on the scope of employees’ reasonable expectation of privacy, setting out important developments on this issue in the process. On March 16, 2023, the Supreme Court of Canada (“SCC”) granted the application for leave to appeal in this case.

Northern Regional Health Authority v Horrocks: Exclusive vs. Concurrent Jurisdiction for Labour Arbitrators

In Northern Regional Health Authority v Horrocks, 2021 SCC 42 [Horrocks], the majority of the Supreme Court of Canada (“SCC”) held in a 6-1 decision that mandatory dispute resolution provisions under labour legislation confer exclusive jurisdiction to the designated decision-maker, usually a labour arbitrator. As a result, unionized employees will have little to no legal […]

ONCA Advances Pay Equity Legislation Enforcement of Proxy Method in Ontario Nurses’ Association v Participating Nursing Homes

On March 9, 2021, the Ontario Court of Appeal (“ONCA”) ruled in favour of Ontario Nurses Association (“ONA”) and Service Employees International Union (“SEIU”) Local 1 on the pay equity case Ontario Nurses’ Association v Participating Nursing Homes, 2021 ONCA 148 [ONA v PNH]. The case was a judicial review of the Pay Equity Hearings […]

Canada Post Corp v Canadian Union of Postal Workers: Workplace safety diluted for federal employees

Modern Cleaning Concept v Comité Paritaire: Franchisee, Employee or Both?

Can franchisees be legally considered employees of a franchisor? Prior to Modern Cleaning Concept v Comité Paritaire, 2019 SCC 28 [Modern Cleaning], we may have thought this possibility would be precluded by the business-to-business quality inherent to a franchise. However, in Modern Cleaning, the Supreme Court of Canada (“Court” or “SCC”) interprets Québec legislation to […]

Judicial Biography: Justice Clément Gascon

A Prelude to the Standard of Review Reckoning: Quebec (Commission des norms, de l’équité, de la santé et de la sécurité du travail) v Caron

Introduction In December 2018, the Supreme Court of Canada [“SCC” or the “Court”] will hear a trio of appeals that will revisit the current standard of judicial review for administrative tribunal decisions (Bell Canada, et al. v Attorney General of Canada, docket 37896; Minister of Citizenship and Immigration v Alexander Vavilov, docket 37748; and National Football […]

Parliamentary Privilege: Are the President's Hands Tied?

Should an employer have the right to dismiss an unionized employee without a grievance process? What if the employer is the President of the National Assembly of Quebec? This post reviews the scope of parliamentary privilege in an employer-employee relationship, noting that if parliamentary privilege does indeed exist, the dismissal of an unionized employee is […]