Le Conseil Atlantique du Canada - The Atlantic Council of Canada v. M.N.R., 2012 TCC 13

In Kingston (City) v. Canadian Union of Public Employees, Local 109 (Hudson Grievance), [2011] O.L.A.A. No. 393 (Newman), the arbitrator upheld the dismissal of 28-year employee who uttered death threats at a co-worker.

Tha arbitrator also outlined how, in her view, Bil 168 changed the legal analysis in Ontario in four ways in cases involving verbal threats in the workplace, stating:  read more »

Canada (Attorney General) v. Tipple, 2011 FC 762

Federal Labour Minister, Lisa Raitt, issued a media release today urging Canada Post Corporation and the Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) to reach a renewal of their collective agreement.

As set out in the release:

• The collective agreement covers a unit of approximately 50,000 postal workers;
• The agreement expired on January 31, 2011;
• Negotiations between Canada Post and CUPW - Urban Operations Unit started in October 2010; and
• The parties will acquire the legal right to strike or lockout on May 25, 2011, at 12:01 a.m.  

The BC Ministry of Finance posted on Information Bulletin on its website today that outlined the severance payouts given to 13 recently departed political staffers and bureaucrats.

The media has reported that the 13 left government, or were forced to leave government, when Christy Clark took over from Gordon Campbell as premier.

In its entirety, the Bulletin reads as follows:

Government posts severance information

Recent organizational changes in government have resulted in the departure of the following employees, all of whom received severance in accordance with the Public Sector Employers' Act. Severance includes salary and employer paid benefits and executive holdback pay as noted.  read more »

Workers' Compensation Appeal Tribunal v. Hill, 2011 BCCA 49

The BC Government issued a news release today announcing that the Legal Services Society and the British Columbia Government Employees' Union (BCGEU) have ratified a new collective agreement. 

The release states that the Society employs approximately 106 BCGEU members at locations on the Lower Mainland and in Terrace, including:

• legal secretaries,
  
• intake legal assistants (who process client legal aid applications/referrals and provide legal information),
  
• IT employees, and
  
• administrative employees.

The tentative agreement was reached in August 2010 - see this August 23, 2010 news release from the government. Neither media release addresses the terms.  read more »

In a decision issued last month - Johnstone v. Canada Border Services, 2010 CHRT 20 - the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal ("CHRT") found discrimination based on "family status" where Canada Border Services refused to modify the work schedule for an employee who was the mother of two young children but who wanted to still have full-time hours.

The decision re-affirms that the scope of "family status" in human rights legislation can encompass childcare responsibilities.

Law firm Oglivy Renault has written a good a summary of the decision ("Canadian Human Rights Tribunal Weighs In on Accommodating Employee Childcare Obligations") which can be found here.

Both parties have apparently filed an application with the Federal Court of Canada for judicial review of the decision, Ms. Johnstone on the basis that the CHRT should have awarded her reimbursement for her legal fees.  read more »

In Dawydiuk v. Insurance Corporation of British Columbia, 2010 BCCA 353, the BC Court of Appeal addressed whether the contents of an email written by a dismissed employee's supervisor were defamatory and , if so, whether they were  protected by the defence of qualified privilege.

Background 

Ms. Dawydiuk began her employment with the Insurance Corporation of British Columbia ("ICBC") in 1988 as a clerk. At the time of her dismissal in 2004, she was 38 years-old and in a managerial position.

Ms. Dawydiuk had been off work since June 2003, first on a sick leave and then on a maternity/parental leave.  She was scheduled to return to work on October 4, 2004.

On July 5, 2004, while still on leave, Ms.Dawydiuk was phoned by her supervisor and advised of a restructuring that had resulted in her position being eliminated. Her supervisor advised her of two other available managerial positions, however, and asked her to let him know which one she would like.  read more »

The three cases are:

1. Syndicat de la fonction publique du Québec v. Quebec (Attorney General), 2010 SCC 28
   
2. Syndicat des professeurs du Cégep de Ste-Foy v. Quebec (Attorney General), 2010 SCC 29
3. Syndicat des professeurs et des professeures de l'Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières v. Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières, 2010 SCC 30