An Update On Employment Contract Basics: We Told You So!!! (Presentation Content)

When a building services provider in Ontario is replaced, who bears responsibility for common law wrongful dismissal damages owed to terminated employees? The Ontario Court of Appeal has delivered its first ruling on this critical question, establishing new precedent that significantly impacts liability allocation in the condominium, security, cleaning, and property management sectors.

In Cooper v GFI Solutions Ltd, 2026 ABCJ 142 (Higa, J), the Alberta Court of Justice found a wrongfully dismissed employee was entitled to 8 months’ reasonable notice plus $30k in aggravated damages. This is important for several reasons, but the aggravated damages award is the biggest highlight. I am aware of only one ACJ case with an aggravated damages award this high. I am not aware of any higher.

The Ontario Court of Appeal’s recent decisions in Baker v. Van Dolder’s Home Team Inc. and Li v. Wayfair Canada ULC may be among its most significant in the field of employment law in the past decade. Certainly, the volume of commentary on these cases would suggest that they are.

The Ontario Court of Appeal's decision in Wigdor v Facebook Canada Ltd. addresses whether employers can stop equity compensation vesting during statutory notice periods. When Facebook Canada terminated Dr. Wigdor and cancelled his unvested RSUs worth millions, the court examined whether forfeiture provisions in equity agreements can override Employment Standards Act protections for employee compensation.

An Oregon Court of Appeals decision clarifies how statutory damages are calculated in wage deduction cases, determining whether employees can recover $200 per paycheck or per violation category. The ruling also addresses when employers can use Oregon's class action cure provision to dismiss collective claims before litigation advances.

Yes. In Dome Mine Ltd. and USW, Local 7980, 2026 CanLII 78264 (ON LA), an Ontario arbitrator upheld the termination of an employee who refused a valid post-incident drug and alcohol test.

The Ontario Court of Appeal recently released its decision in Wigdor v. Facebook Canada Ltd., addressing two significant issues for Ontario employers: the enforceability of termination clauses that purport to limit an employee's entitlements, and the application of the Employment Standards Act, 2000 (ESA) to equity-based compensation documents such as Restricted Stock Unit (RSU) agreements.

La Cour d'appel de l'Ontario a confirmé que les options d'achat d'actions et autres régimes fondés sur des actions ne seront pas automatiquement considérés comme une rémunération d'emploi ni comme une modalité...

Smart glasses are rapidly transitioning from a novelty seen in movies to a mainstream workplace tool. Devices like the Ray-Ban Meta line and Samsung’s Google-powered glasses are being used across industries.

Le 25 août 2026, le gouvernement fédéral a annoncé un important panier de mesures visant à soutenir les entreprises et les travailleurs canadiens affectés par la plus récente vague de droits de douane imposés par les États-Unis, dans la foulée de l'échec des récentes négociations commerciales entre les deux pays.

As organisations continue to navigate their responsibilities under the Building Safety Act, understanding competence, organisational capability and governance has never been more important. This video explores how expectations around competence have evolved since the introduction of the Building Safety Act and what organisations should be doing to meet their legal obligations, covering both individual and organisational competence requirements.

Employers that rely on the Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP) to retain skilled temporary foreign workers (TFWs) via high-wage or low-wage stream Labour Market Impact Assessments (LMIAs) are facing a growing crisis.

Prime Minister Mark Carney announced on September 15, 2026, that the federal government will open Canada’s four largest airports to private investment through long-term concession arrangements. Speaking at the inaugural investment summit, Prime Minister Carney outlined a vision to unlock new capital and operational expertise while retaining public ownership of the underlying land and assets.

Health Canada's recent enforcement action against unauthorized injectable peptides signals a regulatory shift that wellness companies cannot afford to ignore. While peptides dominate influencer marketing and online wellness spaces, their legal status in Canada depends on factors far more complex than social media trends suggest. Understanding how route of administration, therapeutic claims, and market authorization intersect is now critical for compliance.

Canadian data centre development is entering a critical phase as provincial governments introduce new frameworks for power allocation and pricing. With electricity access becoming increasingly competitive and conditional, developers face evolving regulatory landscapes in British Columbia, Ontario, Alberta, and Québec that could fundamentally reshape project economics and timelines.

Canada's new Productivity Mega Deduction promises to slash the marginal effective tax rate on business investment to just 6.4%, positioning the country as the most competitive G7 nation for capital deployment. This permanent tax incentive extends immediate expensing to roughly 65% of capital assets, fundamentally reshaping the economics of investing in Canadian operations across manufacturing, energy, technology, and resource sectors.

The rapid expansion of data centre infrastructure has made these facilities a focal point for technological innovation and intellectual property investment. From server configurations to advanced cooling systems, the technologies deployed inside data centres represent significant R&D expenditure and competitive advantages. Patent protection offers operators and developers opportunities to safeguard innovations...

Todd Burke of Gowling WLG's International Board sits down with British High Commissioner Rob Tinline to explore the evolving Canada-UK partnership and the commercial opportunities emerging across priority sectors like quantum computing, naval shipbuilding, and nuclear energy. Their discussion examines how these two nations are working together to advance trade, embrace innovation, and reduce barriers to cross-border collaboration in an increasingly competitive global landscape.

A recent Ontario Court of Appeal decision provides important guidance for commercial lenders, borrowers, and guarantors on what happens when a loan is accelerated following default.

The Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership entered into force between Canada and the United Kingdom on September 1, 2026, fundamentally reshaping bilateral trade relations and investment frameworks. This development arrives as Canada actively diversifies away from U.S. trade dependence while the UK advances its post-Brexit global strategy, creating expanded market access for businesses on both sides of the Atlantic.