In Benjamin v. Cascades Canada ULC, 2017 ONSC
2583, the plaintiff had worked as an unskilled labourer with the
defendant company for 28 years. The company had eliminated all of
its production functions at one of its plant locations, resulting
in the dismissal of 41 employees, including the plaintiff.
There was no dispute that the plaintiff was entitled to
reasonable notice of termination. The focus at trial, however, was
on whether the plaintiff had appropriately mitigated his loss.
Following the closure of its plant, the company notified the
plaintiff of three comparable jobs available in another location
and offered one-on-one coaching.
The plaintiff did not apply to any of those jobs and did not
participate in any coaching session. In fact, the plaintiff did not
make any attempt at all to obtain alternate employment. Instead,
one month after his dismissal, the plaintiff chose to attend a
full-time welding program for six months. The plaintiff argued that
he
