Share on LinkedInShare on LinkedIn

ARTICLE · 09 APRIL 2018

Drinking And Driving While Off Duty? Not Always Sufficient Cause For Termination

Borden Ladner Gervais LLP
Borden Ladner Gervais LLP
Contributor
Borden Ladner Gervais LLP

Borden Ladner Gervais LLP

With over 750 lawyers, intellectual property agents and other professionals, BLG services...

View firm profile
Explore more from Borden Ladner Gervais LLP

Previous decisions in Canada have confirmed that off-duty conduct of an employee may form the basis for termination from employment.

CanadaEmployment and HR
Lisa Carlson
Lisa Carlson
Author LinkedIn connections

Previous decisions in Canada have confirmed that off-duty conduct of an employee may form the basis for termination from employment. However, not all off-duty conduct, even where it is of a serious nature, will be sufficient to constitute cause. This was the finding in a recent decision before the British Columbia Supreme Court involving an assistant fire chief caught drinking and driving in a municipal-owned truck while off-duty.

Background

In Klonteig v. District of West Kelowna, 2018 BCSC 124, Mr. Klonteig, an assistant fire chief of the District of West Kelowna (the "District") was issued a 90-day administrative driving prohibition after being pulled over for suspected impaired driving when returning home from a date night with his spouse. At the time, he was driving a truck belonging to the fire chief (with his permission) and owned by the District, which was impounded.

We operate a free-to-view policy, asking only that you register in order to read all of our content. Please login or register to view the rest of this article.

Register for freeORLog in

View source

Related Articles

Legal Intelligence Newsletters: sign up for the latest legal and regulatory news on your chosen topics

Read more about

Related Comparative Guides

See more popular content from

Article

Tariffs, Terminations And EI: Implications Of Canada’s New Support Package For Employers

Canada's federal government has announced a $3.5 billion rapid response support package in anticipation of retaliatory tariffs against the United States, introducing new temporary employment insurance measures and workforce retention programs. The package extends EI benefits, waives waiting periods, and creates funding opportunities for employers to retain and retrain workers rather than implement large-scale layoffs.
CanadaEmployment and HR
Siskinds LLP
Siskinds LLP
Article

Silva v. Royal Bank Of Canada: A Cautionary Tale About Terminating For Cause

A financial planner's wrongful dismissal case against RBC resulted in over $2.5 million in damages after the bank filed an inaccurate termination notice that destroyed her career prospects. The Ontario Superior Court found the bank's conduct vindictive and its allegations of cause unproven, raising critical questions about employer obligations when reporting terminations in the investment industry.
CanadaEmployment and HR
Affleck Greene McMurtry LLP
Affleck Greene McMurtry LLP
Article

Unsubstantiated Findings In Workplace Investigations: What To Do When You Can’t Decide

When workplace investigators face difficult decisions, many default to marking allegations as "unsubstantiated" to avoid risk. However, this seemingly safe approach carries significant organizational costs, undermines complainant trust, and often stems from insufficient training in credibility assessment and the balance of probabilities standard.
CanadaEmployment and HR
RT Workplace Training & Consulting Inc.
RT Workplace Training & Consulting Inc.
Article

From Duties To Import Bans: The Canada–U.S. Tariff War After The Collapse Of Negotiations

The United States has escalated its trade dispute with Canada by imposing import bans on alcoholic beverages, dairy products, and motorcycles under Section 338 of the Tariff Act of 1930, while Canada responds with matched counter-tariffs on $27.6 billion worth of U.S. goods. Following the collapse of bilateral negotiations in August 2026, both nations have entered an unprecedented phase of trade restrictions that extends beyond traditional tariffs to include procurement exclusions and threatens further auto
GlobalInternational Law
Borden Ladner Gervais LLP
Borden Ladner Gervais LLP
Article

Canada Investment Summit 2026: What Business Leaders Need To Know

Canada's inaugural Investment Summit in September 2026 aims to attract $1 trillion in investment across defence, infrastructure, Indigenous partnerships, technology, energy, critical minerals and agriculture. This analysis examines the federal measures shaping the Summit's agenda and outlines the key legal, regulatory and structuring considerations businesses and investors should evaluate when assessing nation-building opportunities in Canada.
CanadaGovernment, Public Sector
Borden Ladner Gervais LLP
Borden Ladner Gervais LLP
Article

New Churchill Falls Agreement: Key Terms For Newfoundland And Labrador, Québec And Canadian Power Markets

Newfoundland and Labrador's House of Assembly has approved a landmark definitive cooperation and implementation agreement that would replace the 1969 Churchill Falls Power Contract, pair the redevelopment of Churchill Falls with the Gull Island project, and establish new transmission pathways through Québec. The agreement faces political uncertainty in Québec ahead of the October 2026 provincial election...
CanadaEnergy and Natural Resources
Borden Ladner Gervais LLP
Borden Ladner Gervais LLP
Article

SCC Clarifies When Administrative Errors Are “irregularities” Requiring Annulment Of Election

The Supreme Court of Canada annulled a federal election in Terrebonne, Quebec after a single mail-in ballot went uncounted due to an Elections Canada administrative error—a postal code mistake that directly affected the one-vote margin of victory. In a 6-3 decision, the majority clarified that serious administrative errors can constitute "irregularities" under the Canada Elections Act even without fraud or intentional wrongdoing, fundamentally reshaping how courts balance electoral integrity against v
CanadaLitigation, Mediation & Arbitration
Borden Ladner Gervais LLP
Borden Ladner Gervais LLP
Article

New AI Safety Standard Relevant To Canadian School Boards

A major U.S. vendor agreement has established a rigorous new AI safety standard for educational technology, prohibiting the use of student data for AI training and enforcing strict data minimization. While the standard does not directly bind vendors in Canada, Canadian school boards can leverage this precedent to demand equivalent contractual protections and strengthen their own AI governance frameworks.
CanadaTechnology
Borden Ladner Gervais LLP
Borden Ladner Gervais LLP
Article

Prediction Markets And IGaming Update: Forecasting More Developments Ahead

Canadian securities regulators have drawn a clear line excluding sports and entertainment prediction markets from securities regulation, leaving provincial gaming authorities to develop frameworks for these emerging platforms. Meanwhile, Quebec's political landscape suggests a potential opening of its iGaming market, and the Supreme Court prepares to rule on whether Ontario operators can legally connect players internationally through pooled liquidity arrangements.
CanadaCorporate/Commercial Law
Borden Ladner Gervais LLP
Borden Ladner Gervais LLP