Labour and employment law had some interesting developments in
2016. What follows are a few highlights from the last year and an
introduction to an issue that may attract significant attention in
2017.
The Supreme Court says no to without cause dismissals in
the federal sector: In Wilson v. Atomic Energy of
Canada Ltd1,the Supreme Court of Canada held that
federally regulated employees cannot be dismissed without just
cause. Prior to Wilson, there were two diverging sets of authority
as to whether a federally-regulated employer could dismiss a
non-unionized employee without cause, with notice or compensation
in lieu of notice. Wilson ended the debate and now, in effect,
employees who fall under the unjust dismissal provisions of the
Canada Labour Code have similar protections to those of unionized
employees. A dismissed employee can pursue a complaint under the
Canada Labour Code even if the employee received notice of the
termination or compensation in lieu of
