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ARTICLE · 06 OCTOBER 2023

New Tort Of Harassment Recognized By Alberta Court

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Alberta is the first Canadian province to recognize the common law tort of harassment in a recent decision of the Alberta Court of King's Bench in Alberta Health Services v Johnston...

CanadaEmployment and HR
Camille Dunbar
Camille Dunbar
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Alberta is the first Canadian province to recognize the common law tort of harassment in a recent decision of the Alberta Court of King's Bench in Alberta Health Services v Johnston,1 where the Court awarded the Plaintiffs a total of $650,000 in damages, $100,000 of which were for harassment alone. While Ontario and other Canadian provinces have thus far declined to recognize harassment as an independent tort, this decision may pave the way for other Canadian jurisdictions to finally follow suit.

THE FACTS

The Plaintiffs in this case were Alberta Health Services and two of its employees, who worked as public health inspectors. The role of the individual plaintiffs was to educate Albertans about the orders of the Chief Medical Officer of Health, including orders concerning the COVID-19 pandemic.

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