No Just Cause For Termination

A recent decision of the BC Supreme Court went in favour of an employee who was terminated by her employer for alleged conflict of interest and breaches of policy. The court determined that there was a lack of clarity, training and consistency in its policies and procedures, and a flawed investigation: Ogden v. CIBC.

Ms. Ogden immigrated to Canada in 2000. She learned English and earned a business degree from Royal Roads University. She went to work with CIBC and built up a portfolio of $233 million working with Chinese clients. She was consistently a top performer.

In the middle of one night in 2010, in an urgent situation, she accepted a wire transfer of funds from China to her personal account and then completed the transfer to the client's account the next day. There was nothing hidden, no personal benefit to Ms. Ogden, and it was done as the only way to get the funds necessary to avoid the collapse of a house purchase by the client . Apart from the funds being