Thought Leadership - September 26, 2016

When a building services provider in Ontario is replaced, who bears responsibility for common law wrongful dismissal damages owed to terminated employees? The Ontario Court of Appeal has delivered its first ruling on this critical question, establishing new precedent that significantly impacts liability allocation in the condominium, security, cleaning, and property management sectors.

In Cooper v GFI Solutions Ltd, 2026 ABCJ 142 (Higa, J), the Alberta Court of Justice found a wrongfully dismissed employee was entitled to 8 months’ reasonable notice plus $30k in aggravated damages. This is important for several reasons, but the aggravated damages award is the biggest highlight. I am aware of only one ACJ case with an aggravated damages award this high. I am not aware of any higher.

The Ontario Court of Appeal’s recent decisions in Baker v. Van Dolder’s Home Team Inc. and Li v. Wayfair Canada ULC may be among its most significant in the field of employment law in the past decade. Certainly, the volume of commentary on these cases would suggest that they are.

The Ontario Court of Appeal's decision in Wigdor v Facebook Canada Ltd. addresses whether employers can stop equity compensation vesting during statutory notice periods. When Facebook Canada terminated Dr. Wigdor and cancelled his unvested RSUs worth millions, the court examined whether forfeiture provisions in equity agreements can override Employment Standards Act protections for employee compensation.

An Oregon Court of Appeals decision clarifies how statutory damages are calculated in wage deduction cases, determining whether employees can recover $200 per paycheck or per violation category. The ruling also addresses when employers can use Oregon's class action cure provision to dismiss collective claims before litigation advances.

Yes. In Dome Mine Ltd. and USW, Local 7980, 2026 CanLII 78264 (ON LA), an Ontario arbitrator upheld the termination of an employee who refused a valid post-incident drug and alcohol test.

The Ontario Court of Appeal recently released its decision in Wigdor v. Facebook Canada Ltd., addressing two significant issues for Ontario employers: the enforceability of termination clauses that purport to limit an employee's entitlements, and the application of the Employment Standards Act, 2000 (ESA) to equity-based compensation documents such as Restricted Stock Unit (RSU) agreements.

La Cour d'appel de l'Ontario a confirmé que les options d'achat d'actions et autres régimes fondés sur des actions ne seront pas automatiquement considérés comme une rémunération d'emploi ni comme une modalité...

Smart glasses are rapidly transitioning from a novelty seen in movies to a mainstream workplace tool. Devices like the Ray-Ban Meta line and Samsung’s Google-powered glasses are being used across industries.

Le 25 août 2026, le gouvernement fédéral a annoncé un important panier de mesures visant à soutenir les entreprises et les travailleurs canadiens affectés par la plus récente vague de droits de douane imposés par les États-Unis, dans la foulée de l'échec des récentes négociations commerciales entre les deux pays.

Ontario commercial truck drivers with less than two years of heavy-truck experience must now pass a practical road test administered by Quebec's SAAQ before transferring their licence to operate heavy vehicles in the province. This new requirement follows fatal collisions and an Ontario Auditor General audit that exposed significant gaps in training standards and provider oversight. Carriers operating across the border need to factor these requirements into workforce planning, recruitment timelines, and dis

Ontario truck drivers with less than two years of commercial heavy vehicle experience must now pass a practical road test administered by Quebec's SAAQ before exchanging their license to drive commercial heavy vehicles in the province. This new requirement follows a series of collisions involving heavy trucks in Quebec and a May 2026 audit revealing significant gaps in Ontario's training standards and oversight of providers. Carriers operating across the Ontario-Quebec border must now factor these requireme

Les sociétés minières canadiennes font face à une décision stratégique cruciale : s'inscrire à la TSX ou opter pour une bourse américaine comme le NYSE ou le Nasdaq. Cet article examine les avantages distincts de chaque marché, notamment l'expertise sectorielle du Canada, la profondeur des capitaux américains et les implications en matière de coûts, de conformité et de calendrier d'exécution.

Le propriétaire d’un immeuble a apporté des centaines de modifications à la conception et il a ajouté pour plus de 2,7 millions $ de travaux supplémentaires, a refusé d’accorder des prolongations de délai, puis a tenté de réclamer à son entrepreneur des dommages-intérêts liquidés pour les retards qui en ont résulté.

Deepfakes are reaching courts. Learn how a U.S. case dismissed for AI-generated evidence and Canadian authentication rules are changing what litigators must do now.

The Supreme Court of Canada has unanimously struck down a privative clause in the Conflict of Interest Act that attempted to bar judicial review of the Ethics Commissioner's decisions. The ruling establishes that the Constitution guarantees a minimum of legality review over all administrative decisions, with implications extending to labour relations, workers' compensation, and immigration legislation containing similar clauses.

Une fiducie de placement immobilier inscrite en bourse a réussi à restructurer environ 1 milliard de dollars de dettes en défaut en utilisant un plan d'arrangement en vertu de la LCSA, évitant ainsi une procédure formelle d'insolvabilité sous la LACC. Cette décision judiciaire démontre comment les outils du droit des sociétés peuvent servir d'alternatives efficaces aux procédures d'insolvabilité traditionnelles pour les sociétés ouvertes

When a building owner issued hundreds of design changes worth over $2.7 million in extra work but refused to grant schedule extensions, could they still claim liquidated damages for delays? The BC Court of Appeal's decision in CIMIC Morningstar Investments Ltd. v. Chandos Construction Ltd. examines four critical principles that construction parties must understand when managing delay disputes, including notice compliance, promissory estoppel, and the prevention principle.

La Cour d'appel de l'Ontario a statué qu'un contrat de construction conclu en 2020 demeure régi par l'ancienne Loi sur le privilège dans l'industrie de la construction, malgré l'entrée en vigueur de la nouvelle Loi sur la construction en 2018. Cette décision soulève des questions cruciales pour les entrepreneurs et propriétaires sur les délais applicables et les droits de privilège dans les projets de longue haleine.

Le gouvernement du Canada propose de modifier les règles fiscales pour exempter les transferts de polices d'assurance-vie entre conjoints des règles de juste valeur marchande réputée. Cette modification permettrait aux conjoints bénéficiaires de recevoir des reçus de don plus élevés lorsqu'ils font don de ces polices à des organismes de bienfaisance, tout en augmentant potentiellement les dons reçus par ces organismes.