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ARTICLE · 22 AUGUST 2019

Dependent Contractor Status Requires "Substantially More Than 50%" of Income Coming From One Client

MacDonald & Associates
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A recent decision of the Ontario Court of Appeal provided some guidance on how economically dependent a contractor must be before they are afforded the same statutory

CanadaLitigation, Mediation & Arbitration
Chris Justice
Chris Justice
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A recent decision of the Ontario Court of Appeal provided some guidance on how economically dependent a contractor must be before they are afforded the same statutory and common law termination protections given to employees.

In Thurston v. Ontario (Children's Lawyer), 2019 ONCA 640, Ms. Thurston was a lawyer who provided services to the Office of the Children's Lawyer (OCL) under a series of fixed-term contracts over a 13-year period. The OCL did not renew the last contract.

Each contract required Ms. Thurston to apply for reappointment as one contract expired, there was no automatic right of renewal, and had language to the effect of what is reproduced below:

The term may be extended or subsequently renewed in the discretion of the Children's Lawyer.

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