Employers have every reason to vigorously protect their confidential information. In a competitive marketplace, the maximum value of a work product is highly dependent on exclusivity of ownership. And as the saying goes, once the “genie is out of the bottle” it can never be back in. However, a recent case from the Ontario Superior…
By: Christina Hall and Kevin MacNeill On July 22, 2013, the Ontario Superior Court of Justice ruled in Choc v. Hudbay Minerals Inc. that three separate lawsuits brought by indigenous Guatemalans against a Canadian mining company, Hudbay Minerals Inc. (“Hudbay”) and other defendants, can go forward in Canada. The plaintiffs’ lawsuits allege that between 2007…
A BC ferry officer, convicted last month of two charges of criminal negligence causing death in relation to the sinking of a passenger ferry off the British Columbia coast 7 years ago, was sentenced to four years in prison and banned from operating vessels for 10 years. The officer is appealing his conviction and sentence….
A recent case out of Quebec discusses the level of procedural fairness that may be owed during a workplace investigation for a public institution. In Ditomene c. Boulanger, two employees at a CEGEP (a public school) filed a complaint of psychological harassment under Quebec law against their superior, Mr. Ditomene. The CEGEP retained Ms. Boulanger…
In the course of our workplace investigation practice we often encounter employees who insist on some form of representation. However whether represented by a lawyer, union official, or even family member, there is a risk that the representative will end up doing more harm than good. After all, the point of an investigation is to…