The federal government announced on Friday, October 18th that Canada and the European Union (“EU”) have come to a “political agreement” on free trade. The agreement, the Canada-European Union Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (“CETA”), has been called the most comprehensive free trade agreement ever signed by Canada. The agreement indeed appears highly comprehensive, addressing…
As the old saying goes, “you get what you pay for”. Two former employees of now-defunct Trillium Manufacturing are suing the Ministry of Labour over advice they received from its ESA hotline. The two employees accepted 8 weeks’ pay-in-lieu of notice from their employer as the ESA hotline told them that was their maximum legal entitlement,…
The Ontario Superior Court has released a decision which serves to remind employer and employees of the responsibility to speak up when unhappy with a change the terms of employment. The case, Whittemore v. Open Text Corporation, involved an employee who was employed as a Software Developer with Open Text Corporation (“Open Text”). His employment…
In unionized workplaces, temporary layoffs have long been an employer’s most effective way of responding to economic downturns. But what about non-unionized employers? Traditionally, unless an employer can show that it has an implied or express contractual right to temporarily layoff, a court will find that the interruption to employment will constitute a constructive dismissal…
The Yukon Government has just launched a 1 year pilot program aimed at expediting the entry of foreign workers into the Territory. The Government has specifically promised to work with employers to help them secure foreign labour where they cannot find Canadians or permanent residents to fill the roles. The program will aim to process…