On March 12, 2015, Morgan Rowe spoke on a panel addressing key and emerging legal issues facing the trans* community. The panel was organized and hosted by OUTLaw, the LGBTQ Law Students’ Association at the University of Ottawa. Morgan spoke on trans* legal issues in the workplace, including discrimination in hiring and termination, workplace harassment, and the problems that arise from a medicalized approach to the duty to accommodate.

On Sunday, March 8, 2015, the Ottawa and District Labour Council hosted its annual International Women’s Day Dinner. The sold out event was attended by community and labour activists who gathered to celebrate and reflect on women’s roles in both the labour movement and the workplace.

Keynote speaker, Cindy Oliver, President of the Federation of Post-Secondary Educators of British Columbia, gave a rousing presentation on the importance of ensuring that all work environments, especially trades, are accessible and safe for women, while highlighting the work that still needs to be done to achieve true gender equality.

The theme of the evening was “Sisters Sharing Hope Vision Solidarity” and was sponsored by the Ottawa District Labour Council Women’s Committee.

Wassim Garzouzi from our firm attended the successful event.

On February 23, 2015, Morgan Rowe spoke to the University of Ottawa Law School’s disability law class about issues related to accommodation and inclusion facing young Canadians with disabilities. Morgan’s presentation focused on disability accommodation issues in employment, education and transportation. The presentation also involved discussion of the findings of the study outlined in Morgan’s book, Exploring Disability Identity and Disability Rights Through Narratives, which was co-authored with University of Ottawa Professor Ravi Malhotra.

David Yazbeck is quoted in “Charter vetting challenge heading to Federal Court”, an article in the January 2015 edition of The Lawyers Weekly magazine. The article discusses the upcoming Federal Court case of Schmidt v A.G. Canada. The Applicant, Edgar Schmidt, a former Department of Justice lawyer, sued the government in 2012. The lawsuit alleges that the Minister of Justice was failing to live up to his responsibilities under s. 4.1 of the Department of Justice Act and s. 3 of the Canadian Bill of Rights to vet all regulations and government bills tabled or presented by a cabinet minister in the House of Commons, and report any inconsistencies with the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms or Canadian Bill of Rights.

David Yazbeck is representing Mr. Schmidt in the Federal Court case.

On March 3, 2015, Kim Patenaude presented a workshop at Industry Canada on “The Respectful Workplace”.  The bilingual workshop was organized by Reach Canada and attended by over 30 employees in the National Capital Region.

Reach Canada has offered lawyer referrals and public education for individuals living with disabilities since 1981. Our firm is a long-term, proud supporter of REACH and its mission to improve the quality of life for citizens with disabilities.

For a number of years, Raven, Cameron, Ballantyne & Yazbeck has been an institutional member of the Board of Directors of the Workers’ History Museum. The museum held its annual general meeting on February 23, 2015 and the firm, through one of our partners, David Yazbeck, was confirmed as a Board Member again.

In addition to supporting the museum as a Board Member, David has been granted the title of Patron by the museum in recognition of the work he has done, and continues to do, for the museum.

The Workers’ History Museum was founded in 2011 with the goal of developing and preserving workers’ history, heritage and culture in the National Capital Region and Ottawa Valley.

David Yazbeck has been confirmed as a speaker for Funding Democracy, an international summit being held in Ottawa on June 16 – 17, 2015. The event will bring together some of the brightest, most progressive minds from around the world to discuss issues of austerity, tax reform and funding public services. The summit is designed to unite workers, employers and industry representatives from across the world to find practical, achievable and sustainable legislative alternatives to austerity measures during this global economic crisis. David will be speaking on the topic of whistleblowing.

On February 23 and 24, 2015, artists across Canada overwhelmingly voted to ratify Canada’s first scale agreement for visual artists at the National Gallery of Canada. As the Canadian Artists’ Representation/Le Front des artistes canadiens (CARFAC), explains

Major gains have been advanced for artists through this agreement, which sets out mandatory minimum fees and working conditions offered to artists by the gallery. Artists remain free to negotiate above these minimums, but they can never be offered less.

The agreement between the National Gallery and CARFAC and the Regroupement des artistes visuels du Québec (RAAV) will be in place for three years.

The ability of CARFAC/RAAV to reach this historic agreement is due in large part to the Supreme Court of Canada’s decision in Canadian Artists’ Representation v National Gallery of Canada in June, 2014. CARFAC/RAAV were represented by David Yazbeck, Michael Fisher and Wassim Garzouzi from RavenLaw in this successful appeal to the Supreme Court.

Oftentimes, employees will chafe when they are asked to sign confidentiality agreements limiting their ability to talk about a settlement reached regarding the termination of their employment. Many employees feel (perhaps rightly) that doing so allows the employer to avoid a public shaming for its behavior.  In the end, most employers insist upon confidentiality as one of the terms of the settlement, and they regularly include recourse for themselves if there is a breach of those terms. Recently an arbitrator and the Divisional Court in Ontario confirmed the importance of complying with the obligations in a settlement agreement.

In her book, Out of the Blue, Jan Wong chronicles her experience with workplace depression. Topics canvassed in the book include her struggle to obtain disability benefits, the termination of her employment and, ultimately, her recovery.  After a protracted dispute, Ms. Wong’s union succeeded in securing six months of sick-leave pay and a sizeable lump sum payment, equivalent to two years’ wages.  In exchange, Ms. Wong signed an agreement imposing certain obligations on her, including the obligation “not to disclose the terms of this settlement.”

The employer argued that, with the publication of Out of the Blue, Ms. Wong breached the confidentiality agreement. In her book, Ms. Wong disclosed that her employer paid her “a pile of money to go away”. She also wrote about receiving a “big fat cheque” and having a “vastly swollen bank account.” The employer brought the matter back in front of an Arbitrator, who concluded that Ms. Wong breached the conditions of settlement. She was therefore ordered to repay the settlement monies to her employer.

Ms. Wong applied for judicial review of the Arbitrator’s decision, but her application was recently dismissed by the Ontario Divisional Court in Wong v The Globe and Mail, 2014 ONSC 6372 . The Court stated, “The deal under the [settlement agreement] was clear. The Globe and Mail was to pay a large lump sum and the applicant was to stay quiet about the payment.” Justice Nordheimer concluded: “I cannot find any fault in the Arbitrator’s conclusion…in fact, it is hard to see how the Arbitrator could have concluded otherwise.”

The decisions of the Arbitrator and the Divisional Court offer an important lesson to any employee entering a settlement regarding the termination of their employment or a similar legal issue: when signing a settlement agreement, ensure you fully understand your continuing obligations, including an obligation to keep the terms of the settlement confidential. If you are considering a settlement or a severance offer, you should review its terms carefully with an employment lawyer to ensure you know your obligations, and the consequences of breaching those obligations.

[This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice, which cannot be given without consideration of your individual circumstances.]

This week, David Yazbeck is participating in the Canada Industrial Relations Board (“CIRB”) Consultation Committee as the Canadian Association of Labour Lawyers (“CALL”) nominee. The Consultation Committee is an ongoing dialogue and consultation process between the CIRB and the labour community, established for the purpose of canvassing labour and management sides with respect to their expectations regarding industrial relations issues that concern them. The Consultation Committee includes members from CALL, the Canadian Labour Congress, Confédération des syndicats nationaux, the Canadian Association of Counsel to Employers, and Federally Regulated Employers in Transportation and Communications Organization, as well as the Chairperson and representatives from the CIRB.