Please note our office will be closed from December 24, 2016 until January 2, 2017. We will reopen for regular business hours on Tuesday, January 3, 2017 at 8:30 am.

Warmest wishes for a happy holiday season and a wonderful new year.

In a recent judgment from the Federal Court of Appeal, the Court has provided some needed clarification regarding the interpretation of the Public Servants Disclosure Protection Act. Sylvie Therrien was a whistleblower who went public with information regarding the use of quotas in order to reduce employment insurance costs. Eventually, Ms. Therrien was suspended, had her reliability status revoked, and was terminated. Ms. Therrien filed grievances against those three actions which proceeded before an adjudicator from the Public Service Labour Relations and Employment Board. None of the grievances alleged reprisal, however.

Ms. Therrien filed a complaint with the Public Sector Integrity Commissioner alleging that each of these actions also represented reprisal for her public disclosure. Upon receipt of the complaint, the Commissioner’s Office refused to assess it on the basis that it was being dealt with as part of the grievance process.

In its January 17, 2017 decision, the Court of Appeal set aside the Commissioner’s decision. The Court made two important rulings. First, the Court said that the Commissioner could not refuse to deal with a complaint simply because the actions in the complaint are referred to in some other proceeding. Rather, the Commissioner has an obligation to determine whether that other proceeding would actually deal with the reprisal allegations on their merits.

Second, the Commissioner’s Office had advised Ms. Therrien’s counsel that it would be assessing the admissibility of the complaint on the basis of one section of the Act but then decided not to deal with the complaint on the basis of another section of the Act. The Court found that this was procedurally unfair.

Although the matter has been sent back to the Commissioner’s Office to be dealt with, the Commissioner has decided to hold the complaint in abeyance pending the outcome of Ms. Therrien’s adjudication proceedings.

Ms. Therrien is represented by David Yazbeck of RavenLaw, in both the reprisal complaint and the grievances.

Morgan Rowe recently delivered a guest lecture in the University of Ottawa’s Labour Law I course. The lecture addressed the rules governing the relationship between unions and their members, union security provisions, and the evolving role of unions in society.

On February 28, 2017, Morgan Rowe presented a webinar for the Canadian Association of Occupational Therapists on disability rights and advocacy. The presentation focused on the duty to accommodate disability, the legal and non-legal ways that people with disabilities can advocate for accommodation, and the role of medical professionals in accommodation processes.

On November 5, 2016, Jacob Saltiel participated as a judge in the University of Ottawa Law’s moot court competition for first-year students. Jacob judged two groups of students who presented arguments based on the Ontario Court of Appeal’s decision in Spence v BMO Trust Company. Jacob provided commentary and guidance to the impressive participants on their oral advocacy and presentation.

David Yazbeck has recently been appointed as a member of the Advisory Committee for the Queen’s Centre for Law in the Contemporary Workplace. This committee is composed of leaders in the field of workplace law. It is a tremendous resource for the Centre, providing advice on emerging issues, on research and conference activity and linking the Centre and its work to diverse professional communities with an interest in workplace law. Launched in 2010, the mission of the Centre is to advance law and policy in the contemporary workplace. Its vision is to be a leading force for innovation and law, policy and dialogue in the contemporary workplace.

Amanda Montague-Reinholdt has been elected to the Board of Directors for the Magnetic North Theatre Festival. Amanda has also been elected to serve as Secretary on the Board’s Executive Committee.

Magnetic North is Canada’s only national theatre festival, showcasing the very best of contemporary Canadian theatre. It has its home base in Ottawa, which hosts the festival every second year. The festival also has a unique travelling mandate, hosting the festival in a different community across Canada in alternate years, including the incredibly successful 2016 festival in Whitehorse. The next festival will take place in Ottawa in June 2017, coinciding with the celebrations of Canada’s 150^th anniversary.

The partners of Raven, Cameron, Ballantyne & Yazbeck are pleased to announce the selection of the successful 2017 Raven, Cameron, Ballantyne & Yazbeck Human Rights/Social Justice Internship candidates, Megan Fultz and Emily Cumbaa. Both Megan and Emily are in the second year of their studies at the University of Ottawa, Faculty of Law. We congratulate Megan and Emily on their achievement and look forward to working with them this summer when the internship takes place.

This is the twelfth  consecutive year that our firm has offered this Human Rights/Social Justice internship. Every summer, we provide paid employment to a student from the University of Ottawa Law School with placements in our firm and two social justice or human rights organizations. This year, Megan and Emily will be working with the Feminist Alliance for International Action (FAFIA) and the Economic and Social Council of Ottawa-Carleton. Previous placements for our internship have included the Workers’ History Museum, International Development Research Centre, EGALE Canada, Amnesty International, the Ottawa Coalition to End Violence Against Women, the Council of Canadians, REACH Canada, National Educational Association of Disabled Students and many other organizations which provide significant contributions in the areas of social justice and human rights.

The group of former military members who launched a class action regarding sexual misconduct in the Armed Forces has now filed a Statement of Claim in the Superior Court of Ontario. Amy Graham, Nadine Schultz-Nielsen, and Larry Beattie filed their full Statement of Claim on December 13, 2016, setting out their personal experiences of sexual assault and harassment, as well as the remedies that they are seeking on behalf of all class members.

The class action covers all current and former members of the Canadian Armed Forces who have experienced sexual assault, sexual harassment and abuse of power in the course of their education, training and service in the military. The Statement of Claim seeks compensation for affected members, as well as declarations and systemic orders against the government to change a system that condones a culture of sexual misconduct and punishes victims instead of perpetrators.

You can read more about the Statement of Claim here:

• CBC News: Sexual-misconduct lawsuit against Armed Forces alleges ‘reckless’ conduct

• Radio-Canada: Les Forces canadiennes visées par un recours collectif de 1 milliard de dollars

• Le Journal de Montréal: Un recours collectif d’un milliard $ contre l’armée

For more information, or if you or your family member may be affected by the class action, you can contact Raven Law at armedforcesclassaction@ravenlaw.com.

On March 22, 2017, RavenLaw sponsored Reach Canada’s Jamming for Justice event. The concert celebrated the opening of Reach’s new headquarters and was emceed by RavenLaw’s own David Yazbeck. Reach Canada is a legal referral organization for persons with disabilities and is dedicated to providing education and information on all matters pertaining to disabilities. RavenLaw was proud to support Reach’s event and to help raise funds for its important work.