The partners of Raven, Cameron, Ballantyne & Yazbeck are pleased to announce the selection of the successful 2016 Raven, Cameron, Ballantyne & Yazbeck Human Rights/Social Justice Internship candidates, Max Halparin and Samantha Dubord. Both Max and Samantha are in the second year of their studies at the University of Ottawa, Faculty of Law. We congratulate Max and Samantha on their achievement and look forward to working with them this summer when the internship takes place.

This is the eleventh 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, Samantha and Max will be working with the National Educational Association of Disabled Students and a joint venture with the Canadian Council for Refugees, South Ottawa Legal Clinic and the University of Ottawa. 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, and many other organizations which provide significant contributions in the areas of social justice and human rights.

Another year is drawing to a close, providing an opportunity to look back and consider the year’s victories and challenges in the labour and employment law context. 2015 was a momentous year for workers’ rights: there were several significant court judgments, as well as important legislative and political changes. Here is RavenLaw’s Year in Review, listing of the top five developments of the year:

1. Right to strike: the Supreme Court issued its new “Labour Trilogy” this year, with three judgments that elaborated upon freedom of association under the Charter in the labour context. The most significant of these cases was Saskatchewan Federation of Labour v. Saskatchewan, 2015 SCC 4, which recognized a Constitutional right to strike. Read more about this huge gain for workers’ rights here.
2. Constructive dismissal: in Potter v New Brunswick Legal Aid Services Commission, 2015 SCC 10, the Supreme Court clarified the test for when an employee has been constructively dismissed. The Court emphasized the importance of work, confirming that the withholding an employee’s work can amount to constructive dismissal. Read more about the judgment here.
3. Upheaval in unjust dismissal law under Canada Labour Code: the Federal Court of Appeal’s judgment in Wilson v Atomic Energy of Canada Ltd, 2015 FCA 17 departed from the well-established approach to unjust dismissal complaints under the Canada Labour Code, and rejected that employees under that regime can only be terminated for just cause. The Supreme Court has granted leave to appeal the judgment, and workers’ advocates will be closely watching the results of that appeal. Read more about the Court of Appeal’s judgment here.
4. Expanded worker remedies under the Employment Standards Act: important remedial gains for Ontario workers took effect in February of this year, pursuant to amendments to the Employment Standards Act. These amendments included the elimination of a cap on recovery for unpaid wages and increases to the time limits to bring employment standards complaints. Read more about these developments here.
5. Ousting of the federal Conservatives: while this was not a legal development, there is no question that this change will dramatically impact workers’ rights going forward. The Liberal government has promised to repeal several anti-union laws passed by the Conservatives. Read more about those campaign promises here.

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

On March 29, 2016, David Yazbeck will be speaking on “Blowing a Whistle at Work: Legal Rights and Obligations” at the Insight Information Workplace Rights & Accommodations Forum 2016. The Forum will provide a guideline for handling complicated workplace accommodations and rights issues through in-depth analysis into case law and best practices.

David’s presentation will examine whistleblowing, including when an employee can blow the whistle, key elements of a whistleblower policy, when an employee can “go public” and the legislation that exists to facilitate whistleblowing or provide protection in the case of reprisal for whistleblowing.

On January 7, 2016, RavenLaw was proud to support the University of Ottawa Employment & Labour Law Students’ Society in hosting a social event bringing together students interested in labour and employment law and lawyers practicing in the field. Andrew Astritis and Amanda Montague-Reinholdt were pleased to attend on behalf of RavenLaw and have the opportunity to meet students interested in our area of practice.

In a decision rendered on March 14, 2016, the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario rejected an employer’s request to have a Human Rights Code complaint dismissed on the basis that the employee had failed to establish the existence of a disability.

The adjudicator found that there was no requirement that medical conditions be permanent or persistent in order to qualify as disabilities within the meaning of the Code, specifically declining to follow prior case law from the Human Rights Tribunal which had established these requirements. The adjudicator also rejected the employer’s argument that a disability had to be ongoing at the time of the adverse treatment in order to be considered discrimination. Instead, the adjudicator observed: “The protections under the Code would have little meaning if an employer could terminate an employee because of disability-related absences provided the disability no longer exists at the time of termination.”

The employee was represented by Morgan Rowe of RavenLaw.

RavenLaw was proud to again support the Annual Ottawa Women’s Legal Education and Action Fund (“LEAF”) Persons Day Breakfast. This year’s breakfast, part of LEAF’s 30^th anniversary year, focused on issues of access to affordable housing and the homelessness crisis in Canada.  

LEAF is a charitable non-profit organization that works to advance the equality rights of women and girls in Canada. The annual fundraising breakfast commemorates the Persons Case – the October 18, 1929 decision of the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council that ruled that women were to be considered persons under the law and should be eligible to sit in the Canadian Senate. Proceeds from the Persons Day breakfast support LEAF’s litigation efforts and help to sustain local equality education programs, such as LEAF at Work and Only Yes Means Yes.

Our office will be closed on Friday, December 11th from 1:30 pm  to 5:00 pm. We will return to regular office hours on Monday, December 14th.

On November 6, 2015, Morgan Rowe will be presenting a guest lecture in the University of Ottawa – Faculty of Common Law’s “Human Rights” class, as part of the class on emerging topics in human rights. This is the fourth year that Morgan has been invited to speak as part of this class. Her presentation will be focusing on topics related to sexual orientation, asexuality, and the regulation of personal relationships.

On December 11, 2015, David Yazbeck will be speaking at the Canadian Association of University Teachers (“CAUT”) Defending a Diverse Membership Forum for Senior Grievance Officers on “How to Identify and Win Systemic Discrimination Cases”. David’s session will examine how to confront the difficult problem of subtle forms of structural discrimination in the workplace. More information on the Forum is available here.

On November 5, 2015, James Cameron will be speaking on “Resolving Pay Equity Issues in the Provincial and Federal Contexts” at a Canadian Bar Association Labour and Employment Conference. James is speaking as part of a panel of experts on the essentials in pay equity law, including helpful strategies for resolving pay equity disputes without resorting to litigation and legal obligations with respect to pay equity. More information about the conference is available here.