Several media outlets have reported on the class action lawsuit filed on Monday by members of It’s Just 700, a Canada-wide online resource and peer support group for survivors of Military Sexual Trauma (MST). The representative plaintiffs, Amy Graham, Nadine Schultz-Nielsen, and Larry Beattie, have given interviews about their experiences in the Canadian military and the reasons they have decided to come forward and pursue justice on behalf of victims of sexual assault and sexual harassment in the Canadian Armed Forces.

You can read more about the lawsuit here:

CBC News: Ex military members go to court alleging sexual assaults, misconduct

CTV News: Class-action lawsuit launched against military over alleged sexual misconduct

iHeart Radio: Military & Veterans Group Filing Class Action over Sex Assaults

L’actualité: Agressions sexuelles dans l’armée : la résistance s’organise

Radio-Canada: Agressions sexuelles : recours collectif contre l’armée canadienne

Ottawa Now with Evan Solomon: LISTEN: Military Veterans launching lawsuit against Feds after Sex Assaults while on duty

CTV News: Former Armed Forces member shares tale of alleged sexual assault

If you or a family member are a current or former member of the Canadian Armed Forces who has experienced sexual assault or sexual harassment in the military, you can contact our firm at armedforcesclassaction@ravenlaw.com. 

For media inquiries, please contact Andrew Raven at 613-567-2902 or araven@ravenlaw.com.

David Yazbeck, who has extensive experience representing employees in relation to whistleblowing generally and the Public Servants Disclosure Protection Act specifically, was recently invited by the House of Commons Standing Committee on Government Operations and Estimates to testify as part of its review of the Act. David testified on February 9th in order to provide his perspective on the effectiveness of the law.

The PSDPA provides a method for federal public service employees to disclose information that they believe could show that a wrongdoing has been committed or is about to be committed. It is also intended to protect employees who have made disclosures from reprisal.

Further information regarding the Committee’s review of the PSDPA can be found here.

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.