The Canadian Human Rights Tribunal recently released its groundbreaking decision in Johnstone v. Canada Border Services Agency. In its ruling, the Tribunal held that Fiona Johnstone’s employer failed to accommodate her family status obligations and, in particular, her need to provide child care for her children.

Fiona Johnstone, a Border Service Officer with the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA), requested a fixed shift schedule to allow her to arrange child care for her child. Like her husband, who also works at CBSA, Mrs Johnstone worked an irregular rotating shift schedule – 24 hours a day, seven days a week – which made it impossible to find a child care provider. The employer stated that it would provide a static shift for Mrs Johnstone, but forced her into part-time status.

Mrs Johnstone presented a complaint in 2004 under theCanadian Human Rights Act, which was ultimately referred to the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal for a hearing. Mrs Johnstone was supported throughout this process by her union, the Public Service Alliance of Canada.

In its defence, the employer argued that the test for family status discrimination should be higher than that of other grounds of discrimination. In particular, the employer argued that family status discrimination should only be found where there is a “serious interference” with a “substantial parental obligation.” Mrs Johnstone, with legal representation from our firm, maintained that the threshold for demonstrating discrimination in a family status case should be no different than for any other ground of discrimination. The Tribunal agreed with Mrs Johnstone, stating that “an individual should not have to tolerate some amount of discrimination to a certain unknown level before being afforded the protection of theAct.” The Tribunal found that Mrs Johnstone had established aprima facie case of discrimination.

The Tribunal also rejected the employer’s argument that it would suffer undue hardship if it was required to accommodate Mrs Johnstone. In particular, the Tribunal rejected the employer’s submission that there would be health and safety concerns associated with Mrs Johnstone working 13-hour shifts and also rejected the expert evidence tendered by the employer that providing accommodation to Mrs Johnstone would open the floodgates to other requests for family status accommodation at CBSA. The Tribunal noted that, other than the expert report that was prepared for litigation and expressly rejected by the Tribunal, the employer had undertaken no analysis or consultations concerning the possibility of accommodating Mrs Johnstone’s child care needs.

The Tribunal ruled that CBSA’s conduct was willful and reckless in depriving Mrs Johnstone of her employment opportunities. The Tribunal ordered CBSA to pay Mrs Johnstone for lost wages and pension benefits, as well as damages totalling $35,000.

The full text of the Tribunal’s decision is available here.

Our firm is renewing its partnership with the University of Ottawa and continues its commitment and funding to the Raven, Cameron, Ballantyne & Yazbeck LLP/s.r.l. Human Rights/Social Justice Internship which provides a student with an opportunity to work full time over the summer as an intern in the areas of social justice and human rights.

This is a program that we are very proud of as it gives students excellent experience in these areas but also provides legal support to social justice organizations. This year, the host organizations are the Ottawa Coalition to End Violence Against Women (OCTEVAW) and the Council of Canadians.

If your organization works in the areas of social justice and human rights and you are interested in having an intern in the future, please contact David Yazbeck at 613-567-2901.

Raven, Cameron, Ballantyne & Yazbeck was a proud sponsor of the Ottawa Folk Festival again this year. In particular, we were delighted to support Jim Bryson and The Weakerthans, who performed as part of an exciting Saturday night line-up on the Main Stage and participated in several workshops during the festival.

Acclaimed Ottawa singer-songwriter Jim Bryson teamed up with iconic Winnipeg band The Weakerthans, who took their name from a line in the well-known union anthem Solidarity Forever: “yet what force on earth is weaker than the feeble strength of one.” Given our work with employees and unions in labour and human rights matters, it was a pleasure support artists who share our passion for and commitment to social justice and equality.

Being part of the Ottawa Folk Festival was a wonderful experience — and one we hope to continue in the future!

The partners at Raven, Cameron, Ballantyne & Yazbeck are pleased to announce the selection of the successful candidate for the firm’s 2010 Human Rights/Social Justice Internship.

Raphaëlle Laframboise Carignan is a second-year law student in the Programme de droit canadien (LL.B. and LL.L.) at the University of Ottawa. Raphaëlle has had a varied interest in social justice or human rights initiatives, particularly through her work with the University of Ottawa Community Legal Clinic and with the Organization of American States (as an intern in their Cultural Program Department program with an MME). Among other things, Raphaëlle worked with the OAS to promote Latin American arts and also participated as an international electoral observer during the 2007 electoral process in Guatemala. Congratulations Raphaëlle!

Each year, our firm provides funding for a student from the Faculty of Law at the University of Ottawa to work full time over the summer as an intern in the areas of social justice and human rights. This is a program that we are very proud of, as it gives students excellent experience in these areas but also provides legal support to organizations that often are unable to afford this. This year, the host organizations which will benefit from the internship are the Canadian Artists’ Representation/le Front des artistes canadiens (CARFAC) and l’Association des enseignantes et des enseignants franco-ontariens (AEFO).

If your organization works in the areas of social justice and human rights, and you are interested in having an intern in the future, please contact David Yazbeck at 613-567-2901.

Ravenlaw was proud to sponsor the 2012 Ottawa Folk Festival, continuing the ongoing relationship between the firm and this wonderful event. This year’s festival was a huge success, with many outstanding performances at the Ravenlaw stage and elsewhere. The festival also featured free activities for folk fans of all ages to come and experience the event, including workshops with many of the artists. We hope that everyone who attended had a great time!

For pictures and more: www.digitallounge.ca/event/folkfest-2012/