Manitoba Employment Standards Code – What You Need to Know

By Dayna Steinfeld In Manitoba, The Employment Standards Code (“ESC”) establishes basic and minimum rights and standards for provincial employees. Where the ESC applies to a worker’s job, these rights and standards are mandatory. This kind of legislation is not unique to Manitoba. Employment standards statutes are found in every province and in the federal jurisdiction, and there are many general similarities between the Manitoba ESC and legislation in other... Read More

Is My Termination Clause Invalid? Conflicting Case Law In The Ontario Courts

Recent decisions in the Ontario courts have created uncertainty for Ontario workers as to whether the termination clauses in their contracts are valid or not. Many employment contracts contain a sentence that reads something like this: c) Termination by the Company for Just Cause – The Company has the right, at any time and without notice, to terminate your employment under this Agreement for just cause. Under this provision, if... Read More

Ontario Announces Legislation for More Workplace Policies

Wassim Garzouzi speaks to Ottawa Morning with Robyn Bresnahan on the Ontario Government’s proposed amendments to the Employment Standards Act, specifically as they relate to the right to disconnect. [audio mp3="https://ravenlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/raven-law-mp3.mp3"][/audio] Read More

Ontario Government Proposes to Ban Noncompete Clauses

Wassim Garzouzi was interviewed by the Toronto Star on the Ontario Government’s proposed ban on noncompete clauses in employment contracts. Check out what he said here! Read More

Courts differ on whether to deduct CERB benefits from wrongful dismissal damages

By Raven Law [The firm gratefully recognizes the contribution of this post by articling student Anna Rotman] The Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB) was introduced in part to support individuals who lost their jobs due to the pandemic. Millions of workers across Canada who were out of work at some point during the pandemic have received CERB payments. Some of those workers may have made claims of wrongful dismissal against... Read More

Federal Court Rejects Anti-Abortion Challenge to Government Funding Restrictions

On October 22, 2021, the Federal Court dismissed an application by the Right to Life Association of Toronto and Area (TRTL), which sought to challenge the Federal Government’s decision to deny it funding for the 2018 Canada Summer Jobs program because its president refused to sign an attestation that the job and the organization’s mandate respected human rights, including reproductive rights. (more…) Read More

Jessica Greenwood to Co-Chair Public Sector Bargaining Conference

On November 24, 2021, Jessica Greenwood will be co-chairing the Ontario Bargaining in the Broader Public Sector Conference, hosted by Lancaster House. Jessica will be moderating panels on the economic forecast for 2022 and its potential impact on bargaining and on how the COVID-19 pandemic and the move to virtual meetings will impact bargaining processes. Other panels will address negotiations topics affecting workplaces in 2022, like post-pandemic health and safety concerns, and ways... Read More

Wassim Garzouzi Publishes Chapter on Collective Bargaining in Education

Wassim Garzouzi recently published a chapter in the edited collection, Collective Bargaining in Higher Education. Wassim’s chapter addresses the myth of academic exceptionalism in organizing and collective bargaining within academia, examined through the lens of a successful organizing drive and first contract achieved by the part-time law professors at the University of Ottawa. The chapter is available here. The interest arbitration decision referred to in the chapter can be found here. Read More

“Draconian and Inflexible”, Arbitrator Declares ORNGE’s Drug and Alcohol Policy to be Unreasonable and Discriminatory

The Office and Professional Employees International Union (OPEIU) was successful in two grievances challenging ORNGE’s Drug and Alcohol Policy. Specifically, the OPEIU challenged the ORNGE’s “zero-tolerance” approach to medical cannabis, and its practice to treat prescribed medicinal cannabis differently from other types of medication. Arbitrator Gail Misra declared ORNGE’s policy to be discriminatory and unreasonable. She concluded that “having a blanket edict that if an employee can only use medical... Read More

Dayna Steinfeld Appears in Constitutional Challenge for First Nations Children

Beginning on October 25, 2021, Dayna Steinfeld is appearing in the Manitoba Court of Queen’s Bench as co-counsel for the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs (AMC) in a case challenging the Manitoba government’s enactment of section 231 of The Budget Implementation and Tax Statutes Amendment Act (BITSA). Section 231 of BITSA legislatively immunizes the Manitoba government from liability for taking more than $335 million of federal Children’s Special Allowance funds from Manitoba children in the child welfare system. In... Read More