David Yazbeck Retained as Canadian Expert Panelist on Whistleblower Protection Law

David Yazbeck has recently been retained as a Canadian Expert Panelist for the European Commission, as part of a study examining whistleblower protection laws and empirical evidence of such protections. The Panel is conducting its whistleblower study so that the Commission can learn what is working and what is not working in terms of whistleblower protection in many jurisdictions. The larger study aims to: Map the existing rules on whistleblower... Read More

Labour Board Finds that Federal Government Interfered with Union Representation During Bargaining

In a recent decision, the Public Service Labour Relations and Employment Board allowed a complaint filed by the Public Service Alliance of Canada, alleging that the government had interfered with the union’s administration and its representation of members during collective bargaining. The complaint was filed after Treasury Board refused to permit a union negotiator to conduct walkthroughs of various worksites, and hold on-site meetings with members to discuss bargaining issues.... Read More

Federal Court issues Interim Order in Phoenix Pay System case

On December 22, 2016, the Federal Court issued an interim Order in response to an application filed by 14 federal public service unions regarding the pay problems faced by their members since the implementation of the Government’s new pay system, known as Phoenix, in early 2016. The order outlines a number of steps that the federal government must take to resolve the pay issues. These include sharing information in an... Read More

RAVENLAW WELCOMES TWO NEW PARTNERS

Ravenlaw is pleased to welcome Kim Patenaude and Wassim Garzouzi into the partnership, effective January 1, 2017. Both Kim and Wassim began their careers with Ravenlaw and have made significant contributions to the firm. Kim is fluently bilingual and provides practical advice and representation to individual clients on issues such as wrongful dismissal, constructive dismissal, severance packages, employment contracts, non-compete clauses, long term disability benefit claims, WSIB/Workers’ compensation, discrimination, harassment,... Read More

Federal Court Quashes Minister’s Decision on Work Refusal

In a recent decision, the Federal Court quashed a decision on behalf of the Minister of Labour, in which the Minister had refused to investigate the work refusal of a federal public service employee. The Applicant employee had notified her employer that she was refusing to work for health and safety reasons in February 2015. On May 13, 2015, the Labour Affairs Officer assigned to the Applicant’s case completed a... Read More

Class action launched against the Canadian Armed Forces for sexual assault and harassment

A group of former members of the Canadian Armed Forces, represented by Raven, Cameron, Ballantyne & Yazbeck LLP have launched a class action lawsuit on behalf of women and men who experienced sexual assault or sexual harassment in their service with the Canadian military. The lawsuit was initiated on Monday, November 28, 2016, when a Notice of Action was filed in Ontario Superior Court. The plaintiffs, Amy Graham, Nadine Schultz-Nielsen,... Read More

Federal Court tells Canadian Human Rights Commission to do better

In a recent judgment, the Federal Court overturned a decision of the Canadian Human Rights Commission, and delivered a strong rebuke of the Commission’s continued mishandling of a human rights complaint. This judgment affirms the importance of a complainant’s right to be heard, and calls upon the Commission to improve its procedures. Background The complainant, Michele Bergeron, had filed two human rights complaints with the Canadian Human Rights Commission. First,... Read More

Canadian Armed Forces class action in the news

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... Read More

David Yazbeck Appears Before Parliamentary Committee on Whistleblower Law

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... Read More

Holiday Hours

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. Read More