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

Federal Court of Appeal Clarifies Interpretation of Whistleblower Law

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... Read More

Morgan Rowe Delivers Guest Lecture at University of Ottawa

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. Read More

Morgan Rowe Presents on Disability Rights and Advocacy

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.   Read More

Jacob Saltiel Judges First-Year Law Students Moot at U of O

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.   Read More