Congratulations to Nick Continelli, recipient of the 2015-2016 Raven, Cameron, Ballantyne & Yazbeck Prize in Human Rights Law

RavenLaw is pleased to congratulate University of Ottawa student Nick Continelli on being awarded the 2015-2016 Raven, Cameron, Ballantyne & Yazbeck Prize in Human Rights Law. The prize is awarded to the student who achieves the highest standing in the Human Rights Law in Canada course in the Common Law section. We congratulate Nick for this significant achievement!   Read More

Federal Court of Appeal Confirms that Amounts Earned by a Dismissed Employee are Deductible from a Damages Award due to Mitigation only if they are Referable to the Loss for which the Damages are Awarded

On April 26, 2016, the Federal Court of Appeal rendered its judgment in Bahniuk v Attorney General of Canada, 2016 FCA 127, allowing the appeal from the judgment of the Federal Court and setting aside a portion of a remedial award made by an Adjudicator of the Public Service Labour Relations Board. The appeal related to the Adjudicator’s decision to reduce the award for compensatory damages for unjust termination by... Read More

Kim Patenaude a Feature Volunteer for Reach Canada

Ravenlaw's Kim Patenaude is honored to be a “Featured Volunteer” on the Reach Canada website.  Kim has provided presentations for REACH on various topics such as the Duty to Accommodate and the Respectful Workplace.  Kim also provides pro bono legal services through REACH’s lawyer referral service.  REACH has provided this service and public education for individuals living with disabilities since 1981.  Ravenlaw is a long-term, proud supporter of REACH. Read More

Double Jeopardy: Arbitrator Recognizes that Email Criticising Conduct can Constitute Discipline

It is an established principle in labour law that an employer cannot impose more than one penalty for the same offence – but what constitutes a penalty? That was the issue at the heart of Collège Boréal, an arbitral award released on July 23, 2015, where an employee appeared to receive two sanctions for the same event. The grievor was tasked with accompanying college students at a hockey tournament in... Read More

Arbitrator Confirms that Cancellation of Shifts Constitutes a Layoff

In a recent arbitral award, Arbitrator Goodfellow confirmed that the cancellation of two full-time employee’s shifts during temporary slowdowns constituted a layoff within the meaning of the collective agreement. The Arbitrator agreed with the Union, CUPE, Local 139, that the cancellation of shifts was a layoff because it involved a reduction in a full-time employee’s hours of work below the permissible level in the collective agreement. Under this award, the... Read More

Morgan Rowe Interviewed on CBC Radio

On April 1, 2016, Morgan Rowe spoke to CBC Radio about a recent decision by the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario that accepted that miscarriage is a disability. In its decision, rendered on March 14, 2016, the Tribunal rejected an employer’s request to have a Human Rights Code complaint dismissed on the basis that the employee had failed to establish the existence of a disability. Morgan represented the employee in... Read More

Adjudicator Confirms that Termination not an Appropriate Sanction for Long Service Employees who Committed Single, Unplanned Infraction

On August 21, 2015, an Adjudicator of the Public Service Labour Relations and Employment Board reinstated two long service Parks Canada employees who were terminated for entering a restricted area at a National Park site and swimming in an underground cave pool that contained an endangered species of snail. While Adjudicator Gobeil was satisfied that the grievors had entered the premises knowing that they should not have and swam in... Read More

Andrew Astritis to Speak at Council for Canadians with Disabilities Panel Presentation

Andrew Astritis will be speaking at a Council for Canadians with Disabilities (“CCD”) program entitled “Providing Accessible and Quality Legal Services to Clients with Disabilities” on Friday, April 8, 2016 at Gillespie’s Court Reporting at 1300 Slater Street, Ottawa. CCD is a national human rights organization of people with disabilities working for an inclusive and accessible Canada. Tickets for the program are available here. For more information, please contact vmena085@uottawa.ca... Read More

Celine Girouard to Represent Canada at the World Dodgeball Championships

Celine Girouard, a Paralegal at RavenLaw, will be playing for Team Canada at the World Dodgeball championships. Celine and the rest of Team Canada will be travelling to Melbourne this summer for the competition. Congratulations Celine and best of luck to Team Canada!   Read More

Applying for the Disability Tax Credit

[This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice, which cannot be given without consideration of your individual circumstances.] What is the Disability Tax Credit? The Disability Tax Credit is a non-refundable, transferable tax credit used to reduce income tax payable on your annual income tax return. When you qualify for the Disability Tax Credit, you become entitled to a “disability amount”, which is to be... Read More