Employment Contract Can Be Unenforceable Even If It Complies with the ESA for the particular employee in the particular circumstances

In the recent decision in Garreton v Complete Innovations Inc., 2016 ONSC 1178 [Garreton], the Ontario Superior Court of Justice disagreed with the recent line of reasoning that the contract of employment, particularly the termination provision must conform to provincial employment standards legislation for the "particular employee, in the particular circumstances." Instead, the Divisional Court upheld […]

Employer is Entitled to Dismiss a Probationary Employee Without Notice and Without Giving Reasons

A recent decision of the Divisional Court in Nagribianko v Select Wine Merchants Ltd., 2016 ONSC 490 [Nagribianko v Select], appears to be somewhat of a set back to the evolving policy of the common law to provide greater fairness to those who are working toward becoming permanent employees. The Divisional Court held that during […]

A Brief Look at Osgoode’s 2015 Constitutional Cases Conference

Osgoode’s Constitutional Cases Conference is the leading constitutional law conference in Canada and a much anticipated annual event. The Conference, now in its 19th year, brings together constitutional law experts and practitioners for insightful analysis of the past year’s Supreme Court of Canada (“SCC”) constitutional judgments. There were a few novelties to this year’s event […]

Parental Access for Crown Wards: The “highly adoptable child”

When a child is made a crown ward, how much access should the biological parent have? While Ontarian courts have had to determine this issue in numerous child protection cases, the analysis was complicated by recent statutory amendments. In 2011, there was a significant statutory amendment made to the Children and Family Services Act, RSO […]

The Supreme Court by Numbers (of Words) (Part 1)

This article was co-authored by Richard Haigh and Victoria Peter. Few things in Canadian legal circles are as agonizingly analyzed as Supreme Court of Canada (“SCC”) judgments. Scholars parse them for logical consistency, legal reasoning, political leanings, policy shifts, historical and factual accuracy, social context, fidelity to precedent and more. Private bar lawyers read them […]

Legal Resurrection: Tax Appeals and Dissolved Corporations

In the height of tax season, corporations are reminded that regardless of their dissolved status, the government will always get its due. Dissolution does not offer protection against a tax assessment, and second, the dissolved status of a corporation must be addressed before a court is able to hear a corporation’s legal appeal.

Economical Mutual v Caughy: The Meaning of “Accident” in the Insurance Context

Economical Mutual Insurance Company v Caughy, 2016 ONCA 226 [Caughy] is the latest decision in the ongoing conflict between the prerogative of automobile accident insurers to deny coverage when faced with ambiguity over statutory definitions, on the one hand, and the need to uphold coverage where ambiguous cases are coupled with serious debilitating injuries. In […]