Written by: Matthew K. LeBlanc What happens when a company terminates someone who is both an employee and a shareholder? In Kirke v Spartan Controls Ltd, 2025 ABCA 40 (“Spartan Controls”), the Alberta Court of Appeal reiterated the distinction between a person’s employment rights and their shareholder rights, and held that the payments owed upon […]
Introduction Artificial intelligence holds the promise of delivering new waves of efficiency and productivity in the workplace, but it also carries risk for employers who don’t mitigate operational, reputational, and legal risks associated with unauthorized use. Generative AI platforms such as ChatGPT, Google Gemini, and Microsoft Copilot are free tools at the fingertips of employees. […]
In a recent article, (In New Brunswick, When Do You Become “Common-Law”?), we discussed how long it takes to become common-law in New Brunswick. In that article, we mentioned that common-law couples do not have the same rights as married couples, and there is no presumption of equal division of property on separation. However, you […]
These days, almost every couple lives together for a period of time before they get married, and more and more couples are deciding to never get married at all. We get a lot of questions about common-law status, such as how long does it take to become “common-law”, what does it mean, and do we […]
To promote Francophone immigration to communities throughout Canada, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (“IRCC’) launched its Francophone Mobility Program (“FMP”) in 2016. This program provides options to make it easier for employers to hire French-speaking or bilingual workers outside Quebec. Hiring a French-speaking or bilingual candidate could provide a number of advantages, such as the […]
On April 26, 2022, members of Cox & Palmer’s Regional Employment & Labour group presented a webinar titled “Hot Topics in Human Resources: Spring 2022” which included the subtopic of Gender Identity and Gender Expression. With Pride Month on the horizon, we wanted to continue the conversation and provide employers with further insight on how […]
On October 22, 2021, the Supreme Court of Canada released the decision of Northern Regional Health Authority v Horrocks, 2021 SCC 42 in which it explained that human rights tribunals are without jurisdiction to consider human rights disputes arising from the interpretation, application or alleged violation of a collective agreement. Such issues fall within the […]
In every non-unionized employment relationship, the employer has an implied common law obligation to give the employee reasonable notice of its intention to terminate the employment relationship, unless there is just cause for termination. If the employer fails to give the employee reasonable notice of termination, the employer risks a wrongful dismissal action for breach […]
Following the Government of Canada’s announcement on August 13, 2021 that it would be mandating COVID-19 vaccinations for those employed in the federal public sector and in the federally-regulated air, rail, and marine transportation industry, a growing list of Canadian employers have followed suit in announcing their own vaccine mandates. This list now includes five […]
The requirement to wear face masks in public indoor settings to curb the spread of COVID-19, subject to certain exemptions, has resulted in a surge of human rights complaints across the country in the context of both accessing services and employment. Based on the large volume of complaints and the public interest regarding mandatory mask-wearing […]