Employers May Terminate for a Single Incident of Sexual Harassment

Sexual harassment is one of the most serious forms of workplace misconduct. While acts of sexual harassment can occur on a spectrum of severity, a single incident of sexual harassment can warrant termination. This is especially the case if the employee lacks remorse and responsibility. In Render v ThyssenKrupp Elevator (Canada) Limited, 2022 ONCA 310, […]

Secretly Recording Workplace Conversations Can Result in Termination

In recent years, there has been an increase in the prevalence of employees secretly recording conversations in the workplace. While it is not unlawful for a conversation to be recorded when only one person is aware that the recording is being taken, the undisclosed recording of conversations can raise privacy concerns. The recent decision of […]

Impact of COVID-19 on the Reasonable Notice Period

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 […]

July 26, 2021

Too Big to Fail: Recent Cybersecurity Incidents Highlight Critical Infrastructure...

Click here to view PDF version. As the COVID-19 pandemic and its fallout continues to challenge health care systems, supply chains, and essential services around the world, the growing cybersecurity threat of ransomware must be addressed by policy makers given its potential impact on already strained critical infrastructure networks. What is ransomware? Ransomware is a […]

June 25, 2021

More than Just a Stamp: Proposed Vaccine Passports Raise Privacy...

Click here to view PDF version. As the number of Canadians receiving COVID-19 vaccines continues to rise, vaccine passports are now sparking discussion as a means to return to “normal”.  However, privacy commissioners and ombudspersons across Canada have stressed that these proposed tools raise a host of privacy and data security concerns, many of which […]

Hands Off: Appeal Court Decision Strikes Border Agents’ Warrantless Device...

Travelers crossing into Canada must provide their device passwords for Border Security Officers upon request in order to facilitate searches. This creates significant privacy implications for all travelers but lawyers, in particular, should be aware of the scope of the Canadian Border Services Agency’s searching authority, which could impact their duty of confidentiality and solicitor-client privilege.

The Use of Wearable Technology Among Athletes and its Potential...

Professional sport has officially arrived in Halifax. The Halifax Hurricanes have been competing in the National Basketball League of Canada since late-2015; the HFX Wanderers almost won the Canadian Premier League in its second season; rumours of a Canadian Football League team coming to Halifax continue to swirl[1]; and the Halifax Thunderbirds were at the […]

January 20, 2021

Employment & Labour – Top Ten Cases of 2020

In a year like no other, there have been steady developments in the landscape of employment & labour and human rights law. Some of these developments were long anticipated, including the effect of termination on bonus compensation and the legality of mandatory arbitration clauses in the gig economy. Perhaps the most interesting cases, however, are […]

December 8, 2020

An “Adequate” Makeover? Canadian Privacy Law gets a 21st Century Upgrade

On November 17, 2020, the federal government introduced Bill C-11, the Digital Charter Implementation Act, 2020 (DCIA), which, if passed, will significantly reshape the Canadian privacy landscape. Organizations handling personal information must consider how the CPPA could impact their operations and take steps to implement the necessary data protection procedures to meet their obligations under the new law. 

A Word of Caution for Employers: When Terminating Employees Say...

What do employment contracts and termination letters have in common? They both have the potential to end, or at least limit, an employer’s liability in the event of a termination. However, to be effective, they must be properly drafted. A termination letter that fails to assert just cause for termination, and specify the reasons for […]