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BC’s 14 protected grounds of discrimination
The Federal government, along with every province and territory in Canada, has human rights legislation prohibiting discrimination on grounds such as race, gender and disability in a number of public environments.
Occasional Contributors
2 minutes read
June 14, 2019 
Bad behaviour and termination
The gut reaction of most employers when they have to deal with an employee who has behaved in an outrageous fashion is to terminate the employee in question without much inquiry into the background of the conduct.
Occasional Contributors
Claiming constructive dismissal as an independent contractor
Can independent contractors claim damages for constructive dismissal? In a decision released March 7, 2018 by the Ontario Superior Court of Justice, Barresi v Jones Lang LaSalle Real Estate Services, Inc., 2018 ONSC 837, the answer to that question was essentially yes. Facts The case concerned a commercial real estate broker, Barresi, who was retained […]
Occasional Contributors
Unionized workers hiring their own lawyers: 3 issues
I often receive requests for consultations from unionized workers dissatisfied with their employer, their union or both. Frequently, this dissatisfaction arises out of the worker having a grievance with the company, but he or she feels that they are not receiving proper representation from their union. Before going ahead and hiring a lawyer outside of their union for advocacy, there are 3 challenges that people in this position should know.
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Probationary periods in Canada: Are they legal?
Probationary periods in employment… for something seeming so simple, they still cause a lot of confusion, and employees and employers alike are frequently mistaken about the legality of probationary periods and how they apply to the non-unionized worker. Employees who are terminated during probationary periods often accept their lot without ever receiving legal advice, while employers often terminate ‘probationary’ employees without providing any compensation, only to be surprised by a demand letter or civil action claiming wrongful dismissal. So where do these challenges come from? And how can they be remedied?
Occasional Contributors
What injured workers need to know about WSIB
If you sustained a workplace injury and are in receipt of Workplace Safety and Insurance Board benefits for the first time, there are essential pieces of information that you should be familiar with…
Occasional Contributors
Les agences de placement de personnel continuent d’être dans la mire du fisc.
Nous avons depuis quelque temps été témoins d’interventions plus musclées de la part des autorités fiscales à l’encontre des travailleurs (ou leurs sociétés) qui contractent avec des agences de placement de personnel aux fins de la prestation de services à leurs entreprises-clientes. L’impact de la récente décision de la Cour d’appel du Québec (17 juillet 2014) relativement à l’agence Océanica , bien que visant le secteur des infirmiers, se fera sentir dans tous les secteurs.
Occasional Contributors
A look at stock-based remuneration
Stock options are not really as complicated as one may think. In many cases, the challenge associated with the reporting of these benefits comes down to how the information is communicated to the payroll department.
Occasional Contributors
Monitoring controls: The top ten tax controls
At year end, external auditors heading into the tax department do not generally rely on internal controls to reduce testing; a great deal of effort is focused on substantively testing the income tax balances on the financial statements. Tax processes are notoriously manual in nature with numerous adjustments required to manipulate general ledger information into useable tax information. We have compiled a list of the top ten tax controls every company should have in place with the emphasis (as expected) on monitoring controls.
Occasional Contributors