A little over a week ago, the Court released its long-awaited decisions in Plourde v. Wal-Mart Canada Corp., 2009 SCC 54, and Desbeins v. Wal-Mart Canada Corp. , 2009 SCC 55, (the Wal-Mart decisions). As with most Labour cases, reaction will largely depend on which side of the ideological divide one sits: many employers and counsel [...]

On June 27, 2008, the Supreme Court of Canada released its long awaited decision in Honda v. Keays, 2008 SCC 39. The trial and appeal decisions were controversial enough that many were expecting the Court to provide significant guidance on how to lawfully terminate employees with “invisible” disabilities. Instead, in a very unexpected decision, the [...]

The Right to Picket Meets the Remedy of Trespass As Osgoode Hall law students celebrate a relatively expedient end to their academic year, many of their colleagues at York University still traipse its hallways to recoup study time lost due to the recent labour disruption on campus. The CUPE 3903 strike, while a controversial response [...]

Last Thursday, the SCC granted leave to appeal in Fraser v. Ontario (Attorney General) (32968). This case involves the appeal of an Ontario Court of Appeal decision (2008 ONCA 760) finding that a provincial law prohibiting the ability of agricultural workers to bargain collectively violates the workers’ s. 2(d) Charter right to freedom of association. [...]

Does the constitutional right to form a union and collectively bargain also extend to lawyers? Unfortunately for the legally curious, a case in Nova Scotia which would have answered this question has been dropped this week, leaving the question for another day. Fortunately for Crown Attorney’s in Nova Scotia, on the other hand, the provincial [...]

An application for leave to appeal has been submitted to the Supreme Court of Canada in NIL/TU,O Child and Family Services Society v. B.C. Government and Service Employees’ Union, 2008 BCCA 333. Though this case is a mouthful, it contemplates a relatively straightforward matter: whether the labour relations of the appellant Society are a matter [...]

The Supreme Court navigated through a political minefield last Thursday when it pronounced on the constitutionality of several aspects of the federal employment insurance system in Confédération des syndicats nationaux v. Canada (Attorney General), 2008 SCC 68. The issues arising in the case have been the subject of much controversy, with the appellants claiming, among [...]

In the age of globalization, national courts are increasingly referring to foreign jurisprudence and international law in their decision making. However, the use of foreign jurisprudence by domestic judges is not without controversy. Proponents argue that foreign jurisprudence can help with the development and interpretation of domestic law. Opponents purport that reliance on foreign jurisprudence [...]

At a time when York University and the University of Windsor have experienced disruptions due to labour disputes, it seems unusually timely that the Ontario Court of Appeal would deliver a resounding re-articulation of the right to collective bargaining as found in s. 2(d) of the Charter. On its face, the decision in Fraser v. [...]

Last Friday the Supreme Court handed down its ruling on Honda v. Kevin Keays, 2008 SCC 39. Considered a watershed employment law case, Keays had no less than nine intervenors and has been the subject of much attention in both the legal community and the media. TheCourt.ca contributor Michael Lynk provided a useful analysis of [...]