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In celebration of our twentieth anniversary, we have created the Rubin Thomlinson LLP Workplace Human Rights Award, in partnership with Toronto Metropolitan University’s Lincoln Alexander School of Law. Learn More

Serious insight for serious situations.

Serious insight for serious situations.

L’affaire Render ou l’histoire d’un cas de tolérance zéro en matière de harcèlement sexuel |  The Render’s case or a story of zero tolerance in sexual harassment

Si l’année 2022 nous a déjà fourni amples sujets de discussions tels que la gifle de Will Smith aux Oscars, ou encore le procès en diffamation de Johnny Depp, la récente décision de la Cour d’appel de l’Ontario dans l’affaire Render v. ThyssenKrupp Elevator (Canada) Limited, 2022 ONCA 310 (CanLII), rejoint, à mon avis, aisément ce palmarès.

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Identifying and managing groupthink in workplace investigations

Several of my investigations have led me to reflect on the phenomenon of “groupthink,” and how it impacts the workplace and intrudes upon workplace investigations. Groupthink is a term that was first coined by social psychologist Irving Janis, and refers to a group that, when working together, strives for harmony and consensus above all else.

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Fatal flaws: 10 mistakes that can sink your workplace investigation report

In my role as review counsel, I train others on how to write effective workplace investigation reports.  When I review reports, much of what I focus on is readability: how is the report going to sound to the reader? Is it easy to read? Is the reader going to get confused by the report’s organization? I think about this mythical reader a lot; probably too much in fact, and I bet my colleagues are tired of hearing me go on about it.

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The Supreme Court of Canada’s recent trilogy of cases on s. 276 of the Criminal Code – How we can apply it to our investigation practices

In a recent webinar offered at Rubin Thomlinson, titled “Primer on Consent,” we enjoyed a highly informative discussion on consent in the context of sexual assault. Part of that presentation included reference to a trilogy of cases from the Supreme Court of Canada (SCC) on the issue of sexual assault and s. 276 of the Criminal Code (“CC”).

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Virtual investigations: The good, the bad, and the future?

I must admit that pre-COVID-19, I was wary to conduct investigations virtually. This had more to do with my own discomfort with technology and videoconference platforms than anything else. Now, more than six months into the pandemic, it is hard to deny that virtual investigations may be around for the long haul. Below are some of our observations regarding conducting investigations remotely.

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