In June 2012, the Ontario legislature passed Bill 33, also known as Toby’s Act, adding the grounds of gender identity and gender expression to the Ontario Human Rights Code(“Code”). Since then, numerous other Canadian jurisdictions – i.e. the Northwest Territories, Manitoba, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, and Newfoundland and Labrador – also explicitly reference gender
A Nova Scotia Human Rights Board of Inquiry recently tackled an accommodation issue in LeFrense v. IBM Canada Ltd., 2015, CanLII 1720 (NS HRC). Board Chair, Walter Thompson Q.C., found that IBM did everything within its power to assist its employee, Mr. LeFrense, in returning to the workplace and accommodating his sleep apnea in accordance
I set aside some time this weekend to review the Ontario Government’s action plan to stop sexual violence and harassment, released on Friday, March 6, 2015, and it occurred to me that this seemed a particularly significant thing to be doing on International Women’s Day yesterday. According to the Government, 28% of Canadians say that
Lee Partridge worked originally as a dental hygienist for the Botony Dental Corporation and later as its office manager before she was fired following her return from a maternity leave in 2011. She sued Botony for wrongful dismissal and for breach of both the Employment Standards Act, 2000 and the Ontario Human Rights Code. In
As workplaces become increasingly diverse, claims of “conflicting rights” appear to be on the rise as well. Often when there is a conflict of rights, one of the conflicting claims is grounded in creed – where an employee raises a religious objection to performing a particular job-related function. For example, many people recall the 2012
We often hear from clients and participants in our training courses that they have difficulty determining whether discrimination has occurred at the conclusion of their investigations. A recent decision of the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario succinctly articulates the test for discrimination and demonstrates its application. In Pieters v. Toronto Police Services Board (2014 HRTO
When I’m conducting training sessions on human rights and respect at work, I predictably talk about how people can be found liable for breaching the Human Rights Code even if they didn’t intend to offend. Someone will usually then ask whether that means that anyone can complain about behaviour that they find offensive, even if
I would venture to say that many, if not most of us have struggled with credibility assessments in our practices. Whether interviewing witnesses in workplace investigations or as legal counsel preparing clients to give evidence, we are alive to what is being said and how it is being received. More often than not decisions arising
If, like me, you estimate that you’ve heard this holiday tune about a million times, then you have probably wondered on more than one occasion, what kind of gifts are these? A partridge? I don’t care that it comes with a pear tree. Hens? Geese? I mean, other than the five golden rings (to which
When an employee requires accommodation following an injury or onset of a disability, an employer is often unsure where to draw the line in their communications and interactions with the employee. Accommodation is a collaborative process and it is important that the employer receives information and cooperation from the employee. At the same time, employees
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