Employment Law in Canada: Hierarchy of Courts, Human Rights Tribunal, and Legal Information

This article discusses the Canadian justice system's hierarchy of courts, including the Supreme Court of Canada, and the role of the BC Human Rights Tribunal. It also covers the Canadian Legal Information Institute and recent employment law cases in Canada.

Running head: EMPLOYMENT LAW
Employment law
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

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Part A
a. Supreme Court of Canada
https://www.scc-csc.ca/court-cour/sys-eng.aspx
The hierarchy of the Canadian Justice System is a functional derivative of the Canadian
Constitution, that is, the Constitution Act, 1867. The judicial system of Canada is divided into
the Federal Government and also the ten provincial governments in Canada. The courts follow
civil as well as criminal jurisdiction, where the courts deal with constitution, the organization and
the maintenance of the justice delivery system. The courts in Canada are the provincial courts
and the general courts where the Provincial courts of appeal have the general jurisdiction to deal
with appeals. The jurisdiction is a four tier structure where the Supreme Court is at the apex and
it is also the Court of Appeal which is headed by the provincial court. The number of courts in
Canada is 750 in umber.
b. http://www.provincialcourt.bc.ca/complaints-and-appeals/appeals
In the Canadian system of justice system, the Chief Judge who is presiding over
the Provincial Court will not have any power to review the decision that has been passed
by the judge of any other court, therefore he does not have the power to make any
complaints which has been passed by judge of any court. The way to correct any
judgment is to file an appeal or file for judicial review. The appeals of small claims are
heard by the BC Supreme Court as these are the matters under the Criminal Code. The
BC Supreme Court has the jurisdiction to hear matters of summary conviction. The
judicial review is heard under the provisions of the Judicial Review Procedure Act and
they are read together with the Supreme Court Rules. The Supreme Court has the
jurisdiction to deal with judicial review.

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c. https://www.adminlawbc.ca/tribunals/citizenship-rights-law-enforcement/bc-human-
rights-tribunal
The British Columbian Human Rights Code creates the BC Human Rights
Tribunal which is an independent body that looks at the human rights concern that is a
pertinent issue that needs to be legislatively looked into. The role of the tribunal is limited
to human rights only and it cannot deal with any other form of discrimination. The
Tribunal shall only deal with discrimination pertaining to human rights. The Code checks
all the information related to human rights and screens them to ensure the complaints that
fall under the Code of Human Rights. The timeframe that is allowed under the Code is set
at 6 months and the complaints need to be filed within the timeframe of 6 months. The
Tribunal does not charge money for resolving conflicts and the tribunal gives a free
service. The Tribunal solves the problems related to discrimination by the process of
mediation and once the tribunal accepts any complaint, it has to offer a solution for the
same. The Tribunal accepts the case and then offers a solution and of the Tribunal does
not accept the case or dismisses the complaint, it is within the power of the Tribunal to do
so. The Tribunal has to give proper justifications citing proper justification for the
rejection in a written submission. The Tribunal has to also take into consideration the
future prospects of the complaint and whether it is tenable to be heard in the court and if
the Tribunal is justified that the complaint will not succeed at a hearing, it has the power
to reject the complaint. More often than not, these complaints do not have to be taken to
court for hearing and they are resolved by the Tribunal. In such cases, the Tribunal settles
the matter. In cases when the complaint goes for hearing, the Tribunal shall offer a
remedy and if the complaint is not justified, it shall dismiss the complaint. The Tribunal

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is presided over by the Lieutenant Governor in Council and the members who look into
the complaints are professionals and experts in the field of human rights law.
d. https://www.canlii.org/
The Canadian Legal Information Institute is formed by the Federation of Law
Societies of Canada and it is organized by them. It is a non-profit organization and the
Federation of Law Societies has formed this new organization on behalf of the members,
which are 14 in number. This organization works towards giving access to free law
movement and the CanLII is a member of the Movement called Free Access to Law
Movement. They are involved in ensuring that there is free access to legal publication
throughout the globe. They are used for imparting free and open publication. Legal
database and cases are at the disposal of people who want free access to legal documents.
The general public, along with legal professionals as well as the lawyers have an access
to the legal database. The database has a huge collection of case studies, summaries, so
on and so forth.
e. http://blog.privacylawyer.ca/2018/04/atlseccon-presentation-canadas-new-data.html
The blogs talks about the Canadian data breach regime which shall be
effected in the year 2018 in the month of November. The blogs mentions in details
regarding the harm that is accrued and how that harm can be assessed. In Canada there is
a system in place for effectuating privacy laws and the Federal Statue works as the
Ombudsman looking after the Privacy Laws. The Privacy Laws also deal with torts and
damages can be claimed in cases of breach. The blogs also deals with the “Snooping
Case” where the US privacy torts were included in the Canada law. The blogs also
mention the “intrusion upon seclusion” method which talks about the inclusion of privacy

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against the seclusion of others. In cases of intrusion, damages can be claimed when it is
seen that the inclusion has been reckless.
http://workerscompperspectives.blogspot.com/
The workplace is filled with hazards and there are many hazards to a
person working in a workplace which might harm the workers. There are chances of
illness and disease arising out any injury. It is necessary for any workplace to ensure that
the risks are mitigated and that the people working are made aware of the risks that
accrue out of any work. The blog states the workers should be made aware of the harms
that are present in the workplace and if the worker can assess the risks, they will be in a
better situation to deal with them.
https://pearleliadis.wordpress.com/2017/09/01/flexible-work-hours-rights-wrongs-and-
history/
Human Rights Law
The blog explores the concept of flexible working hours and how can the
company help the employers in battling the problem of overwork. Overworking in a
company has a bad impact on health and it is important to make sure that elderly patients
or children are made to suffer because of the working hours of the employers. It is the
duty of the company to make sure that there are legislations in place to help
accommodate human rights law. There is a strong need for human rights law that are
important for flexible working hours.

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https://pearleliadis.wordpress.com/2015/10/17/respect-women-a-public-statement-
about-women-the-niqab-and-liberty-in-canada/\
Human Rights Law
This blog talks about the rights of women and the importance of
respecting women. The blog explores the concept of declaration of rights of women
in public the emphasis is more on niqab, the rights of women and liberty that they
face in Canada. The women are united in their fight for justice and equality and they
have fought against the injustice that is meted to them in terms of their differences in
political views and their culture. The blog is about the essentiality of democratic
rights that are inalienable to women and that they should not be discriminated.
General topics
https://pearleliadis.wordpress.com/2015/02/16/euthanasia-suicide-or-just-death-the-
new-rules-in-canada-oxhrh-humanrights-cdnpoli-healthcare/
The blog analyses the judgment of Carter v carter which dealt with the concept of
physician assisted suicide. Euthanasia is the taking away of life of a person who is
suffering and physician assisted suicide is for the purpose of ending the life of a
patient who is in pain and cannot continue a healthy life. The blog talks in details
about the pros and cons of physician assisted suicide.
https://pearleliadis.wordpress.com/2014/04/25/silencing-dissent-in-canada-
voices_voix-video-project-canpoli-cindyblackstock/

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The blog details the importance of the rights of the aboriginals and how the child
rights activists need to state the importance of systematic legislation that will uphold
their rights. The topic starts off with the essentiality of the rights of the aboriginals
and how the Government shall be held accountable for the loss of rights that the
aboriginals are facing at the hands of the executives.
Part B
1. Potter v. New Brunswick Legal Aid Services Commission, 2015 SCC 10
The Case dealt with employment laws and held that the applicant Mr. Potter was
dismissed constructively and that the Commission had not acted in good faith and
the business was unreasonably withheld from the applicant.
2. Styles v. Alberta Investment Management Company, 2015 ABQB 621
The Court held that the defendant company, that is, LTIP had not acted in good
faith and had terminated the applicant without nay proper justification. The Court
relied on its judgment of Bhasin v Hrynew and held that any discretion that lies
with the company with relation to employment contractual obligations and
therefor ethe company should have the responsibility to act fairly.
3. O.P.T. v. Presteve Foods, 2015 HRTO 675
The Court decided that the Human Rights Code ensures that there shall be no
violation of human rights and that the complainant’s complaint of violation of
human rights was upheld by the Court wherein it was held that there was indeed a
violation and therefore an amount of $200,000 was awarded.
4. Commission de la santé et de la sécurité au travail v. Caron, 2015 QCCA 1048

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The decision of the administrative tribunal was overturned both by Superior Court
of Quebec and the Quebec Court of Appeal and the Court questioned the
autonomous process that deals with accommodation. The court decided that the
quasi-constitutional rights that are related to accommodation in a workplace are
prescribed by the Charter and these are beyond employment contracts and also
related to collective agreements.
5. Evans v. Avalon Ford Sales (1996) Limited, 2015 NLSCTD 100
This case dealt with the time period that should be given to an employee when he
resigns which is termed as the “cooling period”. This period shall be given to an
employee so that he gets enough time to reconsider his resignation and when the
employee still does not want to withdraw his resignation then there shall be a
constructive dismissal. Applying this rule to the case, the court held that there was
a breach of duty to act in good faith and therefore the resultant dismissal of the
applicant was because of his breach of contractual obligations.
6. Michela v. St. Thomas of Villanova Catholic School, 2015 ONCA 801
The employer’s financial conditions in considering the notice entitlements of the
employment after the termination should not be given consideration. Keeping in
mind the fact that the financial condition of the employer is not important, the
court awarded a compensation of $ 68,573.42.
7. R v Kazenelson, 2015 ONSC 3639
The Court gave importance to the role of the supervisors and held that they should
be held liable in cases of negligence that arise out if any bodily harm or death.
Relying on the Criminal Code the Court held that Mr. Kazenelson was convicted

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for death and medical negligence. As a result if the medical negligence, the Court
sentenced him to three and a half years of imprisonment.
8. Baroch v. Canada Cartage Diversified GP Inc., 2015 ONSC 40
The Court dealt with the issues pertaining to good faith, honesty and matters
related to aggregate and punitive damages. The Ontario Divisional Court did not
grant any leave to appeal and all the remedies and agreements that were related to
Canada Cartage were not approved.
9. Silvera v. Olympia Jewellery Corp., 2015 ONSC 3760
The case dealt with the issue of sexual assault along with battery and the violation
of basic human rights under the Human Rights Code. The court awarded damages
of $15,000 as per the Ontario Family Law Act for the purpose of ensuring basic
rights. The case related to guidance and companionship.
10. Keenan v. Canac Kitchens Ltd., 2015 ONSC 1055
A dependent contractor shall be entitled to pay after termination. The case dealt
with the issue of wrongful dismissal and the applicant was seeking a pay in
relation to notice pertinent to termination. The Court held the applicant as
dependent contractors and held that as a result of their virtue of being dependent
contractors, they are entitled to payment after the termination.
Part C
1. To
The Director
XYZ Company
Date:
Subject: Romance in Office
Inappropriate behavior
Under Canadian law, it is illegal to discriminate an employee based on their
relationship status and therefore there can be no direct questionnaire where the person is

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asked who they are married to or they are dating in the office. This is against the ethics of
privacy in workplace. The question of having a uniform law against inappropriate behavior in
a corporate setting is very important so that negativity can be weeded out.
Issue of consent
Even though there are issues related to romantic behavior in a company, it is
important to check if there was consent or the other party was just playing along because
he/she was worried about the job security. It is therefore important to check if the party are
interested or there is coercion (Arthurs, 2018).
Recommendations
As was held in the case of Cavaliere v Corvex Manufacturing, there is a strong
need for recognizing consensual relationships. Abiding by the rules and regulations that was
held in that case, a few recommendations can be devised that will help in better
implementation of policies. These are:
a. The Company has to ensure that they have put all the warning in writing and they have
notified the employees about the policies where such behavior is not tolerated.
b. The position of the employee should not matter and equal laws should apply to everyone.
c. The company is also in the position to make sure that the subordinated are not subjected
to inappropriate behavior and no undue advantage is taken by the people in senior most
positions.
d. There needs to be proper sessions where the proper policies are mentioned.
Conclusion
Romance in workplace is an issue both for the people who are involved in that business
but also for people who are working in the same company that is the co-workers. In case
the behaviour does not follow office protocol, the Human Resource department can easily
issue a show cause or might terminate depending on the behaviour. Though there are no
direct laws, it is an indirect contract term that there needs to be good faith and an element
of fidelity. Therefore in cases where an employee is indulging in office romance, he/she
is violating implied contract terms and the company shall be within its authority to issue a
show cause or terminate them.
5. To
To
The Director
XYZ Company
Date:
Subject: Post employment duties owed by an employee to an employer.
Respected Sir/Madam,
Fiduciary obligations of an employee
The relation between the employer and employee in a workplace is based on the ideology of trust and
faith and the relationship between the employer and the employee is that if fiduciary relationship. In a
workplace the contract that binds the employer and the employee has a few implied terms which are
mandatory to be followed by both the parties (Kitch, 2017). The implied terms are used in a way so that

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no one party shall have the power or the authority to use their superior powers in a bargain and that both
the parties shall equal powers to negotiate. The contracts aim to protect the aims of the parties and also
promote confidentiality in the company.
Post Obligations policies
Confidentiality agreements:
Tree Savers International Ltd. v. Savoy [1991 CanLII 3952 (AB QB) held
that both the parties need to protect and preserve the confidential information that they have
received in their employment tenure.
Non-Competition Agreements
This is an important aspect of a post-employment agreement where an
employee is prohibited from competing with any former employer after that employer’s
employment has been terminated. In cases there is a breach of that clause, the party who has
competed with another employer has to pay damages. Aurum Ceramic Dental Laboratories
v. Wang [1998] B.C.J. No. 190 dealt with the issue of non competition agreement and held
that sometimes they act as hampering the freedom of the employee and therefore they should
be used very cautiously.
Non solicitation agreement
As was held in the case of Anderson, Smyth & Kelly Customs Brokers Ltd. v.
World Wide Customs Brokers Ltd. [1996 ABCA 169] that no solicitation of any kind with
former co-worker shall not be tolerated and that shall be held to be against the policies.
Critique
The concept of making sure that even though the employee has left the job, he
owes certain responsibilities to the place where he has worked is an essential clause. This
helps in regulating behaviour and also holds the wrongdoers accountable. If the ex-employers
are made liable for the information they give out, and are penalized, privacy of a workplace
will be ensured and preserved.
Changes
If the post-employment laws are made strict, it shall hamper the economics and
also the profit making of the company because people will be scared to join the particular
company as they will be aware of the strict laws.
6. To
The Director
XYZ Company
Date:
Subject: Bullying at workplace
Respected Sir/Madam,
Bullying at workplace and human rights
The law related to bullying at workplace is a variant of human rights violation
and they are put under the similar bracket of harassment because it deals with issues related
to discrimination. The question is always regarding how this can be stopped and what is the
role of the legislature to stop the issue of bullying at workplace. Workplace bullying can take
form in various ways: either in the form of verbal communication or acts of violence. The
words can be so hurtful that they harm a person emotionally and bullying is a serious of
patterns that keep happening time over again with the aim of hurting or intending to hurt or
offend any worker or a group of workers.
Need for legislation

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Bullying at workplace is a grave issue which needs immediate attention and
strict laws. It is very difficult to gauge why bullying at workplace is happening and how that
can be tackled. The management is responsible for ensuring a safe and harmonious workplace
and it is the duty of the state to make sure that strict laws are in place that prohibit or
criminalize workplace bullying.
Role of WorkSafeBC
A worker can file a case of bullying and then it needs to be proved that there
was a case of sexual or verbal bullying that has hurt the worker severely. Once the worker has
faced bullying, he can report the same to his employer and when the employer does not take
any steps to resolve the situation or punish the bully, the victim can take it up with the officer.
The employer has to take up the issue of bullying very seriously and has to take reasonable
steps to make sure that the incident is not repeated (Hollis, 2017). The bullying needs to be
minimized because it against human rights law and individual rights.
Occupational Health and Safety
Bullying is a human health issue as well because bullying also affects the health
of a person and makes him suffer irreparable loss (Powers, 2017). The emotional trauma that
a person faces as a result of bullying needs to be stopped.

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7. To
The Director
XYZ Company
Date:
Subject: Privacy laws
Respected Sir/Madam,
Privacy at Workplace
It is the basic requirement of any workplace that the workers get some privacy
even though they are in the office premises and under the authority of their employer. In an
employment scenario, the employers need some basic information about the employee
regarding payment and benefits. It is the duty of the employer to ensure that there is no
infringement of the rights of the employee and by rights, the right to privacy is an utmost
right.
Privacy Act
Employers and employees need to be subject to a uniform law that will uphold
their privacy at workplace and under the Personal Information Protection and Electronic
Documents Act does not much authority over the employment situations.
Video surveillance and privacy laws
Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner of British Columbia, 2017
BCIPC 58 is about the essentiality of privacy laws and whether video surveillance can be
permitted or not. Under the Personal Information Protection Act, any personal information
that has been collected by the employer about the employee can only be used which they
have been notified of.
Information to third party
The organization that is collecting information has the right to use that
information but only limited to the purpose for which it has been collected. There shall be no
unnecessary disclosure of the information that has been collected. In cases when there has
been a disclosure of any personal information, it is essential that the rights of the individuals
are protected (Bennett & Raab, 2017).
Social media
The term used for checking the social media of an employee by the employer is
called facebook snooping and in Canada it is prohibited. An employer does not have the right
to check the social media of an employee and pass any adverse orders based on that. The
legislature has been very strict in this regard and the employers have no right to access the
social media profiles and then leak any information or pass any order. The Canadian laws
have been very strict and they have also tried to ensure that the privacy laws are strict so that
the personal information are safe and protected.

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Part E
1. Rights of transgender people
To:
Date:
Subject: Rights of transgender people in Canada
Respected Sir/Madam,
One of the most controversial topics related to human rights in Canada is the right
of gender identity and zero tolerance to discrimination. One of the most important
traits of the Human Rights Law in Canada is the feature of treating everyone
equally without any ground of discrimination. Therefore, the recent development
that the human rights law in Canada faced was related to gender expression and it
was a discrimination that the Canadians have faced and have complained for the
longest time in history. Therefore, the concept of diversity that was seen as a
contributing factor to gender equality was the incorporation of legal rights and
duties that are enclosed with a particular gender type. By allowing every gender to
have equal rights is seen as a concept of diversifying rights so that everyone gets
access to basic education and amenities that every other person gets. Transgender
should not be differentiated and cornered because they are not similar to the

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others and by incorporating them and their rights, the law will diversify and will
also become non-conforming. Therefore sticking to a particular gender type shall
be hailed as a method to make sure that all rights are given to everyone along with
the transgender. The latest development to the incorporation of human rights for
transgender is Alberta where there no discrimination and the rights of the
individuals in relation to employment and education are given due recognition.
The people belonging to the community of transgender are treated differently and
they face problems related to accommodation which can be worked upon if the
laws related to discrimination are made stronger. The anti-discrimination laws in
Alberta received assent after the Bill &, Alberta Human Rights Amendment Act
was viewed as legally viable. Though the terms “gender identity” as well as
“gender expression” are used alongside the concept of human rights, the
definition and the importance of the two terms have significantly deluded and
they are not getting enough recognition. The point of contention in relation to the
recognition of human rights is the fact that gender identity is not viewed as a
pertinent concept of human rights and they do not receive the definition that they
deserve for them to be termed legislatively sound. The Bill C-16 should amend
the Criminal Code to become more inclusive of the terms of gender expression
and that will help in gauging the crime dimension in a particular jurisdiction. The
Ontario Human Rights Tribunal in the year 2012 held that there was no need to
undergo a genital surgery for them to be recognized as the other gender and
therefore it is essential to recognize other laws. The laws in the Canadian province
have held that any person who has seemingly underdone a surgery or who has

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altered their gender identity from what they were born with, they shall be treated
as equal and hence they should h=fall under the bracket of the non-discrimination
rubric. The laws should be inclusive of the gender and therefore there should be
no discrimination of grounds of sexual assault. The best way to understand the
issue of human rights is to ensure that cases of sexual harassment or assault
should not depend on the gender of the person, that is, whether that person was a
male or a female, but it should depend on the gravity of the crime and whether it
should be penalized or not. The laws in Canada have specifically withheld
themselves from terming any crime solely based on the concept of gender
identity. Some jurisdictions in Canada provide protection to trans people,
specifically in the territories of Manitoba or the Northwest Territories. It has been
viewed as a matter of human rights and dignity that everyone should be treated
equally and that there shall be no discrimination based on the gender of the
person.
2. Women and employment laws in Canada
To:
Date:
Subject: Women and employment laws in Canada
Respected Sir/Madam,
It is pertinent to point that women face various kinds of discrimination at workplace and gender
has a big role to play in these circumstances. There is a large number of women trying to make
their presence felt in workplaces and they are putting in as much as effort as the men in the

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profession. Though the number of women has changed who have entered the professional world,
the problems they used to face have increased and there is no scene of their problems decreasing.
Women are burdened with huge problems of being true to the office they are working in and the
responsibilities of taking care of their families. Even though women put in as much effort as the
men in the same professional world, women are under paid and they do not get the same salary
as the men counterpart. The problem in the pay scale discrimination has been plaguing the
society for a very long time an there needs to be strict laws against them. The gender inequality
has been going in workplaces and women have been facing discrimination regarding the wage
they receive. The gender disparity can be vest explained with the help of statistics which clearly
show that there has been a steep rise in the number of women working to sustain a good life and
there has been an increase in women changing their jobs because of the unsatisfied behavior they
get and the discrimination they face. The inception of discrimination can be attributed to the
society and the culture that constantly states that men are better than women and that women
should not be allowed to work. Keeping aside the problem of gender discrimination, women are
also subject to sexual harassment at workplace and the laws are not stringent enough to act as
deterrent. Rights of women have always been a subject of discussion and when there is
discrimination based on gender, race, and status-the onus is the state to prove that they are taking
steps to make sure that there is no room for indifferent treatment. The Canadian Charter of
Rights and Freedoms has given protection to women to deal with discrimination and the
Canadian Human Rights Act are the legislative actions that are taken by the state in the better
interest of the people. Under section 15 of the Act, there is a need for equal protection and under
section 28, the [provisions of the Charter apply equally to men and women.

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References
Arthurs, H. W. (2018). The hollowing out of corporate Canada?. In Globalizing Institutions (pp.
29-51). Routledge.
Baroch v. Canada Cartage Diversified GP Inc., 2015 ONSC 40
Bennett, C. J., & Raab, C. D. (2017). The governance of privacy: Policy instruments in global
perspective. Routledge.
Commission de la santé et de la sécurité au travail v. Caron, 2015 QCCA 1048
Evans v. Avalon Ford Sales (1996) Limited, 2015 NLSCTD 100
Hollis, L. P. (2017). Workplace Bullying in the United States and Canada: Organizational
Accountability Required in Higher Education. Comparative Civilizations Review, 76(76),
13.
Keenan v. Canac Kitchens Ltd., 2015 ONSC 1055
Kitch, E. W. (2017). The law and economics of rights in valuable information. In Who Owns
Knowledge? (pp. 35-76). Routledge.
Michela v. St. Thomas of Villanova Catholic School, 2015 ONCA 801
O.P.T. v. Presteve Foods, 2015 HRTO 675
Potter v. New Brunswick Legal Aid Services Commission, 2015 SCC 10
Powers, H. (2017). BULLIES AMONG US: Dealing with Workplace Violence in Health
Care. Canadian Journal of Medical Laboratory Science, 79(4), 21-24.
R v Kazenelson, 2015 ONSC 3639
Silvera v. Olympia Jewellery Corp., 2015 ONSC 3760
Styles v. Alberta Investment Management Company, 2015 ABQB 621

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