Annual Report 2020/2021

  • August 17, 2021

Summary of Meetings: Employment Law

Number of Meetings Held:4

October 15, 2020
Registration Count: 46
Guest Speaker: Ryley Mennie and Jordan Ardanaz
Meeting Title/Topic: Employment, Jurisdiction, and the Age of Reconciliation
Synopsis: Ryley Mennie and Jordan Ardanaz provided an overview and refresher on the test for employment jurisdiction as it applies to Indigenous Nation workplaces, highlighted recent cases and the questions they raise and discussed the legal principles underlying Indigenous Nation self-governance and reconciliation, and how they may impact the question of employment jurisdiction going forward.

November 25, 2020
Registration Count: 90
Guest Speaker: Dick Hamilton
Meeting Title/Topic: Ethical Issues Arising in Wrongful Dismissal Mediations
Synopsis: Dick Hamilton, QC will discussed ethical issues arising in wrongful dismissal mediations. Mr. Hamilton, after 40 years of practicing as a lawyer, now focus solely on mediation, dealing primarily with employment and commercial disputes for over 10 years.

May 05, 2021
Registration Count: 89
Guest Speaker: Dr. Lisa Gunderson
Meeting Title/Topic: A Virtual Discussion with Dr. Gunderson: Addressing Workplace Implicit/Unconscious Bias and Microaggressions through Anti-Racism Policies
Synopsis: In this part presentation, part Q&A session, Dr. Gunderson discusses the definition of implicit and unconscious bias in the workplace context and how workplace bullying & harassment policies may be falling short in addressing workplace racism. These policies tend to leave employers without any clear guidelines on how to handle complaints from employees subjected to microaggressions, or how to determine what remedies should be implemented. Dr. G will lay the roadmap as to what considerations should go into developing a workplace anti-racism policy as a tool to address implicit/unconscious bias and microaggressions.

June 30, 2021
Registration Count: 161
Guest Speaker: Danny Bernstein of Roper Greyell LLP Michael Comartin of Ogletree Deakins, Toronto
Meeting Title/Topic: An Update on Termination Clauses
Synopsis: A number of recent Ontario decisions have made it more difficult for employers in that province to draft and enforce termination clauses. Join Danny Bernstein of Roper Greyell LLP and Michael Comartin of Ogletree Deakins (Toronto) as they discuss recent cases in British Columbia and Ontario and provide an update on drafting and enforcing termination clauses in employment contracts.

Comments and Observations of the Chair

2020-2021 was an exceptional year with many pandemic-related employment law questions arising in Canadian workplaces. Consistent with its renewed mandate and given the amount of commentary from the employment law bar and the lack of certainty regarding how these questions would be resolved, the CBABC Employment Law Section decided not to add its voice to the chorus, but continued to advance discussions on other issues of importance in employment law, including decolonizing the Indigenous workplace as a matter of reconciliation and advancing anti-racism in the workplace.