Each time the Supreme Court of Canada issues a new ruling, it takes some time for the effects to ripple out through tribunals and courts across the country. One change we're still waiting to see here in BC after the 2015 SFL decision is a restriction on the amount and type of work performed by essential service workers pursuant to the BC LRB's standard Global Order.
Read moreB.C. government off-side in changing the rules for amateur athletes?
As of three days ago, the Employment Standards Act no longer applies to players, entitled to scholarships, who play on major junior ice hockey teams in British Columbia. The Employment Standards Act contains protective provisions that set out minimum wages, maximum hours of work, overtime eligibility and so on.
Interestingly, there are currently two class action lawsuits pending in Alberta and Quebec against the Canadian Hockey League and its teams on behalf of junior players alleging that the League conspired to force young players into signing contracts that breached minimum wage laws.
Read moreTime to shine the light on shadow flipping
A recent Globe & Mail investigative report revealed that some BC realtors may be driving up house prices by speculating on properties in whose listings they are engaged, or “shadow flipping”.
The provincial government has left it to the Real Estate Council of British Columbia to investigate, but early indications from that organization are not encouraging. Under increasing public pressure, the Premier has suggested that the province will intervene if the Council does not do a satisfactory job.
That is not good enough.
Read moreDamages for Injury to Dignity in Human Rights Cases
Clients thinking about filing a human rights complaint, or on the receiving end of one, generally want the answer to that one, bottom-line question: how much is this claim worth? How much am I going to get, or going to have to pay?
When the claim deals with specific losses like wages or medical costs, that number can be calculated. But nearly every claim also includes a component of damages for "injury to dignity, feelings and self respect or any of them". That's a very different question: how much are hurt feelings worth?
Read moreImpact of Election Act changes for by-election voters and volunteers
The by-elections in Coquitlam-Burke Mountain and Vancouver-Mount Pleasant are the first provincial elections to be held since the BC Election Act was amended last May. As advance voting starts this weekend, now is a good time to review how these changes will impact voters and volunteers. As many of us saw during the recent federal election, legislative amendments can affect voting procedures on the ground in both positive and negative ways: sometimes these result in a more efficient use of volunteers, while other times these changes may lead to longer waiting times for voters on voting days.
Practical impact of the recent Election Act changes:
Read moreSupreme Court Rulings Squeeze Utility Workers
Once every decade or so, the Supreme Court of Canada issues a decision in the field of utility regulation. These are invariably landmark cases that have a huge impact on the regulation of energy and other utilities across the country, and the tens of billions of dollars that these public and private companies collect from Canadian customers each year. These decisions are very important not only for the companies and their customers, but also for their employees.
Two Supreme Court rulings released today are about utility workers’ pay and benefits. One was about compensation costs in the collective agreement covering Ontario nuclear plant employees, and the other was about pension cost-of-living adjustments at ATCO, a large private utility in Alberta.
Read moreIs the Conservative Party violating the Canada Elections Act?
In response to media stories reporting that the Conservative Party has retained Australian campaign manager Lynton Crosby to boost their flagging fortunes, we wrote to Canada’s Chief Election Officer today asking for an immediate investigation of this apparent violation of the Canada Elections Act. (See the CKNW story here.)
Read moreImportant expansions to the law of picketing in BC
The Labour Relations Board just released two decisions on COPE 378's applications for picketing. One was granted and the other was refused, but both represent significant expansions to the law of picketing in BC.
The context for these decisions is the BCAA lockout:
Read moreJusticeTrans app has launched
Check out JusticeTrans, an app that provides legal information and resources about transgender rights, at www.justicetrans.com and at the iTunes App Store and Google Play.
We're proud to be listed as a trans-positive legal service provider with JusticeTrans, and pleased to offer services to the trans community on any human rights or employment issues.
BC Liberals "sweeten the deal" for Petronas at all of our expense
Jim spoke with CFAX Radio's Ian Jessop on Tuesday about the BC Liberal government's "absolutely ridiculous" deal with Petronas. The Liberals are trying to bind BC into a 25-year deal that would see extremely limited benefits for British Columbians and big advantages to the Malaysian oil and gas company.
Have a listen here. Jim's segment starts at about the 6:50 mark. Skip to 27:45 to hear a short discussion on how First Nations' opposition may impact the proposed deal.
Damages awarded against employer who uses replacement workers
In the course of its four-month-long lockout of CUPE Local 7000 members, Southern Railway kept a fraction of its trains running by using excluded managers as replacement workers. But a railway can’t run unless its track is maintained. Track maintenance is work that CUPE members do and not many managers are qualified to operate the machinery that’s involved. On January 23, 2015 Southern Rail brought in a contractor, A&B Rail Services, to replace a number of railway ties at a switch area on Annacis Island.
Read moreLRB remedy where Employer delays arbitration
Here’s a very useful recent decision of the Labour Relations Board providing a remedy to stalled grievance proceedings, using s. 88(b) to order that the dispute go directly to arbitration and skip the earlier steps under the collective agreement.
Read moreA Map to the Oil Price Roller-Coaster
What’s in store for oil prices?
Here’s the basic tug-of-war of forces that will shape the trajectory of oil prices over the next two or three years.
Oil prices have plummeted because production has risen sharply in recent years, particularly because of the American shale oil boom which has made the US a net exporter of oil.
Read moreRight to Strike Protected by the Charter
Today the Supreme Court of Canada issued the decision in the Saskatchewan Federation of Labour case on the right to strike---and yes, it is constitutionally protected.
The case can be found at the SCC website at http://scc-csc.lexum.com/scc-csc/scc-csc/en/item/14610/index.do.
My favourite quote from the majority 7 to 2 decision written by Madam Justice Abella is this:
No discrimination on the basis of family status
I had occasion to participate on a panel at the Bargaining in the Broader Public Sector 2014 Conference organized by Lancaster House. The panel, “What’s on the Bargaining Table: Emerging Issues, Creative Solutions”, canvassed a number of topics including pensions, health and welfare benefits and work-life balance. The obligation to accommodate employees on the basis of family status came up under the topic of work-life balance. The leading case in British Columbia is Health Sciences Association v.Campbell River and North Island Transition Society available on Canlii at:
Read moreGhomeshi v CBC – Can the Courts Hear His Claim?
Aside from the social media buzz that the public dispute between Jian Ghomeshi and the CBC has generated, Ghomeshi’s announcement that he will sue his former employer for $50 million, claiming “among other things, breach of confidence and bad faith” raises an interesting legal question:
Do the courts have the jurisdiction to hear Ghomeshi’s claim?
Read moreJim Quail on CBC Radio: "What's next in the fight over Site C?"
Jim spoke with CBC Radio's Daybreak North program about the Site C Joint Review Panel report. Listen here.
“Fair” Elections Act – Government Backing Down on Disenfranchising Canadians?
I was legal counsel in a challenge to the introduction of mandatory Voter ID in Canadian federal elections. We argued that the government needed to provide a fail-safe mechanism to protect people’s right to vote. We said that people without the necessary ID should be able to swear a declaration confirming their identity and residence.
Read moreSupreme Court confirms union’s right to employee contact information
A few days ago, the Supreme Court of Canada handed down a decision confirming a union’s right to personal contact information about the people it represents, in Bernard v. AG of Canada and PIPSC
Under federal legislation, Elizabeth Bernard was able to opt out of membership in the union representing her government service bargaining unit, but she retained the obligation to pay union dues. She was what is called a “Rand formula” employee – union membership is optional, but the union has a duty to represent all the workers, and has the right to collect their dues in return.
Read moreDisclipline Investigation – when the police are also involved
Some of the trickiest situations unions face when representing members facing disciplinary investigations by their employers arise where the same activity has attracted the attention of the police. That is because the rules surrounding police investigations and workplace investigations are incompatible.
One of our most fundamental democratic rights, enshrined in the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, is freedom from self-incrimination
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