Publications

November 16, 2017

Dismissal due to a breach of the occupational health and safety rules
related to lockout

In a decision rendered on August 14, 2017,1 Arbitrator François Blais dismissed a grievance contesting a dismissal, holding that a breach of occupational health and safety rules constitutes an objectively serious fault which must be dealt with severely regardless of whether or not the breach caused (…)

November 2, 2017

Investing in the health of your employees - a wise decision! The legal issues to consider

Numerous studies confirm that the poor health of workers, among other things caused by the increasingly sedentary nature of positions and the illnesses associated with this, will ultimately result in significant costs for businesses related to: Absenteeism; Compensation for work-related injuries (…)

October 26, 2017

Employers and emergency call centre workers: your liability for property damage is limited

In May 12, 2017, the Court of Québec1 concluded that an emergency call centre had no liability for property damage caused by first responders who broke down the door of a residence in order to assist a user in respiratory distress. In this case, the Court held that a call centre who required the (…)

October 24, 2017

“Senior managerial personnel” status under the Act respecting labour standards

In Delgadillo c. Blinds To Go inc. and the Tribunal administratif du travail,1 the Court of Appeal of Québec rendered a very important decision regarding the concept of “senior managerial personnel” under the Act respecting labour standards (“ALS” or the “Act”). In the future, this decision should (…)

October 2, 2017

Inappropriate conduct, lack of cooperation and insufficient availability
are sufficient grounds for a health institution’s to refuse to renew a physician’s practice privileges

On May 31, 2017, the Superior Court of Québec1 (the “Court”) dismissed a urologist’s application for judicial review of a decision of the Administrative Tribunal of Québec2 (the “ATQ”) upholding a decision made by the Board of Directors of a health institution (the “Board”) not to renew the (…)

September 19, 2017

Essential services in the health sector :
the Tribunal administratif du travail declares section 111.10
of the Labour Code unconstitutional

In a decision rendered this past August 31st by Justice Pierre Flageole,1 the Tribunal administratif du travail (the “Tribunal”) declared section 111.10 of the Labour Code2 to be constitutionally inoperative. This provision requires that a set minimum percentage of employees must remain on the job (…)

August 8, 2017

Victory for the managerial personnel of the Health and Social Services Network in Superior Court of Québec – What is the immediate takeaway?

On July 27, 2017, the Superior Court of Québec rendered a decision in favour of the managerial personnel of the Health and Social Services Network, concluding that the changes made to some of their working conditions by the Minister of Health were null and void.1 Background The Association des (…)

July 25, 2017

The award of moral damages following a collective dismissal

A recent Superior Court decision in Peintures Industrielles Évotech1 ruled that the grievance arbitrator had acted within his jurisdiction in awarding moral damages to employees dismissed abruptly when the Company moved its operations to Ontario. Context of the Évotech case Évotech, which (…)

July 14, 2017

Global Skills Strategy – Latest Developments in Workforce Mobility

In November 2016, the federal government announced the launch of a Global Skills Strategy (the "Strategy"), with the goal of stimulating Canada’s economic growth and, as a result, increasing employment opportunities for all Canadians. On June 12, 2017, in order to maximize the positive impact of the (…)

July 7, 2017

Dividing up of certified bargaining units – The Québec Court of Appeal calls into question the automatic application of traditional criteria

By way of two decisions 1 handed down jointly on May 8th of this year, the Québec Court of Appeal held that it is no longer appropriate to mechanically apply the existing analytical framework regarding the criteria for the division of a bargaining unit. Based on principles recently stated by the (…)

July 3, 2017

Bill 143: Salient points regarding educational childcare services

On June 16th of this year, Mr. Sébastien Proulx, Minister of Education, Recreation and Sports and Minister of Families, presented Bill 143 1 to improve the educational quality and foster the harmonious development of educational childcare services (the “Bill”). The Bill proposes amendments to the (…)

June 15, 2017

The new act to prohibit and prevent genetic discrimination

On May 4, 2017, the Senate passed the Act to prohibit and prevent genetic discrimination (Genetic Non-Discrimination Act), which came into force on the same date. This Act also amended the Canada Labour Code and the Canadian Human Rights Act. The new Act aims to regulate the use of genetic tests, (…)

May 16, 2017

When artificial intelligence is discriminatory

Artificial intelligence has undergone significant developments in the last few years, particularly in respect of what is now known as deep learning.1 This method is the extension of the neural networks which have been used for a few years for machine learning. Deep learning, as any other form of (…)