Our focus thus far in this week's series has been on the practical considerations in making an Ontario Power of Attorney for Personal Care. In this final instalment, we will now shift gears to look at the issues that can arise with end-of-life care decisions,...
As well-thought out and meticulously drafted as your Power of Attorney for Personal Care may be, it is ultimately only useful if it serves its purpose in your time of need. In order to be an effective tool that provides you and your loved ones...
Our focus thus far has been on the preliminary considerations in executing a Power of Attorney for Personal Care. With a clear understanding of what this legal instrument is, and the nature of decision-making it requires, our focus may now shift to the nuts and...
At the risk of stating the obvious, the individual named as your Attorney for Care should be someone who you trust. Keep in mind that this person is not only responsible for carrying out your expressed personal care wishes, but may also be called upon...
A Power of Attorney for Personal Care is a legal document that allows you to name someone you trust to make your personal care decisions when you are no longer in a position to do so yourself. In Ontario, an individual must be appointed...
With the advent of social networking, traditional means of recruiting and hiring have vastly changed. Today, websites such as LinkedIn provide employers and employees an opportunity to publish their professional profiles online (a curriculum vitae or a company profile) and connect with like-minded individuals...
n McKinstry v. Stone, decided September 20, 2011, Pollak J. considered the burden of proof upon an employer seeking summary dismissal of an employee's wrongful dismissal claim, where the employer is seeking to rely on a termination provision in an employee's contract of employment...
In Pate Estate v. Galway-Cavendish and Harvey (Townships), decided in November 2011 after 10 years of protracted litigation, a wrongfully dismissed building inspector's estate was awarded a whopping $550,000.00 in punitive damages against the municipality that had employed him. Pate had served as the Chief Building Official for the Township of Galway...
For the purpose of calculating a wrongfully dismissed employee's entitlement to pay in lieu of reasonable notice in such a circumstance, Pollak J. ruled that the Employment Standards Act deems the first day of layoff to be the date of termination....
Must an employee whose job is being eliminated by its employer accept the same kind of position at a related company with the same pay in mitigation of his losses arising from a wrongful termination?...
An October, 2011, decision by the Nova Scotia Workers’ Compensation Appeals Tribunal should signal to those of us who not only collect, but also repair, show or deal in antiques, that our hobby activities may be scrutinized by adjudicators determining entitlement to benefits arising out...
Is an employee, who is terminated without cause, required to mitigate his or her loss when entitled to a fix term of notice or pay in lieu of notice?...
In Reinzo v. Washington Mills Electro Minerals Corporations, the Court of Appeal for Ontario answers an important question as concerns an employee's entitlement to benefits during the notice period in a wrongful dismissal action: Do they include employer contributions to the Canada Pension Plan and...
In Brito et al v. Canac Kitchens, decided on February 18, 2011, Mr. Justice Randall Echlin of the Ontario Superior Court addressed the consequences of an employer's failure to provide adequate benefit coverages and reasonable pay in lieu of notice to its terminated employees....
The blog post affirms that in Ontario wrongful dismissal cases, employees aren’t restricted to describing only their own experiences; they can also allege patterns or policies of systemic wrongdoing, and such broader allegations may properly support claims for punitive or moral damages—so long as the...
A finding of just cause for dismissal at common law does not automatically disqualify an employee from entitlement to statutory severance and termination benefits under Ontario's Employment Standards Act, according to an important March 14, 2011 ruling of the Ontario Superior Court Ontario in Oosterbosch...
A June 2010 ruling of the Ontario Superior Court in Simpkin v. Ability Machine and Manufacturing Inc. demonstrates that in wrongful dismissal cases, quantification of damages is not confined to wages that would have been earned during the notice period, but will also include the replacement cost of...
Where a court finds "just cause" for the termination of employment, the dismissed employee loses entitlement pay in lieu of notice, statutory severance payments, and further, and may fail to qualify for unemployment insurance....
Are wrongful dismissal claims to be considered in calculating equalization payments in Ontario family law proceedings?...
In a very recent wrongful dismissal case, Sebanescu v. Span Manufacturing Ltd., the Court was forced to grapple with the exact relationship between the period of reasonable notice to which an employee is entitled and mitigation of losses. In that case, the Plaintiff, an engineer with three years...