May 19, 2026
In my handy Wilderness Survival Guide, there is a step-by-step guide to building the perfect bonfire. I was reminded of it as I read last week’s Supreme Court of Canada decision in Ahluwalia v. Ahluwalia, 2026 SCC 16, which has created a new tort — the tort of family violence for coercive and controlling behaviour.
May 19, 2026
For employment lawyers, failure to mitigate is almost always pleaded by employers, yet rarely succeeds. It remains a frustrating part of wrongful dismissal litigation. Employees are often upset to learn that if they find new work, their income will usually be deducted from what their former employer owes them. Employers, meanwhile, are dismayed by the heavy evidentiary burden they face when alleging failure to mitigate.
May 15, 2026
“Qui cum canibus concumbunt cum pulicibus sargent,” thus (perhaps) said Seneca: “If you lie down with dogs, you’ll arise with fleas.”
May 14, 2026
Langlois has added Andréanne Foisy-Chrispin as a lawyer in its labour and employment group.
May 14, 2026
Third parties almost never get a seat at the arbitration table, but every so often an employee insists on weighing in against their own union — and is sometimes granted standing to speak or be represented, usually with respect to interests that may be against their union. However, the right to speak may (or may not) come with an obligation to pay arbitration costs.
May 13, 2026
In a case that has now twice been overturned, the Federal Court has remitted the matter of an individual’s eligibility for the Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB) back to the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) for a third review.
May 13, 2026
Ontario’s highest court has turned back a challenge by more than 400 current and former health care workers who were disciplined or dismissed because of their refusal to receive a COVID-19 vaccine. The workers were challenging the dismissal of their claim by an Ontario Superior Court judge, who said it was both an abuse of process and disclosed no reasonable cause of action.
May 13, 2026
Toronto-based employment and workplace human rights law firm Rubin & Co. LLP has begun operating under its new name. The firm succeeds Rubin Thomlinson LLP, which ceased operating under that name on April 30 after more than 20 years in practice.
May 13, 2026
The Federal Court of Appeal has dismissed a federal government appeal challenging employment insurance (EI) benefits for a worker who lost his job after being incarcerated, ruling that a claimant’s inability to fulfill a condition of employment is not, by itself, sufficient to disentitle them to EI benefits.
May 13, 2026
The vast majority of mediations in Ontario continue to take place virtually. Convenient and often cost-effective, virtual mediation is clearly here to stay — even if I personally would welcome a greater return to in-person mediations (more on that in an upcoming article). It is therefore worth thinking carefully about how virtual mediations can be structured to maximize effectiveness.