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Hiring & Firing › Contract Terms › Canada

Hiring & Firing refers to the process of recruiting, interviewing and offering employment and the process of evaluating performance and dismissing employees. Hiring & Firing is a highly regulated area and... more +
Hiring & Firing refers to the process of recruiting, interviewing and offering employment and the process of evaluating performance and dismissing employees. Hiring & Firing is a highly regulated area and can create tremendous liability for employers who fail to properly adhere to acceptable employment practices. Some of the potential pitfalls in this area stem from discriminatory hiring practices, improper performance evaluations, and retaliatory firings.  less -
Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP

British Columbia and Ontario: Two Diverging Approaches to Interpreting Termination Provisions

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Overview - Employers increasingly face challenges regarding whether termination provisions in their employment agreements will be determined to be enforceable if challenged in court. As we continue to see increasing court...more

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Ontario, Canada Court Finds Employer Repudiated Employment Agreement When it Failed to Pay Employee’s Contractual Severance

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In Timmins v. Artisan Cells, 2025 CanLII 2387, Ontario’s Superior Court of Justice found, in an undefended claim, that the employers “by their correspondence and actions” repudiated the employee’s employment agreement when...more

Mintz - Employment Viewpoints

Sooner the Better: Employers in Canada Should Really Review Their Termination of Employment Clauses

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A recent Ontario Court of Appeal (“ONCA”) decision signals a pressing need for Canadian employers to review and consider updating their contractual termination of employment provisions. Otherwise, employers are at risk of...more

Stikeman Elliott LLP

Did the Punishment Fit the Claim? Employer Hit With $25,000 in Punitive Damages for Making Statutory Entitlements Subject to a...

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In its recent decision, Thompson v Revolution Resource Recovery Inc.2025 BCSC 8 (“Thompson”), the Supreme Court of British Columbia (the “Court”) made a $25,000 punitive damages award against an employer for attempting to...more

Stikeman Elliott LLP

Hungry for Consideration in Employment Agreements: Are Peppercorns Off the Menu for Employers?

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In the recent decision of Sui v HungryPanda Tech Ltd., 2024 BCSC 1856 (“HungryPanda”), the Supreme Court of British Columbia invalidated a termination provision in an employment agreement by finding the employer had failed to...more

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Ontario Court Reaffirms Importance of Clear and Compliant Language in Employment Agreements

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In December 2024, the Court of Appeal for Ontario released its highly anticipated decision in Dufault v. Ignace (Township). The three-judge panel determined that the “for cause” termination clause contained in the employee’s...more

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Ontario, Canada Court Reinforces Waksdale’s Impact on Enforceability of Termination Provisions and Provides Guidance on Proving...

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In De Castro v. Arista Homes Limited, 2024 ONSC 1035, Ontario’s Superior Court of Justice (Court) held the termination provision in an employment contract was unenforceable because it defined “cause” more broadly than does...more

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Ontario, Canada Court Finds Termination Clauses in Fixed-Term Employment Agreement Unenforceable

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In Dufault v. The Corporation of the Township of Ignace, 2024 ONSC 1029, the Ontario Superior Court of Justice held that the termination provisions of a fixed-term employment contract were illegal and unenforceable because...more

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Ontario Court Rules Employer's Discretion to Terminate is Shackled by the ESA

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In Dufault v. The Corporation of the Township of Ignace ("Dufault"), the Ontario Superior Court of Justice, on a summary judgment motion, found the termination without cause provision of a fixed-term employment contract...more

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Fixed in Stone - Fixed Term Remains Secure Despite Invalid Termination Clause

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The Ontario Superior Court of Justice recently released its decision in Kopyl v Losani Homes (not yet cited) (the “Decision”), providing insight into the enforceability of fixed terms in employment agreements in circumstances...more

Stikeman Elliott LLP

“Fixing” the Term of Employment: Fixed-Term Agreement defends against Wrongful Dismissal Claim

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In the recent Steele v. The Corporation of the City of Barrie, 2022 ONSC 7245 decision (“Steele”), the Ontario Superior Court of Justice provided some insight into when longer term fixed-term contracts can be enforceable....more

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An Oppressive Outcome: Alberta Court Finds Directors Responsible for Severance Obligations

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The recent decision of the Alberta Court of Queen’s Bench, Wisser v CEM International Management Consultants Ltd., 2022 ABQB 414, determined that the oppression remedy under the Alberta Business Corporations Act (“ABCA”),...more

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Ontario, Canada Court Decides Employment Contract’s Unenforceable Confidentiality and Conflict-of-Interest Clauses Invalidated All...

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Two years ago in Waksdale v. Swegon North America Inc., 2020 ONCA 391,  the Ontario Court of Appeal established the proper method for determining whether a termination clause in an employment agreement is enforceable. ...more

Stikeman Elliott LLP

Gone in 60 Days (or More): Court of Appeal Finds Termination Clause did not Limit Employee Termination Entitlements

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The Alberta Court of Appeal recently reviewed the enforceability of a termination clause that purported to impose limits on employee termination entitlements. In Bryant v. Parkland School Division, the Court held that a...more

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Ontario, Canada Court Concludes Secondment Agreement Was Not a Fixed-term Employment Agreement

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In Nader v. University Health Network, 2022 ONSC 447, the court examined the language of a secondment agreement and concluded that the plaintiff-employee was not a fixed-term employee of the organization to which he was...more

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Ontario, Canada Court Reminds Employers it is Important to Adhere to Their Contracts’ Termination Provisions

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In Perretta v. Rand A Technology Corporation, 2021 ONSC 2111, Ontario’s Superior Court of Justice ordered an employer to pay an employee damages for reasonable notice at common law when it decided the employer repudiated its...more

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Ontario, Canada Court Finds Employee Repudiated Her Employment Contract When She Refused to Work Unless New Conditions Were Met

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In Anderson v Total Instant Lawns Ltd, 2021 ONSC 2933 (Total Instant Lawns), an employee claimed her job was terminated and sought damages for wrongful dismissal.  The employer denied the employee was dismissed and argued...more

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New Brunswick, Canada: Appellate Court Finds in Favor of Employee in Wrongful Dismissal Action

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In Abrams v. RTO Asset Management, 2020 NBCA 57 (Abrams), the New Brunswick Court of Appeal considered an employee’s appeal of a decision dismissing his action for damages in lieu of reasonable notice upon his job termination...more

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British Columbia, Canada: Court of Appeal Sets Aside Aggravated Damages Award in Wrongful Dismissal

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In Quach v. Mitrux Services Ltd., 2020 BCCA 25 (Quach), the British Columbia Court of Appeal overturned the trial court’s decision to award aggravated damages to an individual whose job was terminated before his employment...more

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Ontario, Canada: Superior Court Determines Enforceability of Termination Clause

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The Ontario Superior Court recently issued a decision in Sewell v. Provincial Fruit Co. Limited, 2020 ONSC 4406 (Sewell), applying the reasoning set forth in the Ontario Court of Appeal (OCA) decision, Waksdale v. Swegon...more

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Ontario, Canada: Court of Appeal Upholds Dismissed Employee’s Right to Damages for Value of Incentives That Would Have Vested...

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Whether a wrongfully dismissed employee is entitled to damages as compensation for the value of incentives that would have vested during the reasonable notice period is frequently litigated in Canada....more

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Ontario, Canada: Calculation of Reasonable Notice Period When a Contractor Becomes an Employee

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Cormier v. 1772887 Ontario Limited (St. Joseph Communications) (“St. Joseph”), 2019 ONCA 965, is an appeal from a summary judgment motion arising from the wrongful dismissal claim of a contractor who worked for St. Joseph for...more

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Termination Clauses in Ontario - Precise Language Can Help Limit Employers’ Liability

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In Canada, if an employer wishes to terminate an employee without cause, it must provide notice or pay in lieu thereof. In other words, unlike in the United States, Canada does not have employment at-will....more

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Ontario, Canada: Limiting Bonus Entitlements When Employment Ends

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The Ontario Court of Appeal recently upheld a lower court’s dismissal of an employee’s claim for payment of a bonus after resignation because the employer’s non-discretionary bonus policy included an “active employment”...more

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Ontario Court of Appeal Confirms Law on Contract Provisions Which Will Breach the Employment Standards Act in the Future

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Ontario’s highest court has confirmed that employment contract provisions that will breach the Employment Standards Act (‘ESA’) in the future are void and unenforceable. The Court has also confirmed that fixed-term employees...more

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