Resource Hub

Explore our collection of practical articles and curated resources designed to support professionals in building stronger workplaces.

A delicate balance – Resolving competing rights claims in the workplace

January 7, 2016 | By Cory Boyd

When discussing workplace complaints and conflicts with clients or while delivering training, I regularly hear that the most challenging situations to address are those which seem to involve competing individual rights. Employers are unsure how to proceed when both parties seem to be making a valid argument under the organization’s policies or the Ontario Human

Addressing sexual violence in Ontario’s colleges and universities

November 10, 2015 | By Cory Boyd

On October 27, 2015, the Ontario government tabled its Sexual Violence and Harassment Action Plan Act (Supporting Survivors and Challenging Sexual Violence and Harassment) 2015 (the “Act”). Last week my colleague Janice Rubin wrote about the implications for employers of the amendments to the Occupational Health and Safety Act. This week, I am considering the implications for Ontario’s colleges

Abstinence is best?

September 21, 2015 | By Christine Thomlinson

The people who ran the Northern Lights Manor (the “Manor”), a personal care home in Flin Flon, Manitoba, certainly thought so. However, their steadfast belief in this approach to dealing with alcohol addiction has now led to a very costly legal decision against the Manor. Linda Horrocks worked at the Manor as a health care

Balancing finality and justice in the application of s.45.1

September 11, 2015 | By Cory Boyd

Section 45.1 of the Ontario Human Rights Code (the “Code”) permits the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario (“HRTO”) to dismiss all or part of an application where “another proceeding has appropriately dealt with the substance of the application.” In Ontario (Community Safety and Correctional Services) v De Lottinville, 2015 ONSC 3085, the Ontario Divisional Court considered the

Bad news for little buddies

July 24, 2015 | By Christine Thomlinson

The Little Buddies Preschool Centre recently learned some valuable lessons about how human rights laws work in Ontario. Amber Lougheed had worked for Little Buddies as an Early Childhood Educator for just over a year when she learned that she was pregnant with her second child. Ms. Lougheed was a single mother and so had

Avoiding bias during respondent interviews

July 9, 2015 | By Cory Boyd

In preparing for an upcoming course on bias, I have been thinking about the potential impacts that various biases might have on the respondent interview in a workplace investigation. While investigators often turn their minds to issues such as racial or cultural bias, as well as biases that might flow from a personal relationship, another

Human Rights Tribunal awards record general damages for sexual harassment of migrant workers

June 4, 2015 | By Cory Boyd

In his Report on the Ontario Human Rights Review 2012, Andrew Pinto commented on the general damages awards being awarded by the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario (“HRTO”). Noting that general damages awards of $5,000, $10,000 and $15,000 seemed to correspond to low, medium and high damage awards, he commented that “there appears to be

Lessons for employers about expense claims from the Mike Duffy trial

April 10, 2015 | By Christine Thomlinson

We’re now several days into the Mike Duffy trial and the stage is set for a public examination of the expenses that Mr. Duffy claimed while he was a member of the Senate. Ultimately, it will be up to Justice Vaillancourt to decide if Mr. Duffy is guilty of a criminal offence, but this case

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