Wrongful Termination Claims in the Supreme Court of Canada: Coming Up Short
Dalhousie Law Journal, Vol. 34, No. 1, p. 51, 2011
30 Pages Posted: 23 Aug 2012
Date Written: 2011
Abstract
The author concludes that the Supreme Court of Canada’s narrow interpretations in Wal-Mart and Honda undermine the purposes of collective bargaining and human rights legislation, respectively. Wal-Mart involves an unfair labour practice complaint following the closing of a store in Jonquière, Quebec. The author contests the analysis of the Supreme Court of Canada, as being far removed from the context of the real difficulties in dealing with determined anti-union employers, instead facilitating statutory evasion. Honda involves a claim for wrongful dismissal, where the issue at the Supreme Court of Canada level is one of remedy, premised on the dismissal amounting to disability discrimination in breach of human rights legislation. The author criticizes the majority holding that the case did not involve such a breach, as flying in the face of well-established human rights law.
Keywords: Wal-Mart, Honda, collective bargaining, human rights, labour, union, wrongful dismissal, remedy, disability, discrimination
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