Ontario ruling draws a clear line between business moves and mass firings
Moving a workplace is not just a logistics challenge; it can be a mass firing in the eyes of the law. On April 9, 2026, Ontario Superior Court Justice S.E. Fraser found that Interspec Systems Ltd. wrongfully dismissed eight long-serving employees with an average age of 54, simply by relocating its Rosemount, Ont., manufacturing facility 106 kilometres south to Scarborough. No notice was given and no statutory pay in lieu of notice was received.
On September 5, 2023, Interspec closed its Rosemount facility and relocated to Scarborough. The eight plaintiffs had worked between two and 32 years for the company and received no notice and no statutory pay in lieu of notice under section 57 of the Employment Standards Act.
Among the deemed admissions, the defendants had "changed the primary terms of the employment relationship unreasonably and without notice by moving the place of employment over 100 km away without notice." The defendants were also in arrears of wages and unpaid vacation and had failed in their benefit plan premium and contribution obligations under sections 60(3) and 62(1) and (2) of the ESA.
Justice Fraser awarded common law damages at four weeks of pay per year of service, less mitigation, ranging from $5,250 for Mischa Intihar to $142,083.33 for Henry Kamstra. Individual wage arrears and statutory pay in lieu of notice were also granted.
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