This summer brought major developments that are reshaping the employment law landscape across Canada. From the ever-evolving enforceability of Ontario termination clauses to sweeping legislative reform in Québec and a record-setting notice period in Alberta, employers are facing new challenges—and opportunities. Below is a quick-hit summary of the top five stories (so far), with links to our full articles for those who want to dive deeper.
If there’s anything clear about termination provisions in Ontario, it’s that the law around their enforceability is anything but clear.
The Ontario courts first sent the termination provision world spinning in 2020 with the Waksdale v. Swegon decision. That was followed up in 2024 with the decision in Dufault v. Ignace (Dufault), where the courts struck down any termination provision stating that an employee can be terminated “at any time.” The reasoning was that those words undercut the minimum requirements of the Ontario Employment Standards Act, 2000 (the ESA) because employers cannot dismiss employees as a matter of reprisal or due to a protected leave under the ESA (i.e., at any time). In the subsequent case of Baker v. Van Dolder’s Home Team (Baker), the court referenced Dufault and agreed with it. Of note, however, the court in Dufault completely ignored the earlier decision in Henderson v. Slavkin in which a termination provision stating that an employee could be terminated “...
False information has been circulating online claiming the retirement age will be increasing and it’s even been picked up by Google’s AI Overview and Discover service. There has been a spate of fa...