Dispute arises after employer terminated employment contract without cause
The Ontario Court of Appeal has granted leave to intervene to the Ontario Chamber of Commerce (OCC) and refused leave to the Canadian Association of Counsel to Employers (CACE) in an appeal involving an employee’s action for wrongful dismissal.
In Baker v. Van Dolder’s Home Team Inc., 2025 ONCA 578, the appellant employer terminated the respondent employee’s employment contract on a “without cause” basis, then later moved to dismiss the employee’s wrongful dismissal suit.
The motion judge dismissed the employer’s motion upon finding the contract’s termination provisions unenforceable. First, the judge considered the “without cause” termination provision unenforceable because it allowed the employer to terminate employment “at any time,” in breach of Ontario’s Employment Standards Act, 2000 (ESA).
Next, the judge deemed the contract’s “with cause” provision also unenforceable since it allowed the employer to terminate employment “at any time” for just cause and failed to explain the distinction between the lower “just cause” standard and the higher “wilful misconduct” standard, which would deprive an employee of ESA entitlements.
The employer appealed. The OCC and CACE proposed to intervene as friends of the court under rr. 13.02 and 13.03(2) of the Rules of Civil Procedure, R.R.O. 1990, Reg. 194. The employer consented to their intervention.
The proposed interveners acknowledged that the appeal...
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