In a recent decision, the Ontario Superior Court of Justice in McPherson v. Global Growth Assets Inc.1 awarded a former executive $5.37 million in damages under the Ontario Securities Act...
In a recent decision, the Ontario Superior Court of Justice in McPherson v. Global Growth Assets Inc.1 awarded a former executive $5.37 million in damages under the Ontario Securities Act (the Act), finding that the termination of his employment was, at least in part, a reprisal for the executive raising concerns about potential breaches of securities laws.
This decision provides the first judicial interpretation of the anti-reprisal provisions which were first introduced in 2016 under Part XXI.2 of the Act.
The decision confirms that an employer will be found to be in breach of the Act's anti-reprisal provisions if they take any adverse action against an employee that is, in any way, motivated by the employee having engaged in a "protected activity" under the Act. In coming to this finding, the Court rejected the employer's attempts to point to the executive's performance concerns as a rationale for the termination and confirmed that were it necessary to do so, it would have concluded that the predominant reason for the termination of employment was because the employee engaged in protected activity.
In awarding damages, the Court applied the statutory remedy under the Act and awarded damages equal to double the income the executive would have earned from the time of his...
[OSEN=Jang Woo-young Reporter] Amid repeated denials from actor Park Si-hoo’s side regarding allegations of facilitating an affair, a close associate also emphasized that the claims are “baseless”...