Ed Canning

We are delighted to congratulate our talented lawyers on being named in the 2026 edition of the Canadian Legal Lexpert® Directory!

Ed Canning + 3 more...

16 legal professionals from Ross & McBride have been named in the 2026 edition of The Best Lawyers in Canada™, with a...

Anandi Naipaul + 12 more...

Congratulations to three of our outstanding lawyers on being named in the 2025 Canadian LEXPERT Directory.

Wade Poziomka + 1 more...

Each year, The Hamilton Spectator welcomes its readers to nominate their favourite businesses and professionals to be recognized with a Readers’ Choice...

Wade Poziomka + 5 more...

12 legal professionals from Ross & McBride have been named in the 2024 edition of The Best Lawyers in Canada™, with a...

Anandi Naipaul + 7 more...

Ross & McBride is honoured to be nominated in four categories this year, along with 14 of our legal professionals in the...

Mark Abradjian + 11 more...

Congratulations to three of our outstanding lawyers on being named in the 2024 Canadian Legal Lexpert Directory!

Wade Poziomka + 1 more...

11 legal professionals from Ross & McBride have been named in the 2024 edition of The Best Lawyers in Canada™, with a...

Ed Canning + 4 more...

Ross & McBride is honoured to be nominated in three firm categories, along with six of our legal professionals, Ed Canning, Jeffrey...

Ed Canning + 4 more...

Congratulations to three of our outstanding lawyers on being named in the 2023 Canadian LEXPERT Directory.

Ed Canning + 1 more...

Eight legal professionals from Ross & McBride have been named in the 2023 edition of Best Lawyers in Canada™, with a total...

Ed Canning + 3 more...

Medical secretary loses job — and also pay in lieu of notice after inadvertently revealing past misconduct after her termination.

Ed Canning

Restaurant server who went on approved vacation before pandemic, then was not allowed to return to work, wins wrongful dismissal case.

Ed Canning

Misrepresenting core skills to get a new job can be grounds for dismissal, warns employment lawyer Ed Canning.

Ed Canning

Misconduct in the workplace can result in a fired worker losing their entitlement to EI, says employment lawyer Ed Canning.

Ed Canning

Past unblemished record does not excuse sexual harassment, says employment lawyer Ed Canning.

Ed Canning

A union grievance over the termination of a bus driver — who had a violent altercation with a passenger in front of...

Ed Canning

A significant award of damages cannot make up for what a sexually assaulted employee has gone through, says employment lawyer Ed Canning.

Ed Canning

Companies can run into trouble if they suddenly insist all employees need to return to the office in short order, says employment...

Ed Canning

Pestering a worker on medical leave to return to work is a clear violation of the employer’s duty to accommodate under the...

Ed Canning

Disagreeing with your manager over how you are managed is not grounds for a labour complaint, says employment lawyer Ed Canning.

Ed Canning

Demanding a payout from an employer while threatening public defamation can backfire, says employment lawyer Ed Canning.

Ed Canning

Making mistakes is rarely enough for a “just cause” termination without a severance package, writes employment lawyer Ed Canning.

Ed Canning

Both employers and workers share the responsibility of keeping people safe on the job, says employment lawyer Ed Canning.

Ed Canning

A departing employee should not have taken confidential company files, but the company suffered no damages, writes Ed Canning.

Ed Canning

You can be prosecuted if you sign it and it is not truthful, writes Ed Canning.

Ed Canning

Terminating an employee for having filed a complaint will always get an employer in trouble, writes Ed Canning.

Ed Canning

The most important change is around the wage range, writes Ed Canning.

Ed Canning

Workplace violence is one of the great taboos next to theft or dishonesty, writes Ed Canning.

Ed Canning

Adjudicator concluded termination had no connection to heat complaint, Ed Canning writes.

Ed Canning

Ontario Human Rights Tribunal’s $20,000 award for Sara’s humiliation falls short, even if it recognized her lost wages.

Ed Canning

A longtime employee claimed he never firmly agreed to retire — but a judge ruled his silence and actions spoke louder than...

Ed Canning

While the company was going through duress, the way the contract was presented created a toxic work environment, Ed Canning writes.

Ed Canning

If an employee can’t perform the core duties of their position, the employer need not keep them in the role, Ed Canning...

Ed Canning

Lumberyard’s failure to keep paperwork in order was costly, writes Ed Canning.

Ed Canning

If you want to require an employee to increase their office presence dramatically, plan ahead, writes Ed Canning.

Ed Canning

Some people overestimate the protection afforded by their complaints, writes Ed Canning.

Ed Canning

No matter your gender, introducing discussions of a sexual nature in the workplace that make others uncomfortable means you’ve gone too far,...

Ed Canning

The problem is he never told his employer it violated his “creed” or asked for accommodation, writes Ed Canning.

Ed Canning

Ontario Human Rights Tribunal ordered her boss to pay $16,500 in general damages.

Ed Canning

A resume and application form do not tell you that much. You never know who is going to walk through the door,...

Ed Canning

The absentee owner, however, had no real proof of anything. It was mostly just a bunch of hearsay, writes Ed Canning.

Ed Canning

The idea of putting a price tag on human dignity is troubling but unavoidable, writes Ed Canning.

Ed Canning

Many people, once they have gotten the taste of working from home, are loathe to return, writes Ed Canning.

Ed Canning

Anything less will lead to grief, writes Ed Canning.

Ed Canning

A fatal error leads to an employer out of pocket and a good employee out of a job.

Ed Canning

In most cases, lawyers and employees who decided they were entitled to compensation were not successful, Ed Canning writes.

Ed Canning

After one of his workers is injured, a frustrated employer in the Far North finds patience is the best course of action.

Ed Canning

Unless you have a medical expert telling you otherwise, you have to take doctor’s notes at face value, writes Ed Canning.

Ed Canning

Many people may think it is harsh to make employees pay for any of their benefits while they are off sick, writes...

Ed Canning

Apologies to the frustrated doctors out there, but these notes aren’t going to disappear soon, writes Ed Canning.

Ed Canning

Adjudicator not persuaded by argument that faith told employee to follow his conscience and his conscience prohibited getting the COVID-19 vaccine.

Ed Canning

Outside of a union environment, calling in sick on a day when you work for another employer would usually get you fired...

Ed Canning

The code guards against discrimination on the basis of a number of grounds, including sexual orientation and gender identity and expression, Ed...

Ed Canning

If you are involved in a wrongful dismissal claim against your former employer, what you are really claiming is that based on...

Ed Canning

Out of an abundance of caution, Ed Canning recommends disclosing a pregnancy before people in the workplace could find out some other...

Ed Canning

When people are in the throes of a difficult situation at work, it can feel like a clear constructive dismissal to them,...

Ed Canning

The rules around restaurant owners stealing employees’ tips are pretty clear.

Ed Canning

Employers need to be careful about what they say when trying to attract new employees.

Ed Canning

Until the Ontario Human Rights Tribunal gets serious about awards, discriminating against employees will cost money, but still be affordable, writes Ed...

Ed Canning

The termination was replaced by a suspension, but the employee remained unvaccinated and could not return to work.

Ed Canning

Copying or retaining confidential information belonging to your employer is going to create trouble.

Ed Canning

Human rights legislation prohibits discrimination based on age, sex, colour, creed, religion and gender, but not language skills, writes Ed Canning.

Ed Canning

Showing up to work is a basic term of all employment contracts, writes Ed Canning.

Ed Canning

There is hardly ever a reason to create a fixed-term contract, writes Ed Canning.

Ed Canning

For most judges, competing, or even trying to compete, with your employer would constitute just cause and the end of the claim...

Ed Canning

In no way, shape or form should an employee’s leave play a part in a termination decision, writes Ed Canning.

Ed Canning

In this special holiday column, Ed Canning entertains letters from a group of disgruntled employees and their vaguely threatening CEO.

Ed Canning

Employee was awarded job back after termination over theft

Ed Canning

It is easier to negotiate a severance package if there is a clear termination rather than constructive dismissal, writes Ed Canning.

Ed Canning

An employee sued for aggravated and punitive damages and was awarded both, writes Ed Canning.

Ed Canning

While mandatory vaccination policies may seem like old news, we have no idea if or when the next pandemic is coming, writes...

Ed Canning

There is no difference between asking for extra money to work on a statutory holiday and asking for a raise — if...

Ed Canning

Most of the time, it is age, seniority and position that dictate the outcome of the case, writes Ed Canning.

Ed Canning

Supervision and equipment are two of the factors to be considered when determining if someone was an employee, writes Ed Canning.

Ed Canning

Be careful what you do out there — everyone has a camera in their pocket, writes Ed Canning.

Ed Canning

Some people become so angry they cannot imagine a judge seeing things other than their way, writes Ed Canning.

Ed Canning

Employment law: Ed Canning has seen cases where a weak-kneed human resources department recommends the termination of an alleged perpetrator based on...

Ed Canning

If someone is buying a business through an asset sale and taking on existing employees, the onus should be on the new...

Ed Canning

Someone involved in litigation should always assume the letters they write will end up in front of a judge, writes Ed Canning.

Ed Canning

An employer has to try to accommodate, but only to the point of undue hardship.

Ed Canning

Employees who are loaned out to someone else know the clients better than their employer, leaving the employer extremely vulnerable to abuse.

Ed Canning

Not all off-duty behaviour will justify a termination and a lot of it depends on what position you hold.

Ed Canning

When a relationship sours, employers start taking a closer look and things get bad quickly, writes Ed Canning. Neil had worked in...

Ed Canning

Terminated unionized workers can grieve their termination and end up with an order for reinstatement if an adjudicator does not find the...

Ed Canning

If you terminate an employee, discriminatory comments will be relied upon and the cost of the termination will increase exponentially.

Ed Canning

A frustration of contract occurs when there is a radical change in the employment obligations arising from unforeseen circumstances and where there...

Ed Canning

Perhaps age discrimination is so pervasive because almost all of us are guilty of discriminating against ourselves based on our age.

Ed Canning

Adjudicator decided that even if most allegations were believed, behaviour did not objectively constitute sexual harassment.

Ed Canning

It has been estimated that more than 70,000 Canadian first responders have experienced PTSD in the course of their career.

Ed Canning

Todd was awarded $15,000 in aggravated damages as he had evidence of the anxiety and depression caused by treatment from an employer...

Ed Canning

It is rare to find an employer quite stupid enough to reduce to writing its propensity toward age discrimination.

Ed Canning

The arbitrator decided the employee’s choice was a deliberate, intentional, defiant and offensive act of misconduct, which justified the staff member’s termination.

Ed Canning

Contractors will be entitled to statutory holiday pay, minimum wage, and vacation pay.

Ed Canning

Nobody should be made to feel uncomfortable or harassed within their work environment.

Ed Canning

One-standard-fits-all approach does not help us move forward toward a society that embraces true equality.

Ed Canning

We would like to think a toxic work environment is a rarity in this day and age. Unfortunately, that is not the...

Ed Canning

In a courtroom, the onus is on an employee to prove on a balance of probabilities they have been constructively dismissed. Success...

Ed Canning

As of Oct. 11, employers with more than 25 employees had to adopt a written policy.

Ed Canning

As an employer, you do not have the right to ask for a specific diagnosis.

Ed Canning

Employers should always put the feelings and dignity of the employee being terminated first.

Ed Canning

A Human Rights Tribunal adjudicator found an employer was committed to finding a way for a prospective employee to join the organization...

Ed Canning

At the end of November the Ontario Government passed the “Working for Workers Act 2021”. The Act does a number of things...

Ed Canning

On September 3 of this year a company that supplies Security Guards to various establishments sent out a notice indicating that employees...

Ed Canning

In 2018 there were three individuals working in the kitchen at a bar in Hamilton who used the pronouns they/them. One identified...

Ed Canning

Employers need to be cautious about promises they make to prospective employees and the way they behave in a termination interview.

Ed Canning

Improper actions due to intoxication may cost you your job

Ed Canning

At the beginning of the pandemic many people received letters from their employer telling them they were on “lay off”. Many received...

Ed Canning

Can my employer force me to get vaccinated?

Ed Canning

Can my employer force me to get vaccinated?

Ed Canning

Establishing undue hardship is not an impossibility, especially for smaller employers where the skill sets needed for the position are hard to...

Ed Canning

Don't be a Karen.

Ed Canning

I will start by saying that no one has the answer to whether employees can legally be required to vaccinate in order...

Ed Canning

This was an employer who clearly thought it was above the law. The judge corrected that view.

Ed Canning

Are questions about retirement plans taboo?

Ed Canning

Samantha got a job with a municipality in their Human Resources Department but a few weeks later was offered a higher paying...

Ed Canning

Save yourself and the eyes of others

Ed Canning

It is very rare in Canada for an employer to sue an employee for damages or theft, but it happens.

Ed Canning

COVID-19 Questions and answers

Ed Canning

A constructive dismissal is a termination of employment without anyone saying “you’re fired”.

Ed Canning

Bonus plan must be clear and unambiguous

Ed Canning

Employers alleging just cause for an employee’s dismissal so as to avoid severance payments should tread very carefully.

Ed Canning

If you are sexually harassed by your boss in a small workplace your remedies are poor to say the least.

Ed Canning

Employers who receive any kind of human rights or other statutory complaint from an employee should be careful that their subsequent treatment...

Ed Canning

I have been asked repeatedly of late whether I think employers can force employees to take the COVID vaccine when it is...

Ed Canning

The most recent lockdown regulations state “Each person responsible for a business or organization that is open shall ensure that any person...

Ed Canning

Happy New Year and Merry Lockdown. These shifting COVID times have put unique stresses on employment relationships. This leads to questions I...

Ed Canning

Olivia worked in retail stores for a telecommunications company for 7 years. She was a great salesperson and over time was promoted...

Ed Canning

In these COVID times the relationship between employers and employees has come under some stress. In some respects, the rules keep changing.

Ed Canning

Employers are required by the Ontario Human Rights Code to accommodate requests for an accommodation of a disability to the point of...

Ed Canning

Like masking bylaws throughout the province, the City of Hamilton’s Bylaw requiring people to wear face coverings over their nose and mouth...

Ed Canning

By 2017 Donald was sixty years old and had been an employee for twenty years. He was a senior product designer and...

Ed Canning

What are you entitled to in terms of termination?

Ed Canning

Once and awhile one hears about a divorced couple who end up happily reuniting. While that is somewhat rare, it happens more...

Ed Canning

Donna had worked for an oil company for 18 years with no disciplinary history. Donna was in the habit of being honest,...

Ed Canning

You can be great at what you do. You can be productive and a team player. You can even be an over...

Ed Canning

Wade worked as a manager in a Customs Brokerage Office for 4 years. When he first got the job the hiring letter...

Ed Canning

In a recent case a British Columbia man was awarded a year’s pay without ever working a day.

Ed Canning

How will the Ontario Government’s changes to the Employment Standards Act affect my lay off?

Ed Canning

More businesses are being allowed to open their doors. Employers that were never closed, because they were deemed an essential service are...

Ed Canning

Li was hired to work for an environmental company and terminated one month later. He alleged that his termination was provoked, at...

Ed Canning

In her late 50s, after having worked as a sales person in the insurance industry for 15 years, Daniela got a new...

Ed Canning

If my employer is not on the essential services list but still asks that I come to work can I be fired...

Ed Canning

Questions and answers regarding COVID-19 and employment

Ed Canning

If a new owner of the company you work for offers you continued employment, look at the terms carefully. You don’t always...

Ed Canning

Seven years after Sheldon became President of a company that distributed medical equipment for eye care, he had a very bad day....

Ed Canning

They say a picture tells a thousand words. Sometimes that’s enough to get you fired.

Ed Canning

I have often written about how difficult it is for an employer to establish just cause for a termination. But it is...

Ed Canning

City Counsellors are employed by the Corporation of the City of Hamilton. Their employment comes in four year fixed term contracts at...

Ed Canning