Human Rights and Discrimination

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    Human Rights and Discrimination

    Employers grapple with ever-changing social norms and issues, particularly in the areas of human rights and freedoms, and discrimination. These highly complex and delicate issues are paramount to the employment relationship, from start to finish and sometimes beyond. How organizations manage them critically shapes their culture and reputation.

    Our Human Rights and Discrimination team advises and represents employers in all sectors. Our lawyers are steeped in the latest human rights and freedoms insights and continuously monitor legislative, regulatory and case law developments to support rights and freedoms cases and risk prevention.

    We also provide custom training to brief you on salient issues and how to address them in abidance with the Charter of Human Rights and Freedoms requirements.

    Our Human Rights and Discrimination services include:

    • Auditing and advising on legislative and regulatory compliance
    • Conducting investigations into complaints or reports
    • Drafting and reviewing policies and advising on best practices
    • Handling grievances in unionized environments
    • Managing sensitive cases, particularly freedom of expression, the duty to accommodate, privacy and equity, and diversity and inclusion
    • Representing employers before courts and tribunals
    • Representing employers in mediation sessions

    Headlines

    Publications
    May 13th, 2024

    The Supreme Court rules on the right of association
    On April 19, 2024 the Supreme Court of Canada rendered the decision Société des casinos du Québec inc. v. Association des cadres de la Société des casinos du Québec, 2024 SCC 13 which deals with the freedom of association protected by section 2(d) of the Canadian Charter and section 3 of the Québec Charter. This decision identifies the legal framework applicable to any claim based on freedom of association, whether the claim at issue is a so-called positive or negative claim. In applying this framework, the Supreme Court determined in this matter that the freedom of association of the Association des cadres de la Société des casinos du Québec and its members was not compromised by the employer, the Société des casinos du Québec inc. The Court thus allowed the appeals before it.
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    Publications
    April 5th, 2024

    Needed guidance from the Court of Appeal on the question of the quasi-constitutional protection of parental status in Québec
    Introduction In this matter, the Canadian Union of Public Employees (the “Union”), which represents bus drivers and related services employees employed by the Réseau de transport de Longueuil (the “Employer”), alleged, through a group grievance, that a provision of the collective agreement concerning the granting of attendance credits discriminated against employees who had taken maternity […]
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    Publications
    March 1st, 2024

    The importance of Charter values in the absence of the infringement of a constitutional right or freedom
    Commission scolaire francophone des Territoires du Nord-Ouest v. Northwest Territories (Education, Culture and Employment) On December 8, 2023, in its decision in Commission scolaire francophone des Territoires du Nord-Ouest v. Northwest Territories (Education, Culture and Employment),1 the Supreme Court of Canada set aside ministerial decisions refusing to admit children of non-rights holder parents2 to French-language schools […]
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    Publications
    August 18th, 2023

    Teachers’ right to privacy: a decision of interest is expected from the Supreme Court of Canada
    On June 21, 2022, the Court of Appeal for Ontario rendered a decision1 concerning the extent of employees’ reasonable expectation of privacy in the workplace. The Court of Appeal decided inter alia that the protection against unreasonable search or seizure under section 8 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms (the “Charter”) applies to employees […]
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    Publications
    April 17th, 2023

    Child labour in Quebec: The dawn of a new legal era
    On March 28, a few months after receiving the latest opinion from the Comité consultatif du travail et de la main-d'œuvre (CCTM) on child labour in Quebec, the Minister of Labour, Jean Boulet, introduced Bill 19, An Act respecting the regulation of child labour, which aims to reform the current legislation governing child labour in […]
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    Publications
    December 1st, 2021

    Human Rights: Commission or Arbitrator?
    Published by our Labour and Employment Law team. On October 22, 2021, the Supreme Court issued a decision in the Horrocks case1 regarding the respective jurisdictions of labour arbitrators and human rights tribunals. Although the original decision was handed down in Manitoba, the Horrocks ruling is of some interest to Quebec employers.   Facts Linda Horrocks, an […]
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    Publications
    November 29th, 2021

    Recent decisions regarding mandatory vaccination policies
    Published by our Labour and Employment Law team. In October, the Quebec government announced that vaccination would be mandatory for health care workers but did not provide guidance for other economic sectors. In the absence of provincial government directives on mandatory vaccination in the workplace, employers must justify this measure based on the specifics of each […]
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    Publications
    February 25th, 2021

    Are there limits to a professional’s freedom of expression in his or her personal life?
    Updated on September 1st, 2021. Professionals have ethical obligations and must respect them in all spheres of their lives, even in their private lives. While they enjoy the protection of the same constitutional rights and freedoms as all citizens, these rights and freedoms are not absolute and are circumscribed by the professional’s ethical obligations. In […]
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