Human Rights - Inspire Law

Is It Legal to Surreptitiously Record a Phone Call?

April 4, 2019
Susan Kootnekoff

Earlier this week, Prime Minister Trudeau removed Ms. Wilson-Raybould and Dr. Jane Philpott from the Liberal party. The reason offered was that recording “conversations without consent” was unacceptable, and that an Attorney General recording a conversation with the Clerk of the...

What’s age got to do with it?

March 14, 2019
Susan Kootnekoff

Is age relevant in dismissals? Under Canadian common law, an employer is able to dismiss a non-unionized employee in only one of two ways. One is with just cause. This is generally difficult, though not impossible, for an employer to establish. The second...

Family Status Discrimination in Employment in BC

February 21, 2019
Susan Kootnekoff

In a recent decision in Envirocon Environmental Services, ULC v. Suen, the BC Court of Appeal confirmed that in order to establish discrimination in employment on the basis of family status, a human rights complainant must show: (1) a change in...

Solicitor Client Privilege & DPAs: Mum’s the Word

February 14, 2019
Susan Kootnekoff

On September 19, 2018, amendments to the Criminal Code came into force establishing Deferred Prosecution Agreements (DPAs), for the first time in Canada. They had at that time escaped the radar, slipped into an omnibus bill, labeled “remediation agreements.” DPAs...

Employment Discrimination Against Caucasians in B.C.

February 8, 2019
Susan Kootnekoff

A recent B.C. Human Rights Tribunal case involved a twist, in which Caucasian employees claimed their Asian boss had discriminated against them at work. This was a reversal of the more common situation where discrimination is alleged against a member...