The decision in Chura v Batten Industries Inc., 2023 BCSC 1040, provides a good outline for both employers and employees of what kind of conduct gives rise to a with cause termination. With Cause Termination With cause termination disentitles the employee to any notice pay or severance to which they might otherwise be entitled. Just… Read more »
Business Law Articles
Supreme Court of Canada Brings Clarity to Limitation Periods and Discoverability of Claims
In the recent decision of Grant Thornton LLP v. New Brunswick, 2021 SCC 31, the Supreme Court of Canada brought further clarity to the law with regard to when a claim is “discovered” in law and when the limitation period to bring a lawsuit in relation to the claim runs. Although this case is related… Read more »
Lying About Future Intentions Can Cost You
Satnam Education Foundation v. MB Dream Construction & Supplies Ltd., 2020 BCSC 1089 When doing business, saying one thing and doing another can sometimes get you into hot water. This turned out to be the case for MB Dream Construction & Supplies Ltd. (MB Dream) who mislead Satnam Education Foundation (Satnam) and hid their true… Read more »
Nowhere to Hide
The B.C. Business Corporations Act Targets Full Transparency. If dealing with the current pandemic was not burdensome enough, in May of 2019, the BC Provincial Government made changes to the Business Corporations Act (British Columbia) (“BCBCA”) that will require private companies to maintain a new type of record called a transparency register. The register is… Read more »
A New Arbitration Act for British Columbia
On September 1, 2020, a new Arbitration Act came into force in British Columbia. This new statue more closely aligns B.C.’s domestic arbitration legislation with the International Commercial Arbitration Act and the standards outlined in the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) Model Law on International Commercial Arbitration. It contains new provisions on… Read more »
A Wolf in Employee’s Clothing
To make a business run effectively, we know it takes more than one person. Employers have to hire people to manage the day to day operations of a business. In doing so, employers have to place a certain amount of trust in their employees to do their work honestly and ethically. But what happens when… Read more »
Can your criminal past come back and fire you?
Terminating an employee is not a topic that most people enjoy talking about. It is complicated and for many, too scary to even consider. Yet, whether employees or employers want to think about it or not, termination is a reality that can affect anyone working in today’s world. It is a topic full of grey… Read more »
Beware Employers
Sometimes terminating an employee is not as simple as following the Law As a lawyer, I am often amazed at the complexities of owning a business. Whether small or large, there are financial, operational and human resource requirements that all demand the attention of the business owner. One of the most common employer issues to… Read more »
The Cannabis Act and What it Means for Employers
Legalizing marijuana has introduced some real concerns for businesses in British Columbia. Although the new Cannabis Act allows employers to set policies to prevent impairment and the use of non-medical marijuana at work, employers have to accommodate employees who are prescribed marijuana for medical reasons. This has employers worried about how they are going to… Read more »
What a franchise need to know about the BC Franchises Act
Who does it apply to? The Act applies to new franchise agreements, existing franchise agreements that are renewed or extended on or after February 1, 2017 and franchise agreements entered into before February 1, 2017. What’s in the Act? 1. Franchise disclosure document (“FDD”) The franchisor must provide the franchisee with a Franchise Disclosure Document… Read more »