Context and Commentary From Our Lawyers
Insights shares general information about developments across our core practice areas in Ontario. We highlight trends, decisions, and practical considerations to help you recognize when an issue may require professional advice. Every matter is fact-specific; if something here raises a question for you or your business, please contact our team.
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Timmins v. Artisan Cells: Withholding Contractual Severance in Exchange for a Release Can Repudiate an Employment Agreement
Introduction In Timmins v. Artisan Cells, the Ontario Superior Court of Justice considered a familiar but important termination scenario: an employer paid less than the employee was contractually owed and then tried to use the remaining severance as leverage to obtain a full and final release. The court found that this conduct repudiated the employment…
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Ontario Court of Appeal Upholds Back-to-Work Legislation Ending College Faculty Strike
Overview The Ontario Court of Appeal’s decision in Ontario Public Service Employees Union v. Ontario (Attorney General), 2026 ONCA 74, provides important guidance for unionized employers and public sector stakeholders considering the constitutional risks and limits of back-to-work legislation. The case arose from Ontario’s 2017 college faculty strike. After five weeks of strike action, the…
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Ontario Court of Appeal Confirms Enforceability of ESA-Only Termination Clauses in Bertsch v. Datastealth Inc.
Introduction In Bertsch v. Datastealth Inc., 2025 ONCA 379, the Ontario Court of Appeal confirmed that a properly drafted termination clause limiting an employee’s entitlements to the minimums under the Employment Standards Act, 2000 can be enforceable. For employers, the decision is a useful reminder that careful drafting matters: a clause that clearly tracks the…
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Pearsall Marshall LLP Opens Amherstburg Ontario Office
Pearsall Marshall Law Firm is pleased to announce the opening of our new Amherstburg office. This new location is now open at: 61 Richmond St Amherstburg, Ontario Phone: 519-326-4415 We are very pleased to be offering an Amherstburg location to complement our other offices throughout Windsor and Essex County. The office is open now during…
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Pearsall Marshall LLP Expands to Tilbury as Paul Courey Joins the Firm
Pearsall Marshall Law Welcomes Paul Courey Pearsall Marshall LLP is pleased to announce that the practice of lawyer Paul Courey (Courey Law Professional Corporation) and his Tilbury, Ontario office has joined the team, effective immediately. Paul brings more than 30 years of experience and is a highly respected Essex County lawyer. His practice includes: Real…
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The Trouble with Sole Discretion in Termination Clauses
Termination Clauses Continue to Face Close Scrutiny For human resources professionals, termination clauses are often drafted with the goal of creating certainty. Employers want language that clearly defines what happens if employment ends without cause, and they want that language to be enforceable. Recent Ontario decisions, however, continue to show that wording matters a great…
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WSIB Claims Management – Employer Guidance from Initial Reporting to Claim Closure
What WSIB Claims Management Means When a worker is hurt or becomes ill because of work, the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB) gets involved. Claims management is how you, as the employer, report the incident, support a safe return to work, control claim costs, and close the file properly. In Ontario, whether you run…
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Breaking the “24-Month Cap”: How Courts Are Expanding Wrongful Dismissal Notice Periods
For decades, there was a kind of “rule of thumb” in Canadian wrongful dismissal employment law: if you were wrongfully dismissed, the most you could expect for reasonable notice was about 24 months. This wasn’t written in any statute, but it was treated as an unofficial ceiling by courts across the country. That rule, however,…