There is still a common belief among Ontario employees that holding onto a job forever is their right, and any time that an employer ends their employment they are automatically in the wrong. “They can’t fire me!” “They can’t do that!” “They need to give me a reason.” These employees are half right. Yes, if an employment contract does not have a fixed end date, then that job can theoretically run forever, or at least for the employee’s lifetime. However, either side still has the power to end that contract – employees can resign, and employers have the power to end their employment...

When we think of human rights, we tend to think in broad terms. We think of grand historical figures in the 20th and 21st century who have been campaigning for the advancement of human rights in various forms. These are important and noble causes, but the truth is that human rights impact us much closer to home than we might imagine. In Ontario, the Human Rights Code, R.S.O. 1990, c. H.19 (the “Code”) is the defining piece of legislation that governs our human rights in most of our lives – in accommodation, in how we form contracts, and, for our purposes here, in the workplace. In...