CLE Online

Day 1: Thursday, November 24, 2016

Welcome and Introduction

Sandra F. Guarascio — Roper Greyell LLP, Vancouver
Lindsay M. Lyster — Moore Edgar Lyster, Vancouver

Judicial Review of BC Human Rights Tribunal Decisions

• review and update of significant BC Supreme Court, BC Court of Appeal, and Supreme Court of Canada cases

Katherine A. Hardie — BC Human Rights Tribunal, Vancouver
David G. Wong — Fasken Martineau DuMoulin LLP, Vancouver

Undue Hardship: An Employer's Duty to Accommodate a Disabled Employee

• review of recent cases exploring accommodation requirements and the threshold for undue hardship
• considerations including the extent of the need to modify duties and qualifications        
• factors the employer must be able to demonstrate to have a failure to accommodate complaint dismissed pursuant to s. 27 of the Code      

Stephanie Low — Hamilton Howell Bain & Gould, Vancouver
Shanti P. Reda — Hamilton Howell Bain & Gould, Vancouver
Michael A. Watt — Alexander Holburn Beaudin + Lang LLP, Vancouver

Break

Dealing with Medical Marijuana in the Workplace

• duty to accommodate and medical marijuana
• how to assess impairment
• impact on drug and alcohol policies
• workplace safety issues

Robyn Durling — Co-Director, BC Human Rights Clinic, Vancouver
Carolyn M. MacEachern — Young Anderson, Vancouver

Lunch with Featured Speaker
Revitalized Role of Canadian Human Rights Commission

Sheila M. MacPherson— Commissioner, Canadian Human Rights Commission, Ottawa

Occupational Addiction Medicine

• the body of knowledge and skills required for expertise in Occupational Addiction Medicine
• best practices for disability management of employees with substance use disorders
• determination and assurance of fitness of safety sensitive works who use or have been dependent upon addictive substances, drugs and/or mediations

Ray Baker, MD, FCFP, FASAM — Associate Clinical Professor, UBC Faculty of Medicine, Vancouver 

Expert Evidence in Human Rights Cases

• the use of expert evidence in human rights cases
• law and procedure for introducing expert evidence before the tribunal
• practical tips for working with an expert

Ray Baker, MD, FCFP, FASAM — Associate Clinical Professor, UBC Faculty of Medicine, Vancouver 
Greg Heywood — Roper Greyell LLP, Vancouver
Lindsay M. Lyster — Moore Edgar Lyster, Vancouver

Break

Political Belief and Free Speech Under the Human Rights Code

• defining “political belief” under the Human Rights Code
• recent cases and jurisdictional comparison
• freedom of expression in the human rights analysis
• restricting employee expression as discrimination

G. James Baugh — McGrady & Company, Vancouver
Devyn Cousineau — BC Human Rights Tribunal, Vancouver

Closing Questions and Comments

Sandra F. Guarascio — Roper Greyell LLP, Vancouver
Lindsay M. Lyster — Moore Edgar Lyster, Vancouver

Day 2: Friday, November 25, 2016

Welcome and Introduction

Sandra F. Guarascio — Roper Greyell LLP, Vancouver
Lindsay M. Lyster — Moore Edgar Lyster, Vancouver

Case Law Update

• key cases
• analysis and trends
• effects on practice

Laura DeVries — McCarthy Tétrault LLP, Vancouver
Christopher M. McHardy — McCarthy Tétrault LLP, Vancouver

Judicial Review Advocacy

• effective advocacy in judicial review of human rights decisions

The Honourable Madam Justice Linda A. Loo — Supreme Court of BC, Vancouver
The Honourable Madam Justice Heather M. MacNaughton — Supreme Court of BC, Vancouver
Jennifer S. Russell — Roper Greyell LLP, Vancouver

Break

Developments in the Law of Prima Facie Discrimination

• evolution of the prima facie test
• prima facie in practice

Donald J. Jordan, QC — Harris & Company LLP, Vancouver
Lindsay Waddell — Moore Edgar Lyster, Vancouver

Networking Lunch

Addressing the Harms of Labour Exploitation and Human Trafficking: The Potential of Human Rights Processes to Provide Redress and Restore Dignity

• trend of temporary foreign workers using human rights statutes and processes for remedies in cases of labor exploitation and human trafficking
• human trafficking for labour exploitation - a serious crime and gross violation of international human rights standards
• two recent human rights cases in Canada illustrating the potential of domestic human rights remedies to address the exploitation and harm suffered 
   
  Devyn Cousineau — BC Human Rights Tribunal, Vancouver
  Rosalind Currie — Director, BC’s Office to Combat Trafficking in Persons, Ministry of Public Safety & Solicitor General, Vancouver
  Natalie Drolet — Executive Director/Staff Lawyer, West Coast Domestic Workers' Association, Vancouver
  Bethany Hastie — Lecturer, Peter A. Allard School of Law, University of British Columbia, Vancouver
  Larissa Maxwell — Manager, Anti-Human Trafficking Programs, The Salvation Army, Vancouver

Accommodating Substance Use Disorders in the Unionized Workplace: Current Approaches and a Creative Way Forward

• an overview of the current sate of the law on substance use disorders in unionized workplaces, including how they can be accommodated
• the strengths and weaknesses of commonly used tools
• could Ulysses Agreements be an effective tool moving forward?

Heather D. Hoiness — Moore Edgar Lyster, Vancouver
Julie Menten — Roper Greyell LLP, Vancouver

Break

Ethics Fact Patterns

• what would / should you do?
• discussions in context
  
  Shona A. Moore, QC — Moore Edgar Lyster, Vancouver
  Gabriel M.A. Somjen — Borden Ladner Gervais LLP, Vancouver

Closing Questions and Comments

Sandra F. Guarascio — Roper Greyell LLP, Vancouver
Lindsay M. Lyster — Moore Edgar Lyster, Vancouver