Cherrine Chow

The plaintiff employee moved to Ottawa for family reasons and sought to telecommute to his Toronto-based job.

The employer agreed only on the condition that the plaintiff sign a new fixed-term employment contract.

When the contract was not renewed, the plaintiff sued for wrongful dismissal, arguing the new contract was void for lack of consideration, duress, lack of agreement, and breach of the Employment Standards Act.

The court dismissed the motion for summary judgment and the action, finding the contract was validly formed with consideration and without duress.

While an early termination clause violated the ESA, it was severable, and the fixed-term provision remained valid.

Following a motion in a wrongful dismissal action involving a multinational employer, the court had previously stayed the Ontario proceeding on the basis of forum non conveniens while finding that Ontario had jurisdiction simpliciter.

The defendants sought substantial costs after obtaining the stay.

The court considered the factors under s.131 of the Courts of Justice Act and rule 57.01 of the Rules of Civil Procedure, including the complexity and novelty of jurisdictional issues involving cross‑border employment disputes.

Because the plaintiff succeeded on the jurisdiction issue while the defendants succeeded on forum non conveniens, the result of the motion was divided.

Exercising its discretion, the court concluded that fairness required no costs award.

The plaintiff, an Ontario resident who was transferred to work in New York for a subsidiary of an Ontario corporation, brought an action in Ontario for wrongful dismissal and human rights violations after her employment was terminated.

The defendants moved to dismiss or stay the action for lack of jurisdiction or on the basis of forum non conveniens.

The court found that it had jurisdiction simpliciter because the Ontario parent corporation exercised effective control over the plaintiff's employment and the employment contract was connected to Ontario.

However, the court declined to exercise its jurisdiction, finding that New York was the clearly more appropriate forum because the key witnesses, evidence, and factual matters at the core of the dispute were located there.

The action was permanently stayed.