The defendants, including a foreign embassy and its cultural bureau, sought leave to appeal a motion decision that permitted an employment-related breach of contract action to proceed despite claims of state immunity.
The motion judge had found the dispute fell within the commercial activity exception under the State Immunity Act.
On the leave motion, the court considered whether conflicting authorities existed regarding the application of the commercial activity exception in employment contexts involving foreign states.
The court held that prior decisions demonstrated conflicting approaches to the issue and that the scope of state immunity in employment relationships with foreign states raised matters of significant importance to labour relations in Canada.
Leave to appeal was therefore granted, and the time for the defendants to deliver a statement of defence was extended pending the appeal.
