Fasken Martineau Adds to its Leading Labour, Employment, Human Rights, Pensions and Benefits Client Service Team | The HR Space

Regular readers of HR Space are well aware of the breadth, depth and strength of Fasken Martineau's Labour, Employment & Human Rights Group. Well, our Group just got even broader, deeper and stronger. And thus even better in our ability to serve any client's needs, no matter the complexity, urgency or scope. This is true whether your needs are local, national or international. It is true whether your organization is in the private, public or quasi-public sectors.

Fasken Martineau is pleased to announce the addition of 26 labour, employment and human rights lawyers: 13 in Toronto, 9 in Montréal and 4 in Ottawa. These lawyers, formerly members of Heenan Blaikie's leading Canadian labour and employment group, view our firm as the ideal platform from which to continue to offer their expertise and the best possible service to their valued clients across the country. 

Fasken Martineau's labour, employment and human rights lawyers have a solid track record of successfully representing clients in all aspects of labour and employment law. These new lawyers will reinforce Fasken Martineau's position as a national leader in this field. They add to our labour and employment experience assisting clients in virtually every private sector industry and across the public sector throughout Canada.

The expertise of our new colleagues includes in-depth knowledge and experience advising some of Canada's leading corporations and institutions in federally and provincially regulated industries such as transportation, telecommunications and banking as well as airlines, postal services, mining, manufacturing, education, construction and retail. Adding to the firm's bilingual service capacity, including in Ottawa and Toronto, these new lawyers also have expertise assisting large national and multinational companies achieve consistency and efficiency in their labour and employment law needs, domestically and internationally. This complements Fasken Martineau's existing strength in advising a wide variety of clients in a broad range of sectors and industries, including health care, hospitals, universities, school boards and municipal, provincial and federal government agencies.

This added capacity and expertise will enhance the firm's ability to successfully handle any and all legal issues in the human resources field, in the most cost-effective and efficient manner.  It will better enable us to provide value and exceptional service to our clients.

WE ARE PROUD TO WELCOME 

SELECTED EXPERIENCE

We have a long history of representing employers in all aspects of labour law. Matters handled in recent years by members of the enhanced Fasken Martineau Labour, Employment & Human Rights Group include:

• Counsel to the Québec Employers Council (Conseil du patronat) in a case heard by the Supreme Court of Canada in December 2013 involving Wal-Mart and the UFCW and which will decide whether Québec employers have to justify to a union a decision to close their business.
• Counsel to the Mounted Police Members' Legal Fund in Mounted Police Association of Ontario v. Canada, a 2014 appeal to the Supreme Court of Canada concerning the constitutionality of the labour relations system within the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.
• Counsel and outside negotiator for the Ontario Medical Association in its negotiations with the Province of Ontario regarding publicly-funded physicians' fee structures.
• Counsel to Air Canada in 2012 in proceedings under the Protecting Air Service Act, to settle the terms and conditions of collective agreements for pilots and machinists, which addressed pension liabilities increased flexibility for the airline.
• Counsel to Ontario Federation of Agriculture in Ontario v. Fraser, the successful 2011 appeal to the Supreme Court of Canada upholding Ontario's Agricultural Employees Protection Act and narrowing the constitutional protection for collective bargaining. 
• Counsel and spokesperson for Franco-Ontarian Catholic School Boards at Provincial Discussion Tables and local bargaining tables with union representing teaching and non-teaching staff, for three (3) successive rounds of collective bargaining. 
• Counsel and lead negotiator for York University in renewing several collective agreements with non-academic unions, for three year terms, during provincial restraint program. 
• Counsel for University Health Network (Toronto) in an arbitration case brought by Ontario Nurses Union, successfully defending an age discrimination grievance regarding benefit coverage for employees over age 65. 
• Counsel to both Rio Tinto Alcan Inc. and Bechtel Canada Holdings Inc. in respect of the $2.6 billion expansion/rebuild of the Aluminum smelter in Kitimat, British Columbia. 
• Counsel to The Gazette of Montreal, a daily newspaper belonging to Postmedia Group, in a major dispute lasting several years, involving the scope of job security provisions involving technological change. 
• Counsel to DundeeWealth on employment and equity incentive compensation plans with regard to its $2.3 billion sale to Scotiabank.
• Counsel to First Quantum Minerals on executive and incentive compensation, golden parachute and reorganization plans with regard to its $5.1 billion acquisition of Inmet Mining Corporation. 
• Successfully represented Kerry Canada Inc. in the Supreme Court of Canada pension case that created new law regarding contribution holidays and payment of plan expenses from the pension fund.