Developments in Employment Law: The 1992-93 Term

Abstract

Despite occasional professional and pedagogical assertions to the contrary, employment law is less an autonomous body of legal principles than a composite of relatively diverse fields of law. This term's employment law cases underscore the fact that the autonomy of labour law is more often imagined than real. The author argues that, together, this term's employment law cases illustrate the profound effect that the common law, administrative law, and human rights law have upon the legal representation of the employment relationship. The cases discussed include: Queen v. Cognos Inc; London Drugs Ltd v. Kuehne & Nagle International; Barrette v. Crabtree (Succession de); Flieger v. New Brunswick; Universite du Quebec a Trois Rivieres v. Larocque; Canada (Attorney General) v. Public Service Alliance of Canada; Domtar v. Quebec (Commission d'appel en matiere de lesions professionelles); Dayco (Canada) Ltd v. CAW; United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America, Local 579 v. Bradco Construction Ltd.; Dickason v. University of Alberta; Canada (Attorney General) v. Mossop; and Central Okanagan School District No 23 v. Renaud.