i) A recent decision of the Alberta Court of Queen’s Bench found that an engineer, who had received training outside of Canada, was not discriminated against by being required to fulfill certain requirements before he could work in the province. The Court reversed the decision of the Human Rights Tribunal of Alberta, which had found that the requirements infringed on the individual’s human rights on the basis of “place of origin”. Although the Court found that the requirements were prima facie discriminatory, the requirements were upheld because they were reasonable and justifiable.
ii) A recent decision of the Court of Appeal for Ontario found that a volunteer that signed a waiver releasing claims for all damages associated with his participation in a go-karting event did not bar the individual from suing the event organizers, the track owner, and the operator of the go-cart. The Court of Appeal rejected an argument that the individual was simply a volunteer that received a stipend, as opposed to an employee. The Court found that the individual was an employee and was entitled to sue his employer for damages resulting from the accident, because the employer was not covered by the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board and had not applied for voluntary coverage.