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risk and taking proactive steps to make sure
that we're protecting our customers, our
employees, the general public and our
shareholders, and satisfying regulatory
obligations as we do so."
At The Seaboard Transport Group, preparing
the business for delays in litigation matters is
top of mind for the legal team.
"Whether it's claims against the company or
claims that we are prosecuting, the main thing
that we've seen is that it's going to take a lot
more time to resolve some of those matters
than it did before the pandemic," says Kyle
Power, legal counsel and manager of claims at
Seaboard. The Dartmouth, N.S.-based
transportation company operates across all
provinces in Canada, so Power is monitoring
the situation in different jurisdictions, as many
of the courts are struggling to maintain the
deadlines that they had prior to the pandemic.
"Advising my principals that this is not going to
be wrapped up in a typical litigation timeline is
important," he says.
As businesses start to re-open, they must
have very clear policies to cover all potential
employment law contingencies, Biernaskie says.
"Now that we've had time to adjust to this
reality that we're in and we'll likely be in for
some time, companies need to get ahead of it
by creating policies — particularly about
employees — that are super clear and followed
strictly and known to everybody," she says.
Policies will also need to reference the
COVID vaccine, so employees are clear about
any requirements to be vaccinated before
returning the office.
"I think companies are going to really struggle
with that because it's difficult to say if it's a
plausible requirement. I think we'll end up with
some case law at some point. It will be interesting
to see how it turns out," says Biernaskie.
"We'll be forcing people to appear virtually,
which expands the reach of litigation
processes."
Jennifer Biernaskie, McLennan Ross LLP
