34 A U G U S T 2 0 1 5 w w w . C A N A D I A N L a w y e r m a g . c o m
JUSTICE DAVID STRATAS
Judge, Federal Court of Appeal,
Ottawa, Ont.
Stratas penned perhaps the most talked-about decision in the
area of employment law this year. It will affect federally regulated
employers and employees for years to come. His February Federal
Court of Appeal decision in Wilson v. Atomic Energy of Canada flies
in the face of 40 years of law allowing federally regulated employ-
ers to dismiss employees without cause. Prior to the decision, the
consensus was that employees who are governed by the Canada
Labour Code could only be terminated for just cause. Many feder-
ally regulated organizations including banks, telecommunications
companies, and transportation companies view the decision a "vic-
tory," because of its long-term consequences. "The court needs to be
a tie-breaker on this issue," wrote Stratas. As a result of its impact,
Joseph Wilson filed for leave to appeal with the Supreme Court of
Canada in late March. A decision on leave is pending.
WHAT VOTERS HAD TO SAY:
"He is the greatest administrative law jurist of our age. The only one going deep into doc-
trine, making sense of it all."
"Thoughtful, scholarly, practical, and so hard working. With respect to the last, it seems
the cases that have a real impact from the Federal Court of Appeal are written by him.
Plain speaking decisions really hammer the important points home."
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Untitled-5 1 2015-07-09 1:06 PM
Small Firm, Big Influence.
D
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aw
LLP
is delighted to congratulate our partner
Sara Cohen
(Fer tility Law Canada)
on being selected as one of
CANADA'S TOP 25
most influential lawyers!
What a well-deserved honour.
We also congratulate the 24 outstanding lawyers who share this honour
with Sara and thank those who suppor ted her by taking the time to vote.
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