View cases - Stewart McKelvey

- 17 -purchasing agent for a company that had been retained to design and build a largepetrochemical plant at a salary of $41,000.00 per year. Less than eight months later, theproject was cancelled and the employee’s services were terminated. The trial judgedetermined that a reasonable notice of termination was nine months, having regard to thenature of the employment and the employee’s age, training and qualifications. The trial judgealso considered that the employee had been enticed from a situation of secure employment.The Ontario Court of Appeal upheld the trial judge’s decision to award damages based onnine months notice, but did state that individual members of the court would have beendisposed to fix a shorter period of six months.2011 SKQB 318 (CanLII)[46] In McNevan v. AmeriCredit Corp, 2008 ONCA 846, 305 D.L.R. (4 th ) 233, 94 O.R.(3d) 458, the plaintiff was dismissed without cause from his position as assistant vicepresidentat one of the defendant’s call centres after 13 months’ service. The trial judge tookinto account a dearth of similar employment available to the plaintiff in his chosen field ofautomotive finance. He also found that it would have been reasonable for the plaintiff toassume that his position was secure given the experience that he brought to the position andthe success he had achieved during the year he was with the company. The Ontario Court ofAppeal found that the trial judge’s award of six months’ notice, while generous, to be withinthe acceptable range given the difficulties that the plaintiff would encounter findingopportunities to match his skill and experience in a smaller urban area. The court referred toboth Hall and Issacs as examples of cases establishing the range.[47] In Vettraino this Court had occasion to consider both Hall and Issacs in the context ofan action brought by a 56 year old social worker with extensive experience in mental healthcounselling and supervision who was dismissed from a $78,000.00 per year position asDirector of Mental Health and Addiction Services for Sun Country Health Region just short