Canadian Pacific Ltd. v Canada (Court of Appeal 1990)
1st January 1990, 12:00 pm
Fontaine was contracted by his employer to Canadian Pacific (CP) to work as a cook. He was constructively dismissed from employment after his HIV status was discovered by CP. Fontaine appealed his dismissal to the Human Rights Tribunal, claiming a violation of his right to be free from discrimination under the Charter. The Tribunal concluded that CP had violated Fontaine’s right to be free from discrimination for dismissing Fontaine on the basis of his HIV status. CP appealed this decision.

The Court affirmed the Tribunal’s decision, rejecting CP’s argument that they never officially employed Fontaine. The Court took an expansive view of the meaning of to "employ" under the Human Rights Act finding that although Fontaine was directly employed by another company, it was CP who decided whether he would continue that particular employment.

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