Copies of many of the decisions referred to can be obtained from the web site of the Canadian Legal Information Institute. At this site, these cases can also be noted up using the Reflex Record to determine whether they have been changed upon appeal. Employment Law Masyk v. F.A.S. Seafood 2003 BCSC 1644 (B.C.S.C.) This case involved a deckhand who was suing the owner of several fishing vessels for wrongful dismissal without proper notice. One issue that was raised during a summary trial application was whether or not the deckhand was an employee so as to be able to sue for wrongful dismissal without notice. The court accepted the vessel owner’s argument that the deckhand was a dependant contractor or free agent rather than an employee and, accordingly, was not automatically entitled to the protection against dismissal without notice provide by either Provincial or Federal legislation. As such, the Court held it was incumbent upon the deckhand to pursue work opportunities with the vessel owner and/or skipper rather than simply waiting to be called to work. Editors Note: See also the article posted to the Papers section of the Fisheries’ Page entitled, The Legal Status of Crew Members in the West Coast Fishing Industry: Employees, Dependant Contractors or Something in Between. Employment Law –
Employment Insurance Appeal Judicial Review
Crown Liability Mercer v. Canada (Minister of National Revenue [2003] T.C.J. NO. 543, 2003 TCC 652 (Tax Ct. of Canada) (Cain D.T.C.J.) This case dealt the issue of whether or not the common law spouse of an East Coast fish boat owner who worked as a deckhand on his fishing vessel could be considered an employee for the purpose of a section of the Employment Insurance Act that excluded coverage for employees who do not work at arms length from their employers. Based upon the evidence that the deckhand received 79 per cent of the share of the catch while only performing 50 per cent of the duties, the Court excluded coverage based upon the assumption that she was an employee.
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