Citizens of the European Union (EU) are allowed to live and work, without special formalities, in the European Economic Area (EEA). The EEA includes the EU’s 28 Member States as well as Switzerland and three non-EU countries – Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway. This is what we call “free movement of persons”. The 1957 Treaty of […]
Why is Canada a Bilingual Country?
August 30, 2019 By Myrna El Fakhry Tuttle
Canada has two official languages: French and English. We always wonder why. Canada’s two colonizing peoples are the French and the British. They controlled land and built colonies alongside Indigenous peoples, who had been living there for millennia. They had two different languages and cultures. The French spoke French, practiced Catholicism, and had their own […]
When Can the Right to Freedom of Expression be Curtailed?
July 4, 2019 By Myrna El Fakhry Tuttle
The right to express our opinions is a crucial element of a democracy. Freedom of expression is a basic characteristic of personal development. It gives us the right to dissent and the right to be heard. We can make our own choices about our basic beliefs by being exposed to different thoughts and opinions (see: […]
Disabilities and Addiction in the Workplace
May 3, 2019 By Myrna El Fakhry Tuttle
Employee alcohol and drug addictions in the workplace can be very difficult issues for employers to manage. Addiction is recognized as a mental disability, which means that employers cannot automatically terminate employees because of their addiction. On the contrary, employers are required to accommodate those employees to the point of undue hardship. Section 7 of […]
Privacy and Medical Information in the Workplace
March 5, 2019 By Myrna El Fakhry Tuttle
Requesting medical information from employees may raise privacy issues. Employees have the right to keep their medical information confidential and private. But employers also have the right to know about their employees’ illness or disability, and have the right to seek medical information in order to provide appropriate accommodation. So, how can we balance the […]
