Robert Sinding, Barrister & Solicitor

Direct involvement by an experienced and caring lawyer,  every step of the way.

Work is one of the most fundamental aspects in a person's life, providing the individual with a means of financial support and, as importantly, a contributory role in society. A person's employment is an essential component of his or her sense of identity, self-worth and emotional well-being. Accordingly, the conditions in which a person works are highly significant in shaping the whole compendium of psychological, emotional and physical elements of a person's dignity and self respect. In exploring the personal meaning of employment, Professor David M. Beatty, in his article "Labour is Not a Commodity" in Studies in Contract Law (1980), has described it as follows, at p. 324:

As a vehicle which admits a person to the status of a contributing, productive, member of society, employment is seen as providing recognition of the individual's being engaged in something worthwhile. It gives the individual a sense of significance. By realizing our capabilities and contributing in ways society determines to be useful, employment comes to represent the means by which most members of our community can lay claim to an equal right of respect and of concern from others. It is this institution through which most of us secure much of our self-respect and self-esteem.

Reference Re Public Service Employee Relations Act (Alberta), [1987] 1 S.C.R. 313, para 91 (Chief Justice of Canada Dickson, in dissent)