Robert Bonhomme A partner with Heenan Blaikie, Robert Bonhomme's practice encompasses employment, labour, administrative and civil law. His practice is focused on all aspects of labour relations, both collective and individual, across Canada. He represents clients from both the private and public sectors, in federal and provincial jurisdictions.
Mr. Bonhomme is an assistant editor of Canadian Cases on Employment Law. He has co-authored numerous specialized works in the field including Wrongful Dismissal in Quebec, Le congédiement en droit québécois en matière de contrat individuel de travail, Le contrat de travail en vertu du Code civil du Québec, The Employment Contract under the Civil Code of Quebec, 14 Questions Frequently Asked in Quebec Labour & Employment Law and More Questions Frequently Asked in Quebec Labour & Employment Law. He has also written numerous articles on administrative, employment and labour law and is a regular guest speaker in Canada and abroad. For instance, over the past few years, he has written or spoken on issues such as mandatory retirement, privacy legislation and transborder data flows of personal employee information, employers’ duty to accommodate or the validity of settlements in labour and employment law.
Mr. Bonhomme is one of the lawyers most frequently recommended by peers in the annual survey conducted for the Canadian Legal Lexpert Directory and, for several years now, he has appeared in the annual Guide to the Leading 500 Lawyers in Canada, published by Lexpert/American Lawyer. He is rated as a “Leading Lawyer” in labour and employment benefits by Practical Law Company’s Which Lawyer? Yearbook. He is also on the list of pre-eminent Canadian lawyers identified by the editors Chambers Global 2010: The World’s Leading Lawyers for Business. Mr. Bonhomme is also recognized as one of Canada’s leading lawyers in the areas of labour and employment law in the 2010 edition of Woodward/White’s The Best Lawyers in Canada. Mr. Bonhomme has been awarded Martindale-Hubbell’s highest rating (“AV”) for his skills and ethics. Education
LL.L., McGill University, 1983 Professional Affiliations
American Bar Association Barreau du Québec Canadian Bar Association International Bar Association
Publications and Conferences Mr. Bonhomme’s most significant publications and conferences include: Even More Questions Frequently Asked in Québec Labour & Employment Law. Cowansville, Québec: Éditions Yvon Blais/Carswell (2008) Speaker, “L’obligation d’accommodement de l’employeur: une notion revue mais surtout corrigée.” Le point sur les normes du travail conference, Conseil du patronat du Québec. Montreal, November 6, 2008 Speaker, “Invalidité: La “Malcommodes” obligation d’accommodement.” 10th Human Resources Management Conference, Conférence des centres hospitaliers universitaires (CHU). Quebec City, Québec, September 12, 2008 Speaker, “Une partie au grief se présente seule à l’arbitrage.” Apparent et réel conflit de droits individuels et de droits collectifs, Journée de formation de la Conférence des arbitres du Québec. Mont-St-Hilaire, Québec. April 12, 2008 Co-Author, Recent Developments of Importance - Employment Law, The 2008 Lexpert / American Guide to the Leading 500 Lawyers in Canada, p. 318-22 Speaker, “Accommodating and Compensating Older Employees Since 1982: How Quebec Is Managing Its Aging Workforce.” Meeting Your Duty to Accommodate: Keeping Up with New Regulations and Improving Workplace Productivity, Infonex. Halifax, November 27, 2007 Speaker, “Update on Administrative Law and Labour and Employment Law.” Getting Down to Brass Tacks: More than just Standards of Review - National Administrative Law and Labour and Employment Law CLE Conference, Canadian Bar Association. Gatineau, Québec, November 16-17, 2007 Counseling of Multi-National U.S. Companies Operating Outside the United States. Proceedings for the Annual CLE Conference, Section of Labor and Employment Law, American Bar Association. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, November 10, 2007 Interview with The Metropolitan Corporate Counsel, “Hiring And Firing Practices North Of The Border.” (November 2007) 36 Speaker, “Transactional fraud: How to Detect, Prevent and Fight Credit, Contract and Purchase Fraud.” Conference presented by Federated Press. Montréal, April 16, 2007 Moderator, “Top Tips for Drafting Employment Contracts in Europe and Beyond.” Employment Rights & Responsibilities Committee Midwinter Meeting - Section of Labor and Employment Law, American Bar Association. New Orleans, Louisiana, March 30, 2007 Co-Author, “Wrongful Dismissal: dismissal on eligibility for early retirement.” Executive Employment 4 (2007) Co-Author, “Recent Developments in Employment Law: Corporate,” The 2007 Lexpert / American Guide to the Leading 500 Lawyers in Canada, p. 313-16 Speaker, “Accommodation and Compensating Older Employees Since 1982: How Quebec Responded to the End of Mandatory Retirement." Preparing for the End of Mandatory Retirement: Protecting Your Organization from Discrimination Litigation Conference, Infonex. Toronto, December 13, 2006 Speaker, “Update on Administrative Law and Labour and Employment Law.” Through the Frosted Glass: Practical Advice and Trends towards Transparency in the Law. Presented by the Canadian Bar Association's National Administrative Law Section, the Labour and Employment Law Section, and the Continuing Legal Education Committee. Ottawa, November 24, 2006 Presenter, “Recent Developments in Labour and Employment Law in the Province of Quebec.” National Administrative Law / Labour and Employment CLE Conference, Canadian Bar Association. Ottawa, November 24 - 25, 2006 Co-Author, “Canadian privacy legislation and transborder data flows of personal employee information for processing purposes.” Employment and Industrial Relations Law Newsletter (International Bar Association Legal Practice Division) 16:2 (September 2006) 36 Co-Author, "Existe-t-il vraiment un conflit entre l'obligation de loyauté et l'obligation de divulgation interne et externe en milieu de travail ?" ["Does conflict really exist between the duty of loyalty and the internal and external disclosure of information in the workplace?"] in Développements récents en droit du travail 2006 Vol. 245. Cowansville, Québec: Éditions Yvon Blais (April 21, 2006) 167 Chair and Co-Presenter, “Recent trends in common law and Quebec civil law.” Second Conference on Dismissals in Quebec, Insight. Montréal, September 19-20, 2005 Co-Presenter, “Les pouvoirs de réparation de la Commission des relations du travail en matière de harcèlement psychologique.” Commission des relations du travail. Quebec City, June 2005 Speaker, Divisional Assembly of the Judges of the Superior Court of Québec. Bromont, Québec, June 2005 Speaker, “Composition and negotiation of the severance package.” 2nd Annual Symposium on Terminations, Federated Press. June 2, 2005 More Questions Frequently Asked in Québec Labour & Employment Law, Cowansville, Québec: Éditions Yvon Blais/Carswell (2005) "The Closure or Partial Reduction of the Operations of a Business: What to know." More Questions Frequently Asked in Québec Labour & Employment Law, Cowansville, Québec: Éditions Yvon Blais/Carswell (2005) 3:1-12 Co-Author, “The Termination of the Employment of Non-Unionized Employees.” More Questions Frequently Asked in Québec Labour & Employment Law, Cowansville, Québec: Éditions Yvon Blais/Carswell (2005), 4:1-43 "An Employer's Right to Terminate an Incarcerated Employee." Executive Employment (2004) 611 "What are the employer's duties when the sale or outsourcing of the business leads to employment terminations?" Outsourcing and disposition of part of a business Conference, Insight. Montréal, June 10, 2004 Speaker, "La validité des quittances en droit du travail et de l'emploi." Presentation to the Canadian Bar Association, Montréal, April 5, 2004 Speaker, "Lessons Learned from Federally Regulated Employers: Do 'Last Chance Agreements' Help? Annual Conference on Employee Terminations, Insight. Ottawa, April 1, 2004 "Quebec Moves Forward with Amendments to its Labour Standards Act." Executive Employment (2003) 552 Conference chair and speaker, “Reinstatement and Compensation — Recent Cases under s.124 of the Labour Standards Act.” Dismissal in Québec, Insight Conference. Montréal, October 2-3, 2003 Course Director, “Quebec Employment Law for the Multi-jurisdictional Employer.” Insight. Toronto, May 14, 2003 Speaker, “Briefing on Changes in Quebec Labour Laws.” DBM Canada. Montréal, February 24, 2003 “Amendments to the Quebec Labour Standards Act Offer Better Protection for Employees and Executives.” Executive Employment (2002) 521 "Refusal to Cross a Picket Line: At Your Own Risk?" Executive Employment (2002) 502 14 Questions Frequently Asked in Québec Labour & Employment Law. Cowansville, Québec: Éditions Yvon Blais/Carswell (2002) Co-Author, “The Termination of the Employment of Non-Unionized Employees.” 14 Questions Frequently Asked in Québec Labour & Employment Law. Cowansville, Québec: Éditions Yvon Blais/Carswell (2002) 2:1-34 “The Closure or Partial Reduction of the Operations of a Business: What to know.” 14 Questions Frequently Asked in Québec Labour & Employment Law. Cowansville, Québec: Éditions Yvon Blais/Carswell (2002) 3:1-10 "Legal Ramifications of Section 3118 of the Civil Code of Quebec Regarding the Designation of the Application of the Applicable Law to an Employment Contract: Is there a Real Choice?" Executive Employment (2001) 470 "Employee Use of E-Mail and Internet for Unauthorized Purposes: 'Big Brother Is Watching You!"" Executive Employment (2001) 442 "Pre-Hiring Psychological Tests in Quebec: Apply with Extreme Caution." Executive Employment (2000) 400 “A Quebec Court Frowns on Settlement Agreements Reached in ‘Abusive’ Circumstances.” Executive Employment (2000) 378 “Employee Surveillance Outside the Workplace: The Quebec Court of Appeal Sets the Limits.” Executive Employment 7 (2000) 366 “Le contrat individuel de travail en vertu du nouveau Code civil du Québec: deux pas en avant, un pas en arrière.” (1999) 52 R. du B. 455-477 “Punitive Damages and Collective Agreements Arbitration: Quebec Employers Are at a Turning Point.” Executive Employment 6 (1999) 305 “Le maintien du contrat de travail dans le cas d’une aliénation de l’entreprise: un bilan de la jurisprudence rendue au sujet de l’article 2097 du Code civil du Québec.” Repères 7 (1999) 222-228 “The Wallace Decision: Its Applicability in Quebec.” Executive Employment 6 (1999) 336 “Discrimination Based on Handicap: The Court of Appeal Ends the Controversy Under the Quebec Charter.” Executive Employment 5 (1998) 271 "Étude de cas A: impact des lois connexes sur les regroupements d'entreprises" in Congrès 97, tome 2 Montréal: Fiscal and Financial Planning Association (1998) 54:1-54:46 “Strict Pay Equity Legislation: A New Reality for Quebec Employers.” Executive Employment 5 (1998) 242 “Quebec Employers Must Now Extend Social Benefits to All Minorities Protected by the Charter, Including Same-Sex Couples.” Executive Employment 4 (1997) 198 “No Double Dipping of Wrongful Dismissal Damages and Disability Benefits.” Executive Employment 4 (1997) 223 “Constructive Dismissal: Supreme Court Introduces New Test.” Executive Employment 4 (1997) 226 "La responsabilité civile des administrateurs en matière de droit du travail: les principales dispositions législatives" in Développements récents en droit du travail Cowansville (QC): Éditions Yvon Blais (1996) 49-87 “A Quebec Labour Commissioner Rules on Interim Reinstatements.” Executive Employment 3 (1996) 148 “Superior Court Acknowledges that an Individual May Be Simultaneously Employed by a Number of Companies.” Executive Employment 3 (1996) 174 "The Application of the Civil Code of Québec to Unionized Employees," [1994-95] Lab. Arbit. Y.B. 83-100 “Quebec Court of Appeal Limits Damages for Abuse of Rights.” Executive Employment 2 (1995) 73 “Statutory Protection Against Unjust Dismissal in Quebec Means Increasing Indemnities for Employers.” Executive Employment (1995) 88 “Quebec Civil Code Contains Provisions on Restrictive Covenants.” Executive Employment 3 (1995) 119 The Employment Contract Under the Civil Code of Québec. Cowansville (QC): Éditions Yvon Blais (1994) 144 Le contrat de travail en vertu du Code civil du Québec. Cowansville (QC): Éditions Yvon Blais (1994) 146 “Quebec’s New Civil Code: Abuse of Rights and Prior-Notice Clauses.” Executive Employment 1 (1994) 22 “Impact of the Alienation of the Enterprise on the Individual Employment Contract.” Executive Employment 1 (1994) 46 Le congédiement en droit québécois en matière de contrat individuel de travail, 3rd ed. Cowansville (QC): Éditions Yvon Blais (1991) loose-leaf, updated three times a year
| 
