Profile
Gita Anand's practice is restricted to labour relations, employment law and litigation. Advising and representing management on a wide range of matters, she acts for clients within the private and public sector in both union and non-union workplaces. She has significant experience in advising clients on labour relations and employment law issues in the broadcasting, food and beverage, health and charitable and non-profit corporate sectors. Ms. Anand also acts as an investigator/fact-finder in the public and private sectors, conducting workplace investigations involving employment-related issues.
She advises on such matters as employment standards, human rights, wrongful dismissal, occupational health and safety, employment contracts, pay and employment equity, and the interpretation and administration of collective agreements. She also acts as employer adviser and spokesperson in collective bargaining.
She has special expertise as counsel in wrongful dismissal, labour arbitration, employment standards, occupational health and safety matters, and human rights issues.
Ms. Anand appears regularly as employer counsel at grievance and interest arbitrations, before administrative tribunals and at the Ontario Labour Relations Board. She also represents clients in the federal sector and acts as counsel on adjudications under the Canada Labour Code, and before various federal tribunals, including the Canada Industrial Relations Board.
She has appeared at all levels of Court in Ontario, and has acted as counsel on behalf of several Ontario Ministries before the Grievance Settlement Board, Public Service Grievance Board, and Boards of Inquiry.
Ms. Anand is currently the National Practice Chair of Miller Thomson’s Labour and Employment Specialty Group, and the Chair of the National Diversity Committee. She is a past member of the Firm’s Executive Committee.
Ms. Anand's broad base of experience enables her to provide clients with timely, practical counsel in an efficient and cost-effective manner.
Education
- LL.B., Dalhousie Law School, 1986
- M.Sc., Economics, London School of Economics and Political Science, 1984
- B.A., Honours, Mount Allison University, 1982
Professional Achievements
- Best Lawyers in Canada, 2013
- 2012 Canadian Legal Lexpert® Directory
Directorships
- Member, Board of Directors of Canadian Association of Counsel to Employers, 2005 to 2009
- Member, Board of Directors of YDL Institute of Paediatric Neuroscience, 1999-2006
- Member, Board of Directors of Youthdale Treatment Centres, 1995-2006
- Member, Board of Directors of Macaulay Child Development Centre, 1993-1997
Memberships
- Member, Canadian Bar Association, (Labour Law Section)
- Member, Canadian Bar Association Ontario Council 1994 - 1996
- Member, OBA Awards Committee, 1995-2009
- Member, Law Society of Upper Canada
- Member, Nova Scotia Barristers' Society
Presentations
- Guest Lecturer on Human Rights, University of Western Ontario Law School, 1999 - 2003
- Guest Lecturer for LLM Course in ADR, York University
- Lecturer at numerous conferences, continuing education seminars and for private groups including: the Canadian Bar Association, the Law Society of Upper Canada, the Canadian Institute, Carswell Publishers - 1992, 1993 and 1994, Infonex, the Human Resource Professionals Association of Ontario, Insight, and Alliance of Manufacturers and Exporters Canada, on such topics as human rights, pay equity, occupational health and safety, grievance arbitration, employment standards, wrongful dismissal, employment equity, and employment policies.
Published Works
- Co-author, article on Canadian Legal Regulation of Disclosure of Information about Employees to Employers, University of Illinois Comparative Law Journal, 2001
- Co-author, Case Comment on Sylvester v. British Columbia, UBC Law Review, 1997
Other Editorial Contributions
- Editor-in-Chief, Management Rights Journal, Federated Press, 2001
- Contributor of chapter on "Physician/Employer Responsibilities to Employees" in The Physicians Legal Manual, Emond-Montgomery Publications, 1996
Publications
- Controversy Over What is Acceptable in Transit Advertising, Charities and Not-for-Profit Newsletter, April 2009
- Supreme Court Rules Duty of Good Faith Exists, Even in Absence of Non-Competition Clause, Labour and Employment Communiqué, October 16, 2008
- Human Rights Tribunal Clarifies Employers' Religious Holiday Obligations, Labour and Employment Communiqué, October 9, 2008
- The Boundaries Of The Duty To Accommodate: How Far Does An Employer Have To Go?, 2008
- The Duty to Accommodate: New Frontiers, 2005
- New Guidelines on Disability and the Duty to Accommodate, Communiqué for the Health Industry, August 2, 2001
- Canadian Legal Regulation of Disclosure of Information about Employees to Employers, University of Illinois Comparative Law Journal, 2001
- Case Comment on Sylvester v. British Columbia, UBC Law Review, 1997
Key Practice Expertise
Areas of Focus
- Wrongful Dismissal
- Human Rights
- Collective Agreements
- Collective Bargaining
Year of Call
- Ontario Bar, 1988
- Nova Scotia Bar, 1991
