Universities & Colleges

Canada’s higher education institutions are critical organs of society. They develop tomorrow’s thought-leaders and professionals, produce cutting-edge research and employ thousands of individuals. As a result of their depth and breadth, they are also complex institutions to run.

WeirFoulds acts for a range of clients in the higher education sector, namely universities, colleges and vocational schools, and their administrators, educators and students. We work closely with educational institutions’ boards, administrators and general counsel to help them fulfill their educational mandates and comply with employment and human rights laws. We regularly negotiate employment contracts and collective bargaining agreements and advise on tenure, promotions, terminations and labour disputes. We are strong believers in risk assessment, management and prevention. As such, we partner with our clients in this space on policy review and development. We provide well-reasoned, practical, and in some cases, just-in-time advice to universities on research, academic, intellectual property and disciplinary matters. We also assist with a range of commercial matters, including real estate acquisitions and divestitures, facility construction and renovation, project financing and research funding arrangements, and patent applications.

Our litigators also represent educators and students in disciplinary proceedings or judicial review applications relating to charges of professional misconduct, plagiarism, human rights violations or other issues.

Related Practice Areas
Meet our lawyers and professionals in this area
Areas of Expertise
  • Academic misconduct
  • Administration
  • Construction
  • Disability accommodation
  • Disciplinary proceedings
  • Discrimination
  • Funding
  • Governance
  • Human rights
  • Intellectual property
  • International students
  • Judicial review
  • Labour and employment
  • Online education
  • Policy review and development
  • Plagiarism
  • Real estate
  • Research grants
  • Tenure, promotion and discharge
Representative Experience
  • In Donevan v. University of Windsor, 2013 HRTO 1882, Raj Anand was appointed pursuant to an HRTO settlement to conduct a review of the University’s policies relating to classroom accommodations for students with disabilities. His review was in part the subject of this decision.
  • In Carasco v. University of Windsor, Raj Anand was lead counsel in a claim by a law school professor that she was denied the position of Dean because of gender and race discrimination.
  • In Trozzi v. College of Nurses of Ontario, the Divisional Court granted the College’s application for judicial review from a decision of the HRTO in a case involving disability accommodations for a graduate nurse who was seeking admission to the College.
  • Pidgeon v. College of Nurses of Ontario, 2012 HRTO 1712 was a case in which a nursing registrant argued that the revocation of her registration was discriminatory on grounds of disability.
  • Ryan v. College of Nurses of Ontario, 2014 HRTO 139 was a case in which a graduate nurse argued that the College’s refusal to register her was discriminatory on grounds of disability.
  • Hatibovic-Kofman v. Royal College of Dental Surgeons of Ontario, 2010 HRTO 1578 was a case in which the argument was made that the College’s denial of specialty certification was the result of systemic discrimination against foreign trained dentists.
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