Her travel pictures on Facebook may harm her case

As the parties had finished with their evidence and closing arguments, the employer asked for a renewed investigation following the discovery of photographs, on Facebook, showing the falseness of the statements of the witnesses brought forth by the employee. These photographs showed that the latter had travelled South, contrary to her statement. According to the arbitrator, though technologies are becoming more and more accessible, the employer must prove that the data actually exist and that they are available in the usual accepted sense in the context of labour relations. Also, the data available on Internet should not necessarily be considered as equally known to the other party, just because they were accessible for a certain period of time. For these reasons, the renewed investigation is approved. Rassemblement des techniciens ambulanciers du Québec - CSN v. Services préhospitaliers Laurentides-Lanaudière Ltd. (V. Dumont) , DTE 2009T-443 (T.A.) Mr. Paul Imbeau