Big Oil Meets Big Human Rights

[Canwest] Five years after launching a human-rights complaint against oilsands giant Syncrude Canada, a devout Sikh man who refused to shave his beard for work has won the right to have his full case heard.

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At the outset, Syncrude lawyers argued the company was not Wadhwa’s “employer” under the meaning of Alberta’s human-rights legislation. Instead, lawyers for the oilsands company said he was employed by a subcontractor, Casca Electric, and that Syncrude should not have to deal with his complaint.

In December 2005, the commission dismissed Syncrude’s claim, noting that Wadhwa travelled from Calgary to Fort McMurray on a Syncrude bus.

The rest.