Randal Martin joined International Maple Leaf Springs Water Corp. of Vancouver, B.C. in July 1994. He was hired to assist with the construction of a bottling plant at a spring near Chilliwack, B.C. and to develop markets in North America and Asia. He had been running a similar operation in Saskatchewan but left on the assurance that the B.C. company was viable and would be able to finance the new plant and fund the marketing initiatives. By March of 1995, Martin had settled contracts with six companies and was close to three more including a major deal with an American brewery that wanted to use its own brand name on Maple Leaf’s products.
In April 1995 the company fired Martin accusing him of dishonesty and coming to work drunk. Martin had registered trade names personally as Maple Leaf did not have the funds to do it itself. The president of Maple Leaf knew about Martin’s action and knew that the trade names would be transferred to the company as soon as Martin was repaid. There was no evidence of Martin coming to work drunk. Martin successfully sued for wrongful dismissal. What would be reasonable notice in this situation? What factors would the courts consider in awarding a period of notice?