I got my summer contract terminated yesterday. The company ...

Thank you for the additional information.

Although it doesn't have a stipulated termination date, your contract is likely to be viewed by the courts as a "fixed term" employment contract, based on the wording of the second clause of your contract ("Length of Term").

At common law, when an employer terminates a "fixed term" employment contract, he is responsible to pay you the balance of the contract. In your case, the exact calculation would depend on the particular facts, based on either 240 revenue-hours, ($12,000) or 120 days ($21,000), subject to standard practices such as "daily averaging". Your entitlement would equal either of these 2 amounts, minus what you have earned up to yesterday.

If Ultra owes you money for services actually rendered, then the proper avenue would be to file a complaint under Part 3 of the Canada Labour Code for Recovery of Wages, and I understand that you are already in contact with the Department for that purpose.

Regarding what Ultra owes you for the balance of the contract, you cannot use the Canada Labour Code provisions for unjust dismissal, as they require 12 months of employment.

You would therefore have to start a lawsuit for wrongful dismissal against Ultra, in the civil courts. In Alberta, the Provincial Court Small Claims jurisdiction is up to $25,000, so this is where you would introduce your claim. The lower-cost option would be to "self-represent", like many people are able to do successfully, even without legal training. A more costly option would be to retain a local lawyer to represent you.

Of course, another option would be to try to negotiate with Ultra, if you believe this avenue could be productive, and/or if you would like to maintain a relationship with them for future contracts. In that case, you can begin this process by sending them a "demand letter", setting out how much you are asking for compensation, and on what basis. Then, based on their reply, you can decide to file the lawsuit at that point.

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Regards,
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