The Friday Brief: Managing Editor’s must-read items from this week

Matthew Grace

Here are my picks for the top stories we published this week.

B.C. law would require workplaces to develop accessibility plans, address barriers to inclusion
British Columbia has joined a number of its provincial counterparts by introducing legislation aimed at addressing accessibility and inclusion concerns in the province.

Successful appeal offers cautionary tale on reliability of digital evidence, say lawyers
A recent Ontario Court of Appeal decision in a case involving a man who allegedly firebombed an Ottawa house provides some guidance on assessing the reliability of increasingly common digital evidence in criminal matters, says one of the lawyers behind the successful appeal.

Competition Bureau revises competitor collaboration guidelines
Canada’s Competition Bureau has released revised guidelines clarifying types of competitor collaborations that can harm competition.

Injunction against Alberta ‘turn off the taps’ legislation premature, Federal Court of Appeal says
Alberta has won the latest court battle in a fight with British Columbia over its so-called “turn off the taps” legislation, but a legal scholar is saying the tiff between Canada’s two westernmost provinces is likely not over.

COVID, parties, manslaughter
In her column, Kyla Lee writes: "A recent case in British Columbia has attracted a lot of attention as a result of comments made by the sentencing judge. Mohammad Movassaghi was charged with a number of offences, including several violations of British Columbia’s COVID-19 gatherings and events orders. Movassaghi hosted numerous parties, featuring dance poles, cover charges, alcohol for purchase and professional DJs (R. v. Movassaghi [2021] B.C.J. No. 962)."

Matthew Grace is the Managing Editor of The Lawyer’s Daily.