Opinion

Tuesday, January 22, 2019 @ 8:39 AM

Ontario’s Progressive Conservative government has launched public consultations on amending our motor vehicle insurance laws. The issues if you are an insurer are fraudulent claims and if you are a consumer or accident victim, ever increasing premiums and converse attrition of accident benefits and tort award entitlement. ... [read more]

Friday, January 18, 2019 @ 8:21 AM

On Jan. 2 the Ontario Superior Court struck down three sections of the Ontario Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act (OSPCA Act). In Bogaerts v. Attorney General of Ontario 2019 ONSC 41, Justice Timothy Minnema found that the impugned provisions infringed s. 7 of the Charter. He further concluded, without hearing submissions on this issue, that the Attorney General of Ontario could not justify the infringements under s. 1 of the Charter. He suspended the declaration of invalidity for 12 months. ... [read more]

Thursday, January 17, 2019 @ 9:27 AM

Software development has long been known as a “boys’ club” but women leaders are making their mark on the industry too. Their perspectives may be what the field needs to build more sustainable successes. ... [read more]

Wednesday, January 16, 2019 @ 12:11 PM

We are loyal to those that retain us. Biologists at the Centre of Forensic Sciences (CFS) are assigned case files to process exhibits submitted to them from the police. These cases are almost always of a serious nature, involving dozens to hundreds of exhibits. What ensues are ongoing teleconferences, meetings and e-mail correspondence between the biologist and Ident officer. ... [read more]

Tuesday, January 15, 2019 @ 9:06 AM

The best time to get on LinkedIn was 2010, but does that mean 2019 is too late? It turns out that 2019 is shaping up to be a great time for lawyers to finally get active on LinkedIn, and for a few good reasons. Here they are: ... [read more]

Monday, January 14, 2019 @ 9:37 AM

On Jan. 11, 2019, the Supreme Court of Canada finally issued its ruling in Frank v. Canada (Attorney General) 2019 SCC 1. Gillian Frank and Jamie Duong, both Canadians living and working in the United States, argued that the statutory ban on voting by long-term expatriates violated the Charter. A 5-2 majority agreed, overturning a 2015 decision by the Ontario Court of Appeal. ... [read more]

Friday, January 11, 2019 @ 9:35 AM

The federal government’s changes to the integrity regime, which came into force on Jan. 1, 2019 to help ensure it does business with ethical suppliers in Canada and abroad, could well be a wake-up call for business. ... [read more]

Thursday, January 10, 2019 @ 1:04 PM

Here are my three most important legal cases that I think we will be seeing the political and legal ramifications from for years ahead. ... [read more]

Wednesday, January 09, 2019 @ 8:59 AM

Companies that file documents with the System for Electronic Document Analysis and Retrieval (SEDAR) often need to ensure they are in both of Canada’s official languages. Document translation is expensive. Can businesses avoid this expense? After all, it’s 2019. Free translation services abound online. ... [read more]

Tuesday, January 08, 2019 @ 9:22 AM

In Canada, professional regulation ensures a public well served by competent and ethical practitioners. Regulators exist to protect the public interest. How that mandate is fulfilled by a regulator’s board of directors is the issue discussed in this column. ... [read more]