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Court finds that first-past-the-post electoral system is constitutional (Fair Voting BC v. Canada (Attorney General))
Thursday, December 7, 2023Stephen A. ThieleLitigationPolitical Law, Elections, Charter, Election System, Right To Vote
Canada’s federal elections, and the elections in most provinces and municipalities, are contested under a first-past-the-post or single member...
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Canadian Law Update: You’ve paid your customer’s cargo claim. will you be able to recover from the responsible carrier?
Monday, December 4, 2023M. Gordon HearnLitigationTransportation & Logistics, Trucking, Freight
The recent case of the Ontario Superior Court in Conrad Refrigerated Trucking Inc. v. Etlas Freight (2023 ONSC 5433) is a...
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Owner’s risk expanded by Supreme Court of Canada
Monday, December 4, 2023Rui FernandesLitigationOccupational Health and Safety Act, Sudbury, Employer Obligations, Employee, Employer, Contractor
In a decision that may impact all industries, the Supreme Court of Canada recently expanded a project owner’s risk with respect to...
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Can employment lawyers request notice periods at trial in excess of what was pleaded?
Monday, December 4, 2023Noah Bonis CharancleLitigation, Employment LawEmployment Agreements
Can Courts award larger notice periods than what was originally requested in the pleadings? The Ontario Court of Appeal’s recent...
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Fixed-term contracts and the duty to mitigate
Monday, December 4, 2023Saisha MahilLitigation, Employment LawEmployer, Employment Standards Act, 2000, Termination, Employment Agreements, Employee
Employers often mistakenly believe that they are better protected by choosing fixed-term (temporary) employment arrangements instead of...
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Interplay of federal and provincial jurisdiction over maritime disputes
Monday, December 4, 2023Jamal RehmanLitigationMaritime Law, Civil Code of Quebec, Transportation & Logistics
Disputes which are predominantly maritime in nature have traditionally been federally regulated under Canadian maritime law and...
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Shared laneway overburdened by change of use from summer camp to trailer park (Kranenburg v. Grice)
Friday, December 1, 2023James R.G. CookLitigationReal Estate, Right-of-way Access
Rights-of-way over a neighbouring property may be subject to restrictions on how they can be used. Over time, as ownership of the properties...
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Law firm successfully sues former client for defamatory online review (D’Alessio v. Chowdhury)
Thursday, November 30, 2023James R.G. CookLitigationDefamation, libel
In D’Alessio v. Chowdhury, 2023 ONSC 6075 (CanLII), an Ontario law firm successfully sued a former client for defamation as a result of her online...
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Court blasts school board chairman for undemocratic attempt to curtail freedom of expression (Burjoski v. Waterloo Region District School Board)
Wednesday, November 29, 2023James R.G. Cook, Isabel YooLitigationAnti-SLAPP, Anti-SLAPP Legislation, Defamation
Anti-SLAPP motions continue to reflect the conflicts that may arise over the freedom of the public to express opinions on ...
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CRA Extends the Underused Housing Tax Deadline (Again) to April 30, 2024
Wednesday, November 29, 2023Ian SpiegelCorporate Law, Business Law, Tax and Estate Planning
On October 31, 2023, the Canada Revenue Agency (“CRA”) announced that owners affected by the Underused Housing Tax...
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Court overturns election of Church’s board of directors (Metmeke v. Yigzaw)
Thursday, November 23, 2023James R.G. CookLitigationNot-for-Profit/Charities, By-Laws, Not-for-profit Corporations Act (ONCA)
While members of not-for-profit corporations should generally try to resolve their differences pursuant to their rules and by-laws before seeking...
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Challenge to validity of Mayor Chow’s election dismissed (Clarke v. Toronto (City))
Tuesday, November 21, 2023Stephen A. ThieleLitigationCivil Procedure, Frivolous or vexatious proceedings, Dismissal and Political law, Elections, Validity
Not every election is necessarily final after the ballots are counted on election night. Sometimes, the margin of victory is extremely close and...
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Relisting of property before closing date did not amount to a repudiation of agreement of purchase and sale (Zoleta v. Singh and RE/MAX Twin City Realty)
Monday, November 20, 2023James R.G. CookLitigationAgreement of Purchase and Sale, Real Estate, Contract Law
If a buyer determines that they may not be able to complete a binding agreement to purchase a property by the agreed-upon completion date, they may wish to seek an extension of the...
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Neighbour liable for over $505,000 in damages caused by water nuisance (Warren v. Gluppe)
Thursday, November 16, 2023James R.G. CookLitigationFlooding, Municipal Law, Sump Pump, Prince Edward County
Neighbours owe each other a duty of care not to cause damage to the other’s property. One of the major sources of potential damage is water flooding from sump pump run off...
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Adverse Costs Policy is Not Privileged or Confidential; Full Policy Ordered to be Produced (Spencer v. Martin and Hillyer)
Wednesday, November 15, 2023Isabel YooLitigationInsurance Law, Personal Injury, Adverse Costs Insurance
Advertisements for personal injury firms often use the phrase “you don’t pay unless we win”. This usually means that a law firm will bear the full cost of the file and, if successful in...
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No T3s for Registered Charities’ Internal Trusts
Monday, November 13, 2023Ian Spiegel, Lynne WesterhofCorporate Law, Business Law, Tax and Estate PlanningNot-for-Profit/Charities
After months of uncertainty for the charitable sector, the Canada Revenue Agency has confirmed that registered charities will not need to file a...
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The “Independent Third Party”: The New Structure for Hockey Canada Complaints
Thursday, November 9, 2023Lad Kucis, Dara HirbodLitigationHockey, Complaints, Harassment, Discrimination
Sport organizations have received a significant amount of publicity in recent years regarding maltreatment by and...
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Refreshing the limitation period through acknowledgement of a debt (Anderson Sheet Metal Ltd. v. Comtract Air Compressors Inc.)
Friday, November 3, 2023Isabel YooLitigationLimitations Act, Ontario Limitations Act
The limitation period is the time limit by which a party must commence their claim against another party. If they fail to commence the...
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Changes to Corporations Act Will Make it Easier for Social Clubs with Share Capital to Continue Under Separate Legislation
Thursday, November 2, 2023Clifford S. Goldfarb, Lynne WesterhofBusiness Law, Corporate Law, Non-Profit and CharitiesSocial Clubs, Ontario Corporations Act
Requirements for Social Clubs to Continue Under Separate Legislation...
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Neighbour entitled to retain land upon which lasting improvements were made (Margaritis v. Milne)
Monday, October 30, 2023James R.G. CookLitigationReal Estate, Conveyancing Law and Property Act
A dispute between neighbours over a strip of land between their properties no wider than 21.9 centimetres resulted in years of litigation supported by...
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Property owner allowed to maintain property’s use as three dwelling units (Vitale v. Toronto (City of))
Friday, October 27, 2023James R.G. CookLitigationReal Estate, Municipal Law, Building Code Act
Municipal zoning by-laws regulate, among other things, the number of separate residential units that are permitted in a property. Violation of a...
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Equitable mortgage principles affirmed by Ontario Court of Appeal (Greenspan v. Van Clieaf)
Tuesday, October 24, 2023James R.G. CookLitigationReal Estate, Lending, Mortgage, Loans
In Greenspan v. Van Clieaf, 2023 ONCA 681 (CanLII), the Ontario Court of Appeal affirmed that a lender may be entitled to...
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Bona fide complaints to police are matters of public interest (Zeppa v. Rea)
Monday, October 23, 2023Stephen A. ThieleLitigationTorts, Defamation, SLAPP, Matter of Public Interest
When a person believes that someone has committed a crime, it is, of course, perfectly reasonable that they...
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Builder, surveyor, and municipality liable for encroachment of dwelling built on neighbour’s land (Armstrong v. Penny)
Friday, October 20, 2023James R.G. CookLitigationCourts of Justice Act, Conveyancing Law and Property Act, Real Estate, Municipal Law, Surveyor
In Armstrong v Penny, 2023 ONSC 2843 (CanLII), the Ontario Superior Court of Justice addressed a homeowners’ nightmare...
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How is your Environmental Indemnity?
Wednesday, October 18, 2023Zev ZlotnickBusiness Law, Corporate LawReal Estate, Environmental Protection Act, Ontario
In Ontario, commercial mortgage lenders can be held liable for environmental issues under certain circumstances, especially if they have taken possession of the property or are deemed to be...
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Non-share capital corporations in Ontario have one year left to update key corporate documents
Tuesday, October 17, 2023Heather Keachie, Eliane Leal da Silva, Lynne WesterhofBusiness Law, Corporate Law, Non-Profit and CharitiesCorporate Law, Not-for-profit Corporations Act (ONCA)
Non-share capital corporations in Ontario have just one year left to update their by-laws and other governing documents to be...
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Bare trustee denied order for sale of property under Partition Act (Weise v. Weise)
Monday, October 16, 2023James R.G. CookLitigationReal Estate, GTA Real Estate, Partition Act
Given the high cost of real estate in Ontario, friends and relatives may sometimes assist with the purchase by...
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Insurers should be aware that two vehicles independently colliding may still be considered part of the same incident for SABS purposes
Monday, October 16, 2023Noah Bonis CharancleLitigationInsurance Law, Ontario Insurance Act, Snowmobile
In the recent Court of Appeal decision of Ontario (Government and Consumer Services) v. Gore Mutual Insurance Company, 2023 ONCA 433....
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Lawyer not accountable for client’s tax liability on employment debt forgiveness (Waters v. Furlong)
Thursday, October 12, 2023James R.G. CookLitigationProfessional Liability, Solicitor Negligence
In Waters v Furlong, 2023 ONSC 3908 (CanLII), the plaintiff was a certified public accountant (CPA) who...
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CRA Extends the Underused Housing Tax Deadline to October 31, 2023
Thursday, October 12, 2023Ian SpiegelBusiness Law, Corporate LawTax & Estate Planning
On January 1, 2022, the Underused Housing Tax Act (the “Act”) came into effect. The Act requires certain owners of...
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