“Small Talk Is a Big Opportunity: How to Work a Room”
Do you rank attending law firm social events right down there on the popularity scale below having a root canal? If so, you’ll identify with a young lawyer in one of my seminars. He’d been told to attend a cocktail party being given by his practice group. Here’s how the evening went: “I had to work late, so when I rushed up to the boardroom, it was full of people at least 20 years older than me. I knew no one, and everyone else seemed to know everyone.” Another lawyer shot back: “Think yourself lucky. At our client event, I … [more]
“Your Dog May Be Too Dangerous for Your Home Insurer”
In recent years, many Canadian home insurers have begun asking questions about dog ownership and, depending on the breed, impose policy exclusions, charge extra premiums, or decline home insurance applicants. These insurers maintain lists of breeds they consider problematic. These are not dogs that have already bitten someone (although that would be a problem) or lack training, they are breeds that are believed to have an above-average probability of inflicting a serious bite injury.
At the top of the list is the American Pit Bull Terrier and related breeds such as the American Staffordshire. These dogs are banned in Ontario … [more]
“Specific Claims: The Alice in Wonderland Dimension of the Canadian Judicial System, Part 2”
In the Specific Claims Branch process, of course, the Crown is obliged to disclose nothing whereas the claimant has to disclose virtually its whole case.
Mr. Justice Harry Slade,
of the Supreme Court of British Columbia
and Chair of the Specific Claims Tribunal Canada
in testimony before the Commons Committee on Aboriginal Affairs
13 March 15, 2011 at 051:3-14
Readers with particularly good memories may recall that in a late September issue of SLAW I introduced the topic that I call “the Alice in Wonderland Dimension …” by outlining some of the challenges of pursuing claims of Aboriginal rights, and … [more]
“Looking Back, Looking Ahead”
Another year gone and in the world of legal content / publishing I’d like to suggest it's been one of the most important we’ve had since the mid 90’s and the advent of the CD Rom.
Although most of 2011 has been fairly quiet with the usual round of product developments, upgrades and rejigs. The last quarter of the year has more than hinted that the upheavals of 2008 / 2009 have now filtered through to the core modus operandi of the companies whose job it is to distribute legal content through to the professions, business, government and the wider … [more]
“Dealing With Disasters”
This column was prompted by an article in the Toronto Globe and Mail's Report on Business during that post-Christmas period of year-end retrospectives. In "Earthquake. Tsunami. Floods. Here is how a battered industry is getting back on its feet" (Globe and Mail, December 27, 2011), Greg Keenan analyzed how Japanese automakers were affected by recent natural disasters: last March's powerful earthquake and tsunami and the Thailand floods. The devastating impact was aggravated by problems with the automakers' suppliers: the automakers suffered severe parts shortages but were unable to adjust to these problems because of their inability to obtain … [more]
“Professional Associations and Why They Matter”
Do you belong to a Professional Association? Have you become involved in it in any way? This column is written in praise of such bodies, and the work they do. It’s not very techie, there isn’t anything new or even greatly educational in it, but it is more a reflection on an unsung entity that is not often recognised beyond its own membership.
In December I participated in the annual meeting of the International Association of Law Libraries, which was held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. It was the 30th meeting, with the first one being held in 1966; they became … [more]
“Why Is Commercial Arbitration So Expensive?”
Commercial arbitrators often hear litigators and business people complain that arbitration has become just as expensive as litigation.
"Why arbitrate when it costs so much? Plus we have to pay the arbitrator; in court, at least we don't pay for the judge."
It's a valid question. But I think the more important question is: what can arbitrators and counsel do to make arbitration more cost effective?
The arbitrator needs to take control of the process. This is harder than it sounds. Arbitration exists because the parties have agreed to arbitrate rather than litigate. So the parties control the process and … [more]
“Amazon Again”
Canadian patent CA 2246933 was issued on January 17, 2012 for the Amazon 1-Click claim. Aaron Edgar and Grant W. C. Tisdall, in "Amazon.com's Canadian 'one-click' Patent on the Threshold of Issuance" (gowlings.com, January, 2012), have written:
On December 23, 2011, barely a month after the Court's ruling, the Commissioner himself approved Amazon's application and a Notice of Allowance was sent out. On December 28, 2011, Amazon's patent agents submitted the required issue fee and the Canadian Intellectual Property Office (CIPO) then promptly processed the fee as paid. Given the recent speed at which CIPO processed allowance of
… [more]
“A Pay or Play Proposition for Access to Justice”
When people lament the deteriorating state of access to justice in Canada and the unwillingness of cash-strapped governments to address the issue in meaningful ways, their focus often shifts to the role of lawyers in ensuring the delivery of critical legal services. Many observers, including Canada’s Chief Justice and Governor-General, characterize the role as a professional responsibility tied to the collective privilege of an effective monopoly on legal work. Others point to the lack of any moral or practical imperative in the equation, and characterize the role as more of a professional expectation. Given that most but not all Canadian … [more]
“Law School as Vocational School”
My fellow slaw columnist Jordan Furlong has written a number of articles over the past few years about the shortcomings of legal education (the latest of which is here). The New York Times has also added to the debate with a recent article entitled “What They Don’t teach Law Students: Lawyering”. One of the themes floating around has been to partially return law school to its roots as a vocational school.
I had the occasion to think about some of these ideas recently when a move to Australia led me to requalify as a lawyer in a different system. … [more]
“How to Avoid Resource-Draining One-Off Marketing Activities”
Many firms and lawyers alike still approach marketing as a task on a to-do list. Get carpets replaced, schedule articling student interviews, get a marketing speaker for the associates…
Marketing is not any singular item. It's not holiday cards, a website, client lunches, or even a marketing speaker. None of these activities could stand alone and generate much of anything worthwhile unless your firm is the only gig in town. For the same reason that when you meet someone for the first time, it's unlikely they will immediately send you work. You need to develop a relationship and find multiple … [more]
“Attawapiskat and Social Media”
You can’t have missed the recent coverage of the housing and governance crisis in Attawapiskat. The story certainly captured my attention. I’ve been watching news of the situation travel over the Internet.
Social media played a key role in the coverage of this story. What particularly interests me is that the quality of some material published about Attawapiskat through social media is as good as or better than high quality legal information available through traditional legal publishing channels. And this caused me to consider again: what is the role of social media in legal publishing?
I first became aware of … [more]
“Legal Entrepreneurs: Lawyers or Marketers?”
We are just preparing the 2012 Online Legal Services Conference. It seems that in the last year or two the legal, business and technology planets have aligned to produce a surge in interesting web-based projects hitting our legal shores. Far from overnight inspirations, many seem to have been nurtured for years. Often the result of pain experienced by lawyers, or their clients.
When such projects ferment for so long, their depth can be surprising. They start out providing solutions to real problems the legal entrepreneur has experienced, but are enriched by feedback from numerous sounding boards.
Another observation is … [more]
“Lessons Learned: Why Print Is Dying”
Last summer I wrote an article that was scheduled to be published in the Law Library Journal. The article, like Gaul, was divided into three parts. Each of the three was edgy. The first was a reflection on the end of scholarly bibliography as a mainstream intellectual activity. The second was an overheated rebuttal of a piece on the nature of Law Librarianship that the eminent Professor G. Edward White had written in the Green Bag a few years back. The third part consisted of me pontificating on the future of academic law librarianship in the United States. In that … [more]
“Legal Business Development: Embrace Uncertainty With Certainty”
Uncertainty… is a lawyer's discomfort. When I sit down with clients and ask them to "project how many cases this business development initiative could produce," they squirm in their seats. Then they say… "It depends on… I don't know if… It's hard to say." It happens every time!
As lawyers, you are trained to find the certainty and the precedence. You want to know the answer before you ask the question. That is what makes you good lawyers. But, it is also what makes you lousy business development planners and strategists!
Strategizing requires that you: make educated guesses, take leaps … [more]
“Training the Stressed Lawyer”
by Cheryl Canning*
I was recently engaged in a discussion about the importance of resiliency in the workplace. The topic intrigued me. I had never really thought of resiliency as something that would be a necessity in the workplace. In my mind it was more about the ability to cope with personal crises. Through a series of recent events however, I came to appreciate its importance in all aspects of life, and I have developed my own theory as to how to build up one's resiliency. My theory has not been tested or proven through scientific study. It is … [more]
“Pitblado Lectures”
Recently, Slaw introduced Talklaw, a calendar of legal conferences and events. This reminded me of an annual legal conference that doesn't get talked about much outside of Manitoba, the Isaac Pitblado Lectures.
Non-Manitobans are not likely to be familiar with Isaac Pitblado. As stated in the biography from the Pitblado Lectures published papers:
At the time of Isaac Pitblado's death, the Hon. Richard S. Bowles, the President of the Law Society of Manitoba, said about him:
The Law Society has lost its most respected and beloved member. Canada has lost one of its most able and distinguished sons.
… [more]
“Partial-Attention "Multitasking"”
Teaching a seminar not long ago, I commented that texting while driving was a clear example of the failure of multitasking. A very bright senior lawyer said, "But sometimes you have to." (Even her workaholic colleagues looked askance at that!)
No, you don't have to. Ever.
You know it's a bad idea, right?
It's easy to recognize in this example that a texting driver is dividing her attention, paying attention sometimes to the cars around her and attention at other times to her smartphone. Perhaps the text message does require only part of her attention (though even that's unclear, according … [more]
“Une Stratégie De Médias Sociaux Qui Se Bâtit Pas à Pas . . . | Éducaloi's Social Media Strategy: A Work in Progress”
[ français / English ]
Bâtir une stratégie d'utilisation des médias sociaux n'est pas de tout repos si l'on n'a pas les moyens d'engager des experts pour nous aider. En partageant l'expérience d'Éducaloi, j'espère pouvoir être utile à d'autres personnes ou organismes qui sont en réflexion quant à l'utilisation des médias sociaux.
Il y a maintenant deux ans, Éducaloi a décidé de se lancer sur les médias sociaux. En une seule journée de juillet 2009, nous ouvrions une page Facebook, un compte Twitter et une chaîne YouTube.
N'ayant pas les ressources disponibles ni la possibilité de répondre aux questions juridiques … [more]
“Start 2012 Off Right”
Let's take the opportunity to make a few Law Tech resolutions.
Resolution #1 – I will test my backups!
Backups are crucial and you don't want to find out whether they worked or not when you really really need them. So in addition to checking periodically to make sure your backups are actually running (You *DO* check don't you?) you should actually test your backups from time to time.
How? Create a dummy file – just a Word document will do – and put it in your file system. Call it "Backup Test" or something like that. Let your backup … [more]
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3D keeps coming (and going). It's here now in the movies and threatens to poke itself (John-Candy-like) out of our TVs. It was there for a while about sixty years ago also at the movies and in the glories of Viewmaster. And just before the turn of the century before this one, stereographs or stereograms were popular, those almost double photographs that were viewed through a device that look rather like a small library card catalogue drawer.
Well stereographs have been brought back, this time by the New York Public Library, and thanks to the "miracles of modern science" you're able to see them with their pairs of pics nearly conjoined in pretty much 3D splendour. Stereogranimator lets you create animated GIFs (pronounced "jifs") or anaglyphs from the library's stock of old stereograph images.
The trick is to align the two photographs such that the animation flicks back and forth between them so rapidly that you lose a sense of motion and instead see three dimensions. You can find the latest efforts from the rest of the world on the site, observing that most people do a lousy job of it: the results flicker like jumping jack flash in a truly annoying way. An anaglyph would be easier on the eye, but then you'd have to have a pair of 3D glasses at the ready—which you might. (Instructions here on how to make your own 3D glasses, if you'd like to turn this into a winter weekend project with the kids.)
I've tried my hand at making depth, using the waterfall picture that you see below (click on the image to enlarge). And I've tucked the animated GIF result away below the fold so that Slaw's front page doesn't strobe like a broken neon sign.
 Click on image to enlarge. Now, prepare to be amazed . . . in a mild and gentle way:
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More: in Miscellaneous | from Simon Fodden
This is a post in a series appearing each Friday, setting out some articles, videos, podcasts and the like that contributors at Slaw are enjoying and that you might find interesting. The articles tend to be longer than blog posts and shorter than books, just right for that stolen half hour on the weekend. It’s also likely that most of them won’t be about law — just right for etc.
Please let us have your recommendations for what we and our readers might like.
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More: in Reading: You might like... | from Administrator
Despite anecdotal evidence of jurors misbehaving when using the Internet and social media (for instance, the recent article on Slaw English Court Jails Juror Who Used Internet Search), a recent survey of members of the U.S. federal judiciary reveals that the problem appears less widespread than many assume.
The Federal Judicial Center was asked by a committee of the policy-making Judicial Conference of the United States to survey federal judges on the issue (response rate was 53%).
The results, based on the responses of 508 responding judges, indicate that detected social media use by jurors is infrequent, and that most judges have taken steps to ensure jurors do not use social media in the courtroom. The most common strategy is incorporating social media use into jury instructions (…) Also common are the practice of reminding jurors on a regular basis not to use social media to communicate during trial or deliberations, explaining the reasons behind the ban on social media, and confiscating electronic devices in the courtroom. Judges admit that it is difficult to police jurors.
Only 30 of the 508 judges who responded reported instances of detected social media use by jurors during trials or deliberations.
I wouldn't be surprised to find out that the situation is similar in Canada.
Maybe all the fuss over Juror (Mis)Behavior in the Information Age is exaggerated. Of course, it is also possible that a lot of the illicit juror tweeting, Google searching, LinkedIn'ing and Facebooking may very well escape the attention of judges. Most judges find out about juror misuse of Net media from tattling by other jurors or lawyers (perhaps lawyers who feel they are losing the case?).
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More: in Technology: Internet | from Michel-Adrien Sheppard
I was writing a comment in response to Melanie Bueckert who pointed out that Manitoba is reviewing their law society library services, much like Nova Scotia when I realized the comment was longer than my usual Slaw post. I hope that Slaw readers will indulge me with their attention to issues facing law society libraries, especially in less populated jurisdictions.
Let me preface this post/comment by sharing that I have never worked in a law society library. As a law firm librarian, I rely on law society libraries, locally and in other jurisdictions, their services and collections, to supplement and augment what my team and I provide to our lawyers.
Melanie, Thank you for pointing to the Manitoba situation. I found portions of the linked document disturbing:
The major agenda item was a discussion about the way lawyers do research and the impact of that on how we will provide library resources in the future. We started by talking about why we are in the library business at all. The basic conclusion was that libraries are a tool to enhance lawyer competence which is part of the mandate of the Law Society. We talked about what has changed since Benchers last looked a libraries (2003) and, in particular, at the amazing progress of CanLII, the Law Society-owned virtual library. CanLII is hugely important in this discussion. Not because it is free, or because it holds a huge collection of cases (over one million), or because it has all Canadian statutes with point-in-time searching, or even because it has a powerful search engine.
It is unique and special because we own it. While there are many excellent commercial on-line research products, the most popular ones all have a major flaw. They are owned by American parents and the Canadian product will continue only as long as they feel it is commercially viable. When you buy books you own them. If it is a series like, say the Canadian Criminal Cases, and the publisher stops publishing the books, at least you own the books you already have. If, however, an on-line publisher goes out of business, you have been essentially “renting” the service and the day it shuts down you have absolutely nothing.
Because we own CanLII, we know it is a secure collection and that, Benchers agreed, is very liberating. It enabled us to explore library services in a whole new way.
Benchers noted that in today’s environment, paper libraries are not much utilized. We have already closed the libraries in Brandon, Dauphin and The Pas. We already provide free on-line access for lawyers practising outside of Winnipeg to Carswell’s LawSource in addition to CanLII. Thanks to the hard work of LDRC, the Winnipeg court house is already WiFi equipped. As the discussion continued, a vision for the future of libraries emerged. It looked something like this:
1. Continue to enthusiastically support CanLII and offer training to assist lawyers to take advantage of its amazing potential;
2. Over time, stop maintaining our paper collection;
3. Keep the historic collections and some texts and up-to-date technology in our libraries;
4. Train people on other free on-line research tools that are available;
5. Continue to provide free access for out-of-Winnipeg lawyers to LawSource as long as it is required to ensure access to adequate research materials.
Over the next few months we will be developing a business plan to implement this vision."
I LOVE CanLII. It should absolutly be fervently supported by the bar and bench in Canada. As this document states, it is OURS.
CanLII + free online research tools do not and cannot make for a competent complete, reasoned, and effective path to answer a legal research. Law society libraries could decide to discontinue purchasing print reports and statutes in favour of CanLII, but that is no more than a potentially useful cost saving collection development measure.
Would anyone suggest that free internet sources could replace their favourite text? Closing law society libraries, or reducing them to ineffectiveness through budget restraints, will put more money into the pockets of legal publishers as individual lawyers are forced to grow their individual collections. This in turn will increase the cost of legal services to the population.
Why would you hire a lawyer if you could answer your own question with CanLII and Google. Richard Susskind, do you have any comments???
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More: in Legal Information: Libraries & Research | from Shaunna Mireau
Globalization takes its toll. This time the toll is to be paid by Americans who want to use works that had, according to US law at the time, entered the public domain but that have been removed from that status and place back under copyright by a 1994 act of the US Congress in order to bring that country into line with the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works. As you might imagine, a number of disappointed users sued the US government, arguing that according to the intent of the Copyright and Patent Clause of the American constitution once a work was in the public domain it could not be withdrawn from it. Last week the case was ruled on by the US Supreme Court in a 6-2 decision, Golan v. Holder, No. 10-545 [PDF]. Justice Ginsburg, writing for the majority, ruled that the law in question:
does not transgress constitutional limitations on Congress’ authority. Neither the Copyright and Patent Clause nor the First Amendment, we hold, makes the public domain, in any and all cases, a territory that works may never exit.
As always, the SCOTUSblog is an excellent source for material surrounding the decision. To learn more about the musician, Lawrence Golan, who challenged the law, take a look at a couple of articles on the issue in The Chronicle: 1, 2.
The works affected in 1994, judged to number in the millions, are largely works by non-Americans that, as foreign works, were not as protected by copyright as were native works. The "recaptured" works included music by Prokofiev, Shostakovich, and Stravinsky; and:
books by H.G. Wells, Virginia Woolf, and C.S. Lewis; films by Alfred Hitchcock, Federico Fellini, and Jean Renoir; and artwork by M.C. Escher and Pablo Picasso.
Canada ratified the Berne Convention in 1931, signed it in 1948, and acceded to current forms in 1970 and 1998.
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More: in Substantive Law: Foreign Law or Substantive Law: Judicial Decisions | from Simon Fodden
Last year I told you about the plan to release a voluntary national standard for mentally healthy workplaces. The standard aims to help Canadian employers support the psychological health and safety of their employees by providing them with the necessary guidelines and tools to achieve measurable improvements in psychological health and safety in the workplace. A draft of the standard was released on November 1, 2011 without much coverage and a consultation period followed which ended January 6, 2012. The final Standard is expected to be published in late summer 2012.
Unfortunately, since the consultation period is over, the draft of the standard is no longer available online. You can still obtain a copy by calling the CSA Standards or any of their partners championing the development of the Standard.
Luckily, Cheryl A. Edwards and Shane Todd from Heenan Blaikie LLP have prepared a very in-depth analysis of the proposed Standard and you can view it here.
According to the Mental Health Commission of Canada, mental illnesses and mental health issues are the leading cause of short- and long- term disability in the country. The cost of dealing with these issues is in the range of $51 billion per year, with almost $20 billion of that amount coming from workplace losses.
Thus, it will be interesting to see how the government, advocacy groups, associations like the CSA, mental health agencies and private sector will assist employers with solutions, resources and tools to deal with this important issue.
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More: in Miscellaneous or Substantive Law or Substantive Law: Legislation | from Yosie Saint-Cyr
Adding to David Canton's post this week, updating us on privacy and data protection developments, here is a release from our friend, Ontario's Information and Privacy Commissioner, Dr. Ann Cavoukian. And an interview with Steve Paikin at TVO.
It's NOT "just a number!" Commissioner Cavoukian warns of the ease of data linkages in an increasingly online world
TORONTO, Jan. 25, 2012 /CNW/ – Ontario's Information and Privacy Commissioner, Dr. Ann Cavoukian, says that people's perceptions of their privacy and anonymity online fall far short of reality. In fact, technology has evolved to the point that the seemingly unrelated pieces of information that people share about themselves online, may now be linked together, to create a detailed profile of an individual.
"We have reached a point where information – not only strongly-identifiable Social Insurance Numbers, but also IP addresses, licence plate numbers, and mobile devices – serve as pointers to personally-identifiable information, through an ever-expanding web of data linkages. This bears little resemblance to anonymous information," the Commissioner said.
New analytic tools and algorithms now make it possible – not only to link numbers to names – but to also combine information from multiple sources, ultimately creating an accurate profile of a personally-identifiable individual – and in the process, to reveal their online activities.
"Imagine a scenario where your 'anonymous' comments on a newspaper website or in an online chat forum, could be tracked back to you personally, simply by linking your IP address and browser data across multiple platforms," the Commissioner said.
The Commissioner's advice to consumers: As people share more and more personal information about themselves in new ways (such as personal blogs and social networking sites), they need to consider the nature of the information they share, and how their personal information might be used.
At the same time, she urges organizations that collect and use this data to offer consumers a clear, easy-to-use mechanism to opt out of the collection and use of their personal information. Better still – make privacy the default setting.
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More: in Miscellaneous or Substantive Law: Legislation | from Simon Chester
I have updated my Legal Research and Writing website with a new page on resources for teaching legal research and writing.
Included on the page are links to:
I suspect my page may not be complete, so if I have missed something, I welcome comments and suggestions for other resources.
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More: in Education & Training: Law Schools or Legal Information: Libraries & Research | from Ted Tjaden
The latest Statistics Canada job figures have made headlines again in Québec, with the numbers showing that about 3 people are unemployed for every available job (reported the Montreal Gazette today). Some say the numbers are a "blip" others say that they are very "serious debacle". The next quarter's stats will tell us more. While there is much dispute as to the source of these problems, it is clear they are resulting in a very tense labour situation.
Indeed, the new year has brought much high-profile labour strife in Canada, particularly in Québec in Ontario. Those labour disputes have even made international headlines. The Wall Street Journal reported on the situation on January 2:
Labor strife has been on the rise in Canada as unions push back against corporate cost-cutting drives and governments strive to reduce wage and pension costs. "Unions are under the gun; they really are on the defensive and companies, instinctively, are feeling aggressive," said Laurel Sefton MacDowell, a University of Toronto labor-relations expert and historian.
Unions wield immense power in certain industries in Canada and even more in Québec given its "particular" labour laws. Québec is alone among the largest four provinces to have a Labour Code which provides both for "card-check" access to unionization (making it easier to unionize – reflected in Québec's higher unionization rate) and strict anti-scab provisions (making it harded for employers to hold-out during a strike).
In tough economic times, are "defensive" unions helping or hurting the economy? Should companies be entitled to seek concessions at the table? Do Québec's laws make sense when compared with the other provinces?
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More: in Miscellaneous | from Gabriel Granatstein
The Caging of America
Why do we lock up so many people?
An excerpt, with some once (perhaps once again) Canadian content
For most privileged, professional people, the experience of confinement is a mere brush, encountered after a kid’s arrest, say. For a great many poor people in America, particularly poor black men, prison is a destination that braids through an ordinary life, much as high school and college do for rich white ones. More than half of all black men without a high-school diploma go to prison at some time in their lives. Mass incarceration on a scale almost unexampled in human history is a fundamental fact of our country today—perhaps the fundamental fact, as slavery was the fundamental fact of 1850. In truth, there are more black men in the grip of the criminal-justice system—in prison, on probation, or on parole—than were in slavery then. Over all, there are now more people under “correctional supervision” in America—more than six million—than were in the Gulag Archipelago under Stalin at its height. That city of the confined and the controlled, Lockuptown, is now the second largest in the United States.
. . .
. . . Ours is, bottom to top, a “carceral state,” in the flat verdict of Conrad Black, the former conservative press lord and newly minted reformer, who right now finds himself imprisoned in Florida, thereby adding a new twist to an old joke: A conservative is a liberal who’s been mugged; a liberal is a conservative who’s been indicted; and a passionate prison reformer is a conservative who’s in one.
Is this what you want for Canada?
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More: in Miscellaneous | from David Cheifetz
Getting the privacy balance right is not easy, from both theoretical and practical perspectives. As examples, here are some recent developments that go both ways.
Pro Privacy
- Proposed Bill C-12 amendments to PIPEDA that would mandate privacy breach notification in certain circumstances.
- The Ontario Court of Appeal decision in Jones v Tsige that created a tort of breach of privacy, or "intrusion upon seclusion" for intentional, offensive privacy invasions.
- The US Supreme court decision in US v Jones that decided police need to get a warrant before attaching a GPS tracking device to a vehicle.
Anti Privacy
- Proposed Bill C-12 amendments to PIPEDA that encourage private entities to give personal information to law enforcement without warrants.
- Proposed "Lawful Access" legislation that allows police to obtain a significant amount of information about our mobile phone and internet accounts without a warrant, and would require ISP's to retain certain information about us.
- The Supreme Court of Canada's refusal to hear the appeal of the Leon's case where the Alberta Court of Appeal said that license plates are not personal information.
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More: in Substantive Law | from David Canton
Here are the three most-consulted English-language cases on CanLII for the week of January 17 – 24.
♨ 1. Jones v. Tsige 2012 ONCA 32
[1] Does Ontario law recognize a right to bring a civil action for damages for the invasion of personal privacy?
♨ 2. R. v. Rose 2012 ONSC 350
[1] Mr. Rose is charged with four counts of possession of a controlled substance for the purpose of trafficking, four counts of possession of a controlled substance, and possession of property obtained by crime. He brings this application pursuant to section 24(2) of the Charter for an order excluding from evidence the controlled substances found on his person in violation of his rights guaranteed by sections 8, 9, 10(a) and 10(b) of the Charter.
♨ 3. Cannon v. Funds for Canada Foundation 2012 ONSC 399
[1] When Michael Cannon heard about the Donations for Canada Gift Program – an opportunity to obtain a $10,000 charitable tax credit in return for a $2,500 donation – he thought it was “too good to be true”.
[2] It was.
[3] A few years later, his tax returns were reassessed by Canada Revenue Agency (“C.R.A.”) and he had to repay his deductions, with interest. The only thing he received for his “donation” was a tax bill.
The most-consulted French language case was Droit de la famille — 102866 2010 QCCA 1978 [English translation available]
[11] Les conjoints de fait au Québec sont-ils victimes de discrimination au sens de l'article 15 de la Charte canadienne des droits et libertés de la personne (Charte) parce que le Code civil du Québec (C.c.Q.) ne leur accorde pas de droit à des aliments, au partage du patrimoine familial, à la protection de la résidence familiale, à la société d'acquêts et à la prestation compensatoire[1]?
[12] La question est importante puisque, au Québec, en 2006, 34,6 % des couples étaient conjoints de fait, soit 1,2 million de personnes, alors que dans le reste du Canada 18,4 % des couples vivaient en union de fait[2]. En outre, en 2002, 60 % des enfants naissaient hors mariage[3].
In this regard see the good summaries from Educaloi:
English: http://www.educaloi.qc.ca/en/publicforum/story127/
French: http://www.educaloi.qc.ca/placepublique/dossier127/
And, finally, some aggregate data. After just over three weeks into the new year CanLII has had >500K visits from >than 150K unique visitors, generating >5M pageviews over the course of >100K hours of usage.
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More: in Hot on CanLII | from Simon Fodden
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When everyone in the firm is required to report monthly to all other partners, you instill a culture in the firm that is self-correcting. If someone fails to regularly meet their financial goals, you. […] »»Practice  Dig Deep
Wednesday, January 25
Today’s Tip: Dig Deep By deep, I mean the deep or invisible web. According to Marcus Zillman, there are somewhere in the vicinity of 1 trillion plus pages of … »»Research It is a huge financial mistake to not record in writing the very nature of the contractual relationship with each and every one of your clients. »»Practice
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Available online today are four new chapters of the publication Women in Canada: A Gender-based Statistical Report, which explores the socio-demographic and economic circumstances of Canadian women in general.
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The bill amends the Constitution Act, 1867 by readjusting the number of members and the representation of the provinces in the House of Commons.
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Blueseed plans to buy a ship and turn it into a floating incubator anchored in international waters off the coast of California.
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Under Prime Minister Stephen Harper, the flow of information out of Ottawa has slowed to a trickle.
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"…the IPC has exclusive jurisdiction to decide whether a record is in the custody or control of a university in the context of an access request…"
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John J.L. Hunter, Q.C. of Vancouver has been elected President for 2011-2012
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Detailed results from 321 members.
These summaries of selected recent cases are provided each week to Slaw by Maritime Law Book.
More information.
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Administrative Law - Judicial review - General - Scope or standard of review
Ten individuals complained to the Information and Privacy Commissioner that the Alberta Teachers’ Association (ATA) disclosed, in contravention of the Personal Information Protection Act, their personal information between October 13 and December 2, ...
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Civil Rights - Property - Search and seizure - Search - What constitutes
The accused was charged with possession of child pornography and making available child pornography. The accused brought an application, alleging several violations of his rights under the Charter.
The Saskatchewan Court of Queen’s ...
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Constitutional Law - Extent of powers conferred - Double aspect doctrine - General
In provincial references, both the Alberta Court of Appeal (510 A.R. 200; 527 W.A.C. 200) and the Quebec Court of Appeal (2011 QCCA 591), concluded that the proposed Canadian Securities Act (CSA) was unconstitutional. A ...
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Criminal Law - Procedure - Charge or directions - Jury or judge alone - Directions regarding evidence generally
The accused was charged with breach of trust by a public official contrary to s. 122 of the Criminal Code. The trial judge acquitted the accused. ...
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Civil Rights - Trials - Due process, fundamental justice and fair hearings - Criminal and quasi-criminal proceedings - Delay (Charter, s. 7)
MacIntosh was charged on three informations with a total of 43 counts of sexual offences against nine complainants in the 1970s. The first information ...
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Real Property Tax - Valuation - Business property - Considerations
Two breweries’ respective properties were assessed as special properties under the Assessment Act, 2006. They appealed their respective municipal tax assessments to the Review Commissioner. The Commissioner dismissed the appeals. The breweries each appealed. The appeals ...
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Barristers and Solicitors -Duty to court - General principles - Duty of integrity
The applicant (Girao) and Allstate Insurance Co. disputed entitlements to accident benefits. The respondent law firm represented Allstate. Girao complained to the Privacy Commissioner of Canada (PCC) against Allstate for disclosing her ...
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Criminal Law - Sentencing - Sentencing procedure and rights of the accused - Plea bargain or joint submission - Effect of
The accused was sentenced to two years’ imprisonment for three breaches of a recognizance under s. 810.2 of the Criminal Code. He appealed and applied ...
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Practice - Persons who can sue and be sued - Individuals and corporations - Status or standing - Class actions - Members of class - General
The plaintiffs were Inuit or Métis persons who were forced to attend certain residential schools in Labrador and Newfoundland. They ...
This is a listing of a few upcoming events in Canada of interest to lawyers, law students, legal librarians, and others involved in the practice of law.
Clicking on any event in the list below will give you access to more information and to links allowing you to see the full entry and to add the event to your own calendar.
Click this link for a fuller version of the TalkLaw/ParLoi calendar of events and for instructions as to how to add events and calendars to your own calendar.
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