Monday’s Mix

Each Monday we present brief excerpts of recent posts from five of Canada’s award-winning legal blogs chosen at random* from forty-one recent Clawbie winners. In this way we hope to promote their work, with their permission, to as wide an audience as possible.

This week the randomly selected blogs are 1. Environmental Law and Litigation 2. Entertainment & Media Law Signal 3. University of Alberta Faculty of Law Blog 4. Human Rights in the Workplace 5. Kelly Santini LLP’s Employment Law Blog for the Suddenly Unemployed

Environmental Law and Litigation
Kawartha Lakes appeal heard by Court of Appeal

The City of Kawartha Lakes has appealed to the Ontario Court of Appeal from a Ministry of the Environment Order, which imposed cleanup liability on the City for contamination it did not cause. The City argues that the MOE should have imposed those cleanup costs on the polluters, meaning either those who caused the spill, or were negligent in cleaning it up, or the province itself for its lax regulation of the oil tank and/or of the original polluter’s cleanup.

Entertainment & Media Law Signal
Corporate Sponsors Should Not be Liable for Injuries Sustained by Event Participants

Recently, in Boudreau v. Bank of Montreal, the Ontario Court of Appeal upheld a motion dismissing a lawsuit against Bank of Montreal (BMO), Rogers Communications Inc. (Rogers), and Umbro Inc. (Umbro). … BMO, Rogers and Umbro were corporate sponsors of a soccer event organized by the Ontario Soccer Association (OSA). Boudreau was a player who sustained injuries during game play and was unfortunately rendered a paraplegic as a result of his injuries.

University of Alberta Faculty of Law Blog
The right to silence

In the United States, and to a similar extent in Canada, the right to silence is sacred. So when I first read about a judge who held a young lawyer in contempt for advising his client to invoke his right to silence, I was a bit shocked. Thankfully the Michigan Supreme Court took notice and suspended the judge for 30 days.

Human Rights in the Workplace
Wine-making retailer likely not raising a glass to Manitoba Human Rights Adjudicator’s decision

A Manitoba Human Rights Adjudicator has concluded that Scott Tackaberry, operating as Grape & Grain, a wine and beer making retailer in Winnipeg, failed to take reasonable steps to stop one of his frequent customers from sexually harassing Emily Garland, a young, female employee of the business. When Ms. Garland first brought her concerns about the customer’s behavior to Mr. Tackaberry’s attention, Mr. Tackaberry was found by the Adjudicator to have responded in a reasonable way by cautioning the customer and urging him to keep his distance from the employee. However, after assessing all of the evidence including making determinations regarding the credibility of the female employee, the business owner and the customer, the Adjudicator concluded that the sexual harassment persisted and although Ms. Garland continued to complain to her employer nothing further was done to protect her. Rather, Ms. Garland was fired from her job.

Kelly Santini LLP’s Employment Law Blog for the Suddenly Unemployed
Non-Competition Agreement Can Increase Reasonable Notice Entitlement