Summaries of selected recent cases are provided each week to Slaw by Maritime Law Book. Every Sunday we present a precis of the latest summaries, a fuller version of which can be found on MLB-Slaw Selected Case Summaries at cases.slaw.ca.

This week’s summaries concern:
Courts – Practice – Civil Rights

Maple Ridge Community Management Ltd. v. Peel Condominium Corp. No. 231 2015 ONCA 520
Courts – Practice
Summary: The parties entered into a contract appointing Maple Ridge Community Management Ltd. as the property management company for Peel Condominium Corp. No. 231 for a three year term. Pursuant to . . . [more]

For the next while the Friday Fillip will be a chapter in a serialized crime novel, usually followed by a reference you might like to pursue. Both this chapter of the book and the whole story up to this point can be had as PDF files. You may also subscribe to have chapters delivered to you by email.

MEASURING LIFE

Chapter 24
Pulling Focus

The working group on arbitration legislation of the Uniform Law Conference of Canada (ULCC) has circulated a Discussion Paper on proposed changes to the Uniform Arbitration Act (for domestic arbitrations in Canada). The proposals – and the drafting of the Act – have not yet been reviewed or approved by the ULCC. The goal is the present the proposals to the ULCC at its annual meeting this summer.

This is the second phase of a project that started several years ago to update the ULCC’s Uniform International Commercial Arbitration Act and Uniform Arbitration Act, which have been widely implemented by . . . [more]

Organizations may only disclose a person’s confidential information without the person’s knowledge or consent in very specific circumstances, set out in paragraph 7(3)(h.2) of the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA). Now, the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada recently found that in order to properly rely on the s.7(3)(h.2) exemption it is essential that an organization document the purpose for which personal information is disclosed and exercise due diligence to ensure that the disclosure is reasonable under the circumstances. . . . [more]

I will forever be indebted to the young mother, a senior associate at a big firm, who shared with me one of her secret recipes for handling the challenging tension between mom-time and lawyer time: the early escape.

Here’s how it works: One night a week she stays late at the office, until between eight and ten at night, depending on the week. Then, two days later, she leaves the office in the afternoon to pick her kids up early from daycare for some special time with them.

This wonderful “life hack” checks two important boxes for her. She checks . . . [more]

WestJet’s pilots have voted against unionization following a narrow result released by the WestJet Professional Pilots Association (the “Association”) last week. Out of the nearly 1,300 pilots, 55% percent of those who voted were not in favour of forming a union. These results come following an extensive campaign by the Association, who vocalized their disappointment with the result through the release on their Facebook page.
The Association in the release stated that “[w]e hope that the open discussions that have taken place as part of this process will set the stage for constructive dialogue between our pilots and . . . [more]

The Google re-org announced Monday has the tech press in a huge buzz. Lots of virtual ink has been spent explaining and analyzing the change. Essentially, Google created a parent company called Alphabet, left the core business in Google, and created sister companies to Google that will operate some of its other projects, such as the self driving car and smart medical sensing contact lenses.

This change has some sound logic behind it from a business perspective. There are also interesting side stories, such as how their choice of abc.xyz as a domain for the new company has dramatically . . . [more]

Earlier this month, the new president of the Law Society of England and Wales, Jonathan Smithers, used the occasion of his inaugural speech to emphasize the importance of a diverse and inclusive legal profession, stating:

Equality, diversity and inclusion are absolutely at the forefront of this Society’s work, interwoven in all that we do. Our profession must reflect the country as it is and draw talent from each and every part. Social inclusion and mobility are currently in the spotlight. I am proud of the progress we have made over the last decades but do not in any way shy

Each Wednesday we tell you which three English-language cases and which French-language case have been the most viewed* on CanLII and we give you a small sense of what the cases are about.

For this last week:

1. Borthwick v Lombard Insurance, 2015 ONSC 4845

[88] At this stage, I do not know what form of business organization was involved in cutting down trees on the Fox Hollow Farm. While Messrs. Douglas and Borthwick may have been involved in a joint venture or have formed a partnership, it is equally possible no new business organization was created by Mr. . . . [more]

The Canadian Bar Association Legal Conference, officially August 14-16, 2015, is under way in Calgary. According to the conference program, CBA Leaders are meeting and working together in anticipation of the conference’s continuing education ad wider networking elements that kick off on Thursday evening.

Before the opening reception on Thursday evening, important work of the association takes place. On August 13, there is a council meeting with a very full agenda. The day includes Resolutions, an update on the Futures initiative (which has also been so ably debated and disseminated at Slaw and through other social media), . . . [more]

On June 22, 2015, I attended the launch of what is described as an “industry cluster,” LegalX. The launch took place at, and was sponsored by, the MaRS Discovery District. Based in Toronto, MaRS “is one of the world’s largest urban innovation hubs… It provides expert advice and market research, and makes connections to talent, customers, and capital.”

The official announcement of the launch states that LegalX is “dedicated to moving the legal sector forward through enterprises — whether startup or established corporates and law firms — LegalX at MaRS will connect the technologists, designers, coders, engineers and lawyers . . . [more]

Here are excerpts from the most recent tips on SlawTips, the site that each week offers up useful advice, short and to the point, on technology, research and practice.

Research

Currency*
Shaunna Mireau

I usually talk about currency from the “the quality or state of being current” perspective. Today, I used the Bank of Canada Currency Converter to look at the exchange rate which leads me to today’s tip that deals with another definition of currency…

Practice

Commit to Change*
David Bilinsky

In talking to hundreds of law firms, I am struck by a common theme. Many of these . . . [more]