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 more than 80 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. Employment & Human Rights Law in Canada 2. Michael Geist 3. McElroy Law Blog 4. Welcome to the Food Court 5. Robeside Assistance

Employment & Human Rights Law in Canada
Contract Enforceability

Must the Employee Sign Off Prior to the Start Date? Aaron Burden When an employee is terminated without cause and offered a package that is very modest, but otherwise compliant with the employment contract, a common first step for his or her lawyer will be to see if the contract can be set aside. If the contract can be declared void, the employee can try to pursue the typically much greater common law damages. …

Michael Geist
Deciphering the U.S. NAFTA Digital Demands, Part One: Intellectual Property

The leak of the draft notice from the Trump Administration on the NAFTA renegotiation, which identifies at least 40 issues, will serve as the starting point for discussions once talks begin. Coverage of the U.S. interests has emphasized tariff issues, rules of origin, and tax treatment, but the digital issues should not be overlooked. The U.S. starting position looks a lot like the TPP, which suggests that we already have a very clear understanding of the text that U.S. negotiators will propose. This post unpacks some of the general language to decipher what the U.S. has in mind on intellectual property issues. A second post will review the other digital issues, including privacy and e-commerce rules. …

McElroy Law Blog
March Criminal Law Round-up

As March roared both in and out like a lion, the world of criminal law in Canada saw some important legislative changes and Supreme Court decisions, among other news-worthy cases. News: The federal Justice Minister announced a bill that would eliminate unconstitutional sections of the Code, colourfully referred to as ‘zombie laws.‘ While some critics argued that this is re-opening the debate on abortion (one provision to be removed), Minister Wilson-Raybould emphasized that this is the first step in a comprehensive review of the criminal justice system …

Welcome to the Food Court
Glenford Featured in Article on Starting an E-commerce Business

Glenford was interviewed by Dayna Winter on the legal considerations involved in starting an e-commerce food business. In the post, considerations relating to marketing, advertising, product selection and legal liability arising from the production or sale of food. Glenford is quoted both on legal considerations as well as best ethical practices that successful businesses undertake …

Robeside Assistance
#ThrowbackThursday: Cartier Square

My love for old pictures of Ottawa has been documented on this blog before, and I’m happy to report that I’m at it again! I stumbled upon these pictures of what used occupy the land the current Courthouse sits on, and I’m fascinated by the difference! …