Blog post updated on November 23, 2017 after publication
On November 22, 2017, an amended version of Bill 148, Fair Workplaces, Better Jobs Act, 2017 received third reading and passed. It is now waiting for royal assent to become law. Once it receives assent, the Bill will become law and amend significantly the Employment Standards Act, 2000 (“ESA”) and the Labour Relations Act, 1995 (“LRA”). . . . [more]
CBA Wellness hosted its 14th annual Wellness workshop this past weekend in Winnipeg. The workshop is designed to provide training and resources to lawyer assistance program representatives from across the country. This year, the CBA Wellness Board of Directors decided to expand the scope of the workshop and include an outreach session for local lawyers as part of its ongoing effort to engage the legal community in wellness issues. The outreach session was titled Addictions, Recovery, Reckonings and featured Michael Bryant, an Ontario lawyer and former Attorney General for Ontario. Michael’s story is compelling; he detailed his personal struggle . . . [more]
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. CBRE Limited v 1223962 Alberta Ltd, 2017 ABPC 114
[10] The issue at trial related to the timing of the “triggering event” in which the commission would be payable. The plaintiff argued that the triggering event for the commission to be payable was either when the conditions were waived (August 4, 2014) or when the sale closed (August 28, 2014). Either . . . [more]
Last week the Alberta Human Rights Amendment Act, 2017 passed 3rd reading. On Royal Assent it will change the law so that as of January 1, 2018, age is a protected ground of discrimination relating to goods, services, accommodation or facilities and tenancy. Exceptions remain and I encourage you to read the Alberta Human Rights Commission bulletin for interesting details and a summary of the amendments.
CBC covered the story that led to the amendments – a Queen’s Bench application by the Elder Advocates of Alberta Society that was granted by Belzil, J. on January 6, 2017.
It is interesting . . . [more]
The access to justice discourse is increasingly focused on modernization. This involves drawing on technology as well as new methods to guide the development of justice system improvements. The user experience (UX) figures prominently in modernization efforts. It underscores what Usability.gov – the leading authority on UX best practices for both the public and private sector – describes as, “a deep understanding of users, what they need, what they value, their abilities, and also their limitations.”
As a generation, Millennials are squarely at the modernization and user-experience intersection. Their comfort with change and technology is disrupting industries by reshaping work . . . [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 research, writing, and practice.
Practice
Articling Students and Young Lawyers: Get a Mentor
Ian Hu
I was not hired back after articling. After months of searching (soul and otherwise) I was ultimately offered two jobs at the same time. One was located in a trendy area in Toronto for the “young and eligible”. The other was in a small city outside of Toronto, as foreign to me as another country. I had no idea
In highly regulated fields and industries, participants are often under a statutory obligation to cooperate with the auditors, inspectors and peace officers who investigate contraventions of the applicable regulatory regime, typically comprised of an Act, Regulations and sometimes the terms of a licence. This coerced cooperation comes in many forms: from retaining and turning over records and documents, to permitting access for physical inspection, to answering probing questions. More often than not inspections occur without warning, and happen quickly before the individual or entity subject to inspection is fully able to take stock of the situation. While this element . . . [more]
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. BC Injury Law Blog 2. McElroy Law Blog 3. Doorey’s Workplace Law Blog 4. Official Clio Blog 5. Risk Management & Crisis Response
BC Injury Law Blog
Potentially “Harsh” Result No Reason To Strike Jury in Injury Claim
Reasons for judgment were published today by the BC
A few firms have flirted with technological innovation, but most of the developments in Canada are coming from start-ups, institutions (i.e. incubators), and some universities. What some firms can do is leverage their name and reputation to help bring a product to market.
One example would be Hull & Hull, who not only built their name from years of practice in wills and estates over half a century, but provided free public information through their website and podcast. The podcast in particular became so popular that many estates lawyers I know routinely listen to it, even if it’s general . . . [more]
Every week we present the summary of a decision handed down by a Québec court provided to us by SOQUIJ and considered to be of interest to our readers throughout Canada. SOQUIJ is attached to the Québec Department of Justice and collects, analyzes, enriches, and disseminates legal information in Québec.
CONSTITUTIONNEL (DROIT) : La Loi sur l’immatriculation des armes à feu québécoise n’est pas invalide constitutionnellement, car son caractère véritable est la sécurité publique et elle se rattache aux compétences provinciales en matière de propriété et du droit civil ainsi que de l’administration de la justice.
Intitulé : Association canadienne . . . [more]
The US Department of Justice has declared that President Trump’s tweets are official statements of the President – at least in one case. In another, mentioned in the same ABA story, it is saying that they are not, at least to the point that the President can block people from his Twitter account.
What is your view? Are the posts subject to freedom of information laws and official records laws, so that they have to be preserved, they have to be accessible on request, they have to respect privacy rights?
There is a difference between politicians in government with official . . . [more]