Barely six months after an explosive Goldman Sachs report predicted massive economic and employment upheaval from large language models and generative AI, the Chief Information Officer of that same company reports that his company has no actual generative AI use cases in production. Both claims, much like the title of this article, are true, false, misleading and helpful all at once. ChatGPT, Dall-E, MidJourney and the slew of open source models that followed have undoubtedly and irrevocably changed our expectations of what we can achieve through technology, meanwhile our collective ability to change behaviours has both reinforced and belied . . . [more]

Revised with comments on 22/10/2023.

The 10^th edition of the Canadian Guide to Uniform Legal Citation (the McGill Guide) was published in the summer of 2023. Having been six years since the 9^th edition was published, the most recent edition has made necessary revisions that improve the accessibility and inclusivity of sources. Anecdotally, the revision that seems to have garnered notable attention is Jurisprudence Rule 3.1: Hierarchy of sources. There are several changes worthy of discussion in the 10^th edition, but the focus of this post is to explain the new hierarchy of sources for jurisprudence . . . [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.

PÉNAL (DROIT) : L’appel d’une déclaration de culpabilité sous le chef d’accusation de fraude est rejeté; la correspondance et les autres documents qui contextualisent la dégradation des relations entre les associés ne constituent ni une preuve par ouï-dire ni une preuve de mauvais caractère.

Intitulé : Grenon c. R., 2023 . . . [more]

This note provides some suggestions for lawyers taking family law cases to arbitration, offered from my perspective as a family law arbitrator.

The theme that runs throughout this article is straightforward. Your primary object in arbitration is to get the best possible outcome for your client, just as it is in litigation, and your chances of getting that outcome are maximized when you make it as easy as possible for me to understand your client’s evidence and comprehend your argument.

I. A peek behind the curtain

Before getting into the nuts and bolts, I think it might help to provide . . . [more]

As an original member of Ontario’s Condominium Authority Tribunal (CAT), I am convinced there is not a cat pun I have yet to encounter. I could be wrong but feel as though I have heard them all.

From the Zoom Filter to the Litterbox

With a spectrum of inspiration ranging from wholesome Dr. Seuss to the controversial Fritz the Cat, there have been good puns and bad. Clean and dirty. Supportive and insulting. Some have been witty. Some have made me groan. Too many have referenced nine lives. Not enough have referenced Garfield. I think my favourite involves someone . . . [more]

Several times each month, we are pleased to republish a recent book review from the Canadian Law Library Review (CLLR). CLLR is the official journal of the Canadian Association of Law Libraries (CALL/ACBD), and its reviews cover both practice-oriented and academic publications related to the law.

Legal Data and Information in Practice: How Data and the Law Interact. By Sarah A. Sutherland. New York: Routledge, 2022. xxi, 148 p. Includes illustrations, tables, bibliography, and index. ISBN 9780367649906 (hardcover) US$170.00; ISBN 9780367649883 (softcover) US$42.95; ISBN 9781003127307 (eBook) US$42.95. <routledge.com>.

Reviewed by Sharon Wang
Associate Librarian
Osgoode . . . [more]

The search for legal information and assistance

The current design of our legal services delivery system makes Ontario’s access to justice crisis worse. Far too many Ontarians who cannot afford a lawyer struggle to find help from a disjointed cluster of private and public legal service providers. Rather than participating in an integrated intake and referral process that could direct people to the appropriate resource based on the type of problem they are experiencing, their eligibility, and the level of intervention they require, front-line agencies (struggling to keep-up with rising demand) waste thousands of precious hours each year interacting with . . . [more]

I have been lucky enough to work with executives who understand the power of quality communication. Whether running a single office or multiple international locations, staff want to understand what their leadership is thinking. Leaders who lean into communication programs tend to have significantly higher approval ratings, their companies have less turnover, and employees feel they are part of a growth plan.

Over the years, we have seen a fundamental shift in the willingness of executives to share. Knowledge is power has evolved to having and sharing knowledge being the cornerstone of reputation and influence, and therefore power. Long are . . . [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.

PÉNAL (DROIT) : Le juge de première instance n’a pas erré en déclarant délinquant à contrôler l’appelant, un pédophile, ni en rendant une ordonnance d’interdiction d’utiliser Internet pour une période de 15 ans; toutefois, il est nécessaire de moduler l’ordonnance pour permettre à l’appelant d’utiliser Internet dans certaines circonstances, mais . . . [more]

One Sunday each month we bring you a summary from Supreme Advocacy LLP of recent decisions at the Supreme Court of Canada. Supreme Advocacy LLP offers a weekly electronic newsletter, Supreme Advocacy Letter, to which you may subscribe. It’s a summary of all Appeals, Oral Judgments and Leaves to Appeal granted from September 1 – October 5, 2023 inclusive.

Appeals

Administrative Law/ Immigration: Standard of Review; Inadmissibility
Mason v. Canada (Citizenship and Immigration),  2021 FCA 156, 2023 SCC 21 (39855)

The statutory provision at issue, s. 34(1)(e) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (“IRPA”), . . . [more]

By Daniel Standing, LL.B., Content editor, Frist Reference Inc.

A recent wrongful dismissal decision of the British Columbia Court of Appeal, 2023 BCCA 354, sheds significant light on the factors that can rightly be considered when assessing whether conduct amounting to sexual harassment provides just cause for termination, and the legal viability of a global award of damages. The decision is helpful to employers who might otherwise be tempted to take the complainant’s side and obtain an apology from the alleged wrongdoer. . . . [more]