In the context of investigation of a complaint under PIPEDA^[1] the Privacy Commissioner of Canada sought a reference to determine several preliminary issues.^[2] The claimant claimed Google violated PIPEDA when certain links to news articles pertaining to him arose in a search using the Google search engine. Google had taken the position that PIPEDA did not apply to Google, either, firstly, since the search service was not a commercial activity within the meaning of Section 4(1)(a) of PIPEDA^[3], and, secondly, if PIPEDA did apply then Google was excused since it was carrying out a journalistic activity . . . [more]

Government information is ubiquitous in social media platforms. Government agencies at every level (federal, state/province, country, city) share a significant amount of information and data on social media. Some agencies even have several different social media accounts where they disseminate different types of information depending on the nature of the institution or department. Elected officials speaking on behalf of the government or the public office they represent behave no differently. Some of these government officials and lawmakers have had multiple social media accounts, each for the previous elected positions they have occupied. It has become increasingly difficult to differentiate information . . . [more]

As I write this, there is a very positive look on where we will be in September. Many firms are looking to a new hybrid work model. Companies are doing the same albeit maybe a little later in the year. We have gone from jokes about touching our faces, to complete lockdown, to a progressive work environment many have been asking about for years.

What does this mean for your relationships with clients and co-workers? No longer will you have to meet on Zoom. It will be possible to meet for a coffee. Once again you may “bump” into someone . . . [more]

As I approach my fifth anniversary working for the National Self-Represented Litigants Project (NSRLP) I find myself feeling reflective.

I could not have anticipated ending up working in the legal sphere, in the world of “access to justice.” Until 5 years ago I’d never heard that phrase, or had any real understanding of the justice system. My background is in libraries, among other things, and I’d never been involved in any kind of legal proceeding. So although I was well-educated and informed in general, and aware of many social justice issues, my knowledge of the legal world was (like the . . . [more]

The first years of a lawyer’s career are some of the toughest. These years aren’t only an important time for honing legal skills, they are also essential for navigating into areas of practice and ultimately a firm or organization that is a match for your interests, values, and goals.

In the AMP (Associate Mentoring Plus) program I run, all the mentors have worked at more than one law firm or company. Each of them has a story to tell about making career moves to work in firms, practice areas, and with clients who were the best fit for their interests, . . . [more]

Not exactly a new subject, is it? And yet the pandemic has brought a new focus to technology addiction as way too many lawyers worked longer hours at home than they ever did at the office, their overtired, burning eyes fixed on their monitors.

As the pandemic receded and lawyers ventured out, we heard a regular theme about technology – “I can’t let go.” Finally, a chance to take a vacation emerged in the summer of 2021 and we proved to be pretty terrible at relaxing sans technology.

Technology Itself Gives You Tools to Cut the Cord

Your phone is . . . [more]

My son recently announced that the small law firm website design company he works for will be giving up their trendy office space in Vancouver’s Gas Town and permanently moving to a remote work environment. He was ecstatic, as he LOVES working from home. But my husband (a school teacher near retirement) insists that most workers prefer the sociability of a traditional face-to-face workplace and that despite expert predictions, remote work won’t be a serious thing after the pandemic. It made me wonder where law firms might fall on the scale. (I learned that the answer has significant marketing, HR, . . . [more]

The state of Michigan has demanded that a Canadian company, Enbridge Energy Company (Enbridge), close the portion permitted by an easement of its oil pipeline—Line 5—that crosses the Straits of Mackinac, which joins Lake Michigan and Lake Huron. Line 5 is an interstate, interprovincial, and international pipeline, owned and operated by Enbridge. It is used to transport petroleum products from Wisconsin, through Michigan, to Ontario, Québec, and further locations in Canada.[1]

Michigan’s Notice of Termination of the easement applies to a 4-mile portion of dual lines along the lake floor and ordered Enbridge to cease operation by May 12, . . . [more]

From proteststo scientific analysis, old growth forests have been much in the news in British Columbia in recent months. What does a legal lens bring to this debate?

Past analyses undertaken by West Coast Environmental Law have laid bare the multifaceted ways in which BC’s laws are “hardwired for failure” when it comes to safeguarding the resilience of ecological systems and human communities in the face of cumulative impacts from resource development and climate change. Legal barriers identified include:

• Historic legal or policy caps on how much land may be protected and/or how great an impact on resource

In my coverage of intellectual property issues in scholarly publishing, I have made passing reference in this column to my work with the Public Knowledge Project (PKP). It represents my more practical and applied efforts to address the intellectual property issues that trouble scholarly publishing. From this perspective, what PKP has been doing for more than two decades now is to test various ways in which copyright can better serve research and scholarship. This turns out to be largely about redirecting copyright against itself.

What this has meant in practice is that PKP develops software for online scholarly publishing platforms . . . [more]

Solving the mental health crisis in law requires invention and transformation.

Lawyer entrepreneurs are turning their minds to the challenge and bringing innovative offerings to the market aimed at making a difference.

Aaron Baer is one such entrepreneur, a corporate commercial lawyer who started his legal training company 4L Academy this year. 4L provides modern legal training for Canadian lawyers and law students.

I had the pleasure of speaking with Baer on June 7, 2021 – the very day 4L launched the summer pilot program.

The launch attracted lots of attention.

The response from law students was phenomenal—the summer program . . . [more]

The divergence between the law on the books and the law as applied — and the uncertainty and unpredictability that result — exacts a price paid in the coin of injustice. ….

R. v. Ferguson, 2008 SCC 6 at paragraph 72

The Rule of Law requires that the law be accessible and “so far as possible intelligible, clear and predictable” (Lord Bingham). Daniel Kahneman, Oliver Sibony and Cass R. Sunstein have written an important book on the unexplained inconsistencies that get in the way of predictability in decision-making: Noise: A Flaw in Human Judgement. This is . . . [more]