In 2022, Justice Mandhane introduced the tort of family violence to address the injuries committed during the course of a marriage. A year later, in 2023, the Ontario Court of Appeal overturned this new tort in the decision Ahluwalia v Ahluwalia, 2023 ONCA 476. This matter is now being appealed to the Supreme Court of Canada.

In the article “’Weaponizing’ The Tort of Family Violence? Myths, Stereotypes, Lawyers’ Ethics and Access to Justice”, Deanne Sowter and Jennifer Koshan, argue that recognizing the tort of family violence is an important step towards compensating the harms of intimate partner . . . [more]

PREFACE

This is the first of two posts placing LEAF’s recent report, What It Takes: Establishing a Gender-Based Violence Accountability Mechanism in Canada (“What It Takes” or “LEAF report)” on gender-based violence (GBV) in the context of historical efforts to address GBV (albeit fragmentary references) and more recent developments: the 2021 Joint Declaration by the ministers for the status of women for Canada, the provinces and the territories, leading to the 2022 National Action Plan to End Gender-Based Violence (“National Action Plan” or “NAP”), the 2019 Final Report of the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girl . . . [more]

November 12, 2024
The Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario: Access to Justice Denied

Reposted with permission.
Original Post:
Kathy Laird and Lorne Slotnick, “The Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario: Access to Justice Denied” (Tribunal Watch Ontario, November 12, 2024), online: https://tribunalwatch.ca/2024/the-human-rights-tribunal-of-ontario-access-to-justice-denied/

Quick Summary

Ontario’s human rights system has become a nightmare for people who seek redress for alleged discrimination, a new analysis by the independent group Tribunal Watch Ontario shows.

The latest statistics from the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario (HRTO) show that the tribunal has become the place where human rights claims go to die. Tribunal Watch’s analysis, largely . . . [more]

What motivates you the most in the workplace? Is it the sense of accomplishment from completing a challenging project? Or maybe the camaraderie of collaborating with a great team? No, of course not. Silly of you to think that! The thing that motivates all of us, of course, is fear and paranoia that comes from workplace surveillance! It is the sentiment of an invisible omnipresence—with the threat of criticism, punishment, or even unemployment—that will deliver managers the best results. What else could drive productivity quite like the Orwellian nightmare of constantly being watched by your superior?

This seems to be . . . [more]

As an immigration lawyer, I regularly get offers from shady agents and unscrupulous consultants. “We are an agency based in Dubai with connections with millionaires and BILLIONAIRES. We propose a partnership with your esteemed firm and we will give you access to our wealthy clientele.” (For some reason, these agents love caps.) I was reminded of these scams when I read that arrested Telegram CEO Durov is a citizen of no less than four (4) jurisdictions: France, Russia, UAE and Saint Kitts and Nevis. I had to wonder if he was a client of one of those shady agents.

Saint . . . [more]

Preamble

When students at the Lincoln Alexander School of Law (“LASL” or “the school”) sent a controversial letter (“the letter” or “the October 20th letter”) to the LASL administration, a letter which became public, about the Israel-Hamas conflict, Metropolitan Toronto University (“MTU” or “the University”) filed a complaint under TMU Senate Policy 61, the Student Code of Non-Academic Conduct (“the Code”). The University appointed the former Chief Justice of Nova Scotia J. Michael MacDonald as the External Reviewer of the complaint. MacDonald released his Report (“the Report”) on May 31, 2024.

This is the third post of a three-part . . . [more]

Preamble

When students at the Lincoln Alexander School of Law (“LASL” or “the school”) sent a controversial letter (“the letter” or “the October 20th letter”) to the LASL administration, a letter which became public, about the Israel-Hamas conflict, Metropolitan Toronto University (“MTU” or “the University”) filed a complaint under TMU Senate Policy 61, the Student Code of Non-Academic Conduct (“the Code”). The University appointed the former Chief Justice of Nova Scotia J. Michael MacDonald as the External Reviewer of the complaint. MacDonald released his Report (“the Report”) on May 31, 2024.

This is the second post of a three-part . . . [more]

Preamble

When students at the Lincoln Alexander School of Law (“LASL” or “the school”) sent a controversial letter (“the letter” or “the October 20th letter”) to the LASL administration, a letter which became public, about the Israel-Hamas conflict, Metropolitan Toronto University (“MTU” or “the University”) filed a complaint under TMU Senate Policy 61, the Student Code of Non-Academic Conduct (“the Code”). The University appointed the former Chief Justice of Nova Scotia J. Michael MacDonald as the External Reviewer of the complaint. MacDonald released his Report (“the Report”) on May 31, 2024.

This is the first post of a three-part . . . [more]

This article offers a concise overview of the Council of Europe’s (CoE) recent efforts in shaping global artificial intelligence (AI) governance. The newly adopted Framework Convention on AI has important implications for member states and beyond, notably Canada. Organizations and employers beginning to navigate the AI landscape will want to assess the widespread impact of this treaty on businesses worldwide. . . . [more]

Periodically on Thursdays, we present a significant excerpt, usually from a recently published book or journal article. In every case the proper permissions have been obtained. If you are a publisher who would like to participate in this feature, please let us know via the site’s contact form.

Suing for Silence : Sexual Violence and Defamation Law

Author: Mandi Gray
Publisher: UBC Press
Publication Date: March 1, 2024
ISBN: 9780774869171
Page count: 180 pages; 6 x 9

Excerpt: Introduction

In summer 2017, I received a Facebook message from Lynn, a Canadian tattoo artist in her late twenties. Women from all . . . [more]

In July 2023, IRCC Minister Marc Miller was put in charge of our immigration system and he has been focused on fixing problems while addressing the growing anti-immigration sentiment within Canada. On one side, he inherited many years of Liberal promises to welcome and support international students and to meet lofty goals. To that end, he remains committed to the goal of 485k new permanent residents in 2024, 500k in 2025 and 500k in 2026. On the other side, Minister Miller has overseen a series of decisions to cut programs, increase restrictions and add roadblocks to previous pathways. Applicants most . . . [more]

Afflicted with a “culture of complacency[1],” the Ontario Superior Court has long struggled to timely advance cases to trial. Variously described by its leading jurists as ‘broken[2]’ and ‘antiquated[3],’ it has fallen further into disrepute as gun cases[4], a sexual assault case[5] (and another[6] and another[7]) and human trafficking[8] cases have been thrown out due to “excessive delay.” This continues the sordid state of affairs that existed prior to the pandemic, where hundreds of criminal cases were being dismissed annually for delay[9]. . . . [more]