I’ve seen complaints suggesting emails from those running in the federal election are spam. But CASL specifically exempts political emails from the definition of spam. A recent review of political emails by a mail service provider showed that they are not even trying to comply with the spirit of CASL – such as having unsubscribe mechanisms and contact information.

It’s never been clear to me why those making laws think they deserve to be exempted from many laws they think business need to follow. Perhaps if they applied more laws to themselves some laws might be a lot more user . . . [more]

New technology is apparently capable of reproducing human speech very accurately – i.e. the speech of particular people.

Researchers have found automated and human verification for voice-based user authentication vulnerable, and explore how an attacker in possession of voice audio samples could compromise a victim’s security, safety and privacy.

It seems pretty clear to me that an electronic recording of a voice (as in a voice-mail message) is an electronic document within the meaning of all provincial e-commerce/transactions legislation. We (the folks who wrote the uniform law) considered the voice as a kind of biometric and saw no reason in . . . [more]

On Friday, the Prime Minister promised if elected he would enact legislation that would create a “tax lock,” preventing future governments from raising taxes,

This new legislation will protect our fragile economy and guarantee reduced taxes and stable incomes for our families.

His party has already promised not to raise taxes, while the other parties have promised they will. This measure goes further, because it would seek to bind the hands of successive governments, without the necessary constitutional amendments.

Former Parliamentary law clerk, Rob Walsh, indicated the proposed legislation would likely be unconstitutional for this reason. The division of powers . . . [more]

Prof. Woodrow Hartzog is an interesting voice on privacy law and technology. He has written about his own research and interviewed others on the role that obscurity plays in our modern conceptions of privacy. Technologies like encrypted communication applications and device encryption tools can be privacy-enhancing technologies, while obscurity — the condition of being unknown or not entirely comprehensible to others — is a privacy-enhancing state.

Obscurity, it appears, is a state that many of us seek out when it comes to social media, even if we don’t realize it. And if you’re reading this thinking, “I don’t . . . [more]

On behalf of the Slaw community, we congratulate our colleague Dianne Saxe on her appointment as Environmental Commissioner of Ontario. Her new role takes effect on December 1st, 2015.

As one of Canada’s most respected and knowledgeable environmental lawyers, Dianne has been a key columnist with us here at Slaw since June of 2010. While we are uncertain at this time whether her new role will allow her to continue writing (we hope she will), we are exceptionally proud of her achievement. Dianne is a tireless advocate for our environment and we know she will do well.

Well worth noting: . . . [more]

The Green Party of Canada has a filed a complaint with the Canada Revenue Agency over its exclusion from the upcoming Munk Debate on Sept. 28, 2015.

The party claims that by not allowing them to participate in the debate, the Aurea Foundation, the registered charity organizing the event, is in violation of the Income Tax Act. The party meets the definition of a political party under s. 149.1(6.1)(c) of the Act.

In a news release earlier this year, the Munk Debate organizers stated,

There are two ways in which someone is a leader of a party in

. . . [more]

In the summer disaster movie, San Andreas, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson’s character scours earthquake-rocked California in a helicopter, plane and then speedboat to save his family members from fires and floods. We see him engage in feats of athletic prowess, but we also see him learn to talk about his feelings, and in particular the pain and regret he experienced following the death of his younger daughter. Lawyers at all stages of their careers may do well to follow the Rock’s example and practice talking more openly about their feelings, but this lesson may be particularly relevant for law students. . . . [more]

No matter what government will lead Quebec, religious neutrality of the state seems to be common ground among the political parties. Yet the media and the rest of Canada don’t seem to make much of it unless it is brought up by the Parti Quebecois.

Using personal devices at work to conduct business (BYOD or “bring your own device”) has become commonplace in the last couple of years. Employers are implementing BYOD policies left, right and centre to try to control the privacy challenges this practice can bring about when employers access these devices to protect their data contained on them. . . . [more]

When lawyer-turned-entrepreneur Greg Smith quit practicing law to start tech company Thinkific, he quickly learned that following his dream was going to take more hard work and a lot more risk than anything he’d encountered before.

Many lawyers find the business world beyond their law firm more enticing than the business of law. I recently asked Greg to share how his legal experience has influenced his foray into the entrepreneurial realm.

Q. What spurred you to leave the comforts of a big law firm and start a tech company?

I loved practicing law at both firms I worked with. . . . [more]

CanLII has announced Xavier Beauchamp-Tremblay as its new President.

Announcement copy below:

The Canadian Legal Information Institute (CanLII) and the Federation of Law Societies of Canada are pleased to announce that Xavier Beauchamp-Tremblay of Montreal is CanLII’s new President, effective August 10, 2015. The announcement was made jointly by Martin Felsky, PhD, JD, the Chair of the CanLII Board of Directors, and Tom Conway, President of the Federation of Law Societies of Canada.

Mr. Beauchamp-Tremblay obtained his law degree from the University of Montreal and was admitted to the Barreau du Quebec in 2007.

Prior to joining CanLII, Mr. Beauchamp-Tremblay

. . . [more]

Ontario’s Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB) has taken to Twitter in an attempt to reach the province’s young workers. The Board has launched a Twitter contest challenging workers between the ages of 15 and 24 to tag a photo of themselves practicing safety on the job with the hashtag #practicesafework.

The timing of the contest is strategic. With many young workers seeking summer employment, the number of new workers is on the rise. Research conducted by the Institute for Work and Health indicates that rates of workplace injury are higher amongst both young workers, and workers on their . . . [more]