This is not about the election – it is about the need to consider this issue carefully before passing any new laws.

Michael Geist and David Fraser (here and here) have written detailed articles on this issue that I concur with and recommend. I want to weigh in as well as this is an important issue. I have a problem with legislation that erodes privacy and requires ISP’s or others to retain information for the sole purpose of government access to it. And when that access is not tempered by the need for a warrant.

Issues include erosion . . . [more]

Many interested stakeholders who participated in the AODA consultation process from February 1, 2011 to March 18, 2011 are very concerned about the timelines and a number of the requirements related to the implementation of the transportation standard. The cost implications for the transportation standard are believed to be significant. Provisional estimates, for certain smaller transit systems, would see the annual ongoing operating costs equate to upwards of 50 percent of the current operating costs.

The employment standard under the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA) is found under part III in the Proposed Integrated Accessibility Regulation (PIAR), which is slated to become law around July 2011 (not confirmed). This standard requires an organization that is an employer to engage in the proactive identification, removal and prevention of barriers hindering the full participation in employment of persons with disabilities. It also requires that organization to have policies and procedures for establishing individual accommodation plans where barriers cannot be removed proactively, shifting the onus from the individual who needs the accommodation to the person who . . . [more]

Whatever you may think of the current election, the law regulating it is a significant piece of legislation, comprising some 22 parts, three schedules, and 577 sections. The Canada Elections Act sets out the ground rules — who may vote, how they must do it, how one becomes a candidate, and who counts the ballots, etc. Much of this is almost routine for us, particularly given the fact that we’ve had four federal elections in six years. But some of what’s in the act is not the stuff of news chat, and so I thought it might be amusing to . . . [more]

This post will focus on the specific requirements under the AODA Information and Communication Standard. The Information and Communications Standard (Part 11 of the PIAR) focuses on accessible information and communications relating to the provision of goods and services. The definition of “information and communication” is very broad and can include such things as websites, brochures, flyers, invoices, order forms, feedback forms, complaint forms, telephone calls, marketing materials, etc. The main goal of the standard is to promote inclusive design of information and communication platforms and to specify requirements to prevent and remove barriers to persons with disabilities when creating, conveying, distributing, procuring and receiving information and communication to and from your organization.

This is a follow up on a previous blog post on Bill C-35, An Act to amend the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act to regulate immigration consultants. While Bill C-35 is not yet law (passed third reading in the House of Commons and on March 10, 2011 was at report presentation and debate stage in the Senate), the Governor in Council launched a public selection process which began in August 2010, to establish a new regulatory body for immigration consultants in Canada. On March 18, 2011, the Governor in Council announced that the Immigration Consultants of Canada Regulatory Council . . . [more]

People have not been paying much attention to the application of standards under the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA); however, they are coming soon, are complex and require understanding and preparation. In the first part of this post, we discussed the Accessibility Standards for Customer Service (Ontario Regulation 429/07). Now, will take a look at what’s coming next, the Proposed Integrated Accessibility Regulation.

David Canton and Simon Fodden have both described ways in which Bill C-28 (FISA – the “Anti-Spam Act”) could affect businesses in unanticipated ways.

Stéphane Caïdi of Fasken Martineau introduces in The Gazzette yet another – the use of social media,

Businesses should, therefore, take warning that this law will apply not only to electronic mail, but to any type of communication technology or means, including social networking media such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and promotional or advertising messages that are sent to users on their cellphones.

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If you have been to Halifax, then you have seen the Citadel. The Halifax Citadel is a rather distinguishing feature of the capital of Nova Scotia, in fact it would be safe to say that the existence of the Citadel was the reason for the creation of the municipality known as Halifax. Technically; however, the citadel does not belong to Halifax, it is federal land, specifically a national historic site. Therein, lies the crux of a long simmering dispute between the Halifax Regional Municipality and the Federal Government that is heading to the SCC.

In short, the municipality feels . . . [more]

The AODA customer service standard outlines what businesses and other organizations in Ontario must do to make their goods and services more accessible to people with disabilities. Every person or organization that provides goods and services to members of the public or other third parties, and has at least one employee in Ontario, must comply; this includes law firms.

Since I’m in rural Spain, I’ve no facilities for lengthy posts, so three pointers to interesting items from elsewhere in the world.

Let’s start with the best legal research sites you’ve never heard of. In an interview with LegallyIndia today, the ILS Pune Mooting Team – on their way to DC for the Jessup moot – were asked what research databases they used. Here is the answer:

MPL: How many online databases did you use for mooting research? Which, according to you, is the best online legal database?

Madhupreetha: Westlaw, Lexisnexis, Maxplanck, Oxford reports and Oxford Scholarship online were some

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The issues of prayers and religious symbols in provincial legislatures and municipal councils; religious-based schools and practices; and Canada as a multicultural country have caused widespread debate in Quebec and across Canada of late. You can hardly open a newspaper or listen to a news report and not catch at least one instance of it. Furthermore, with the recent increase in immigration, many Quebecers—and Canadians—are trying to define their identify: what does it mean to be a citizen of Quebec and a citizen of Canada? It has become a national issue!