For all we’ve heard about the ills of the Canadian healthcare system during the debate about reform in the U.S., it’s worth noting that we still have some of the best outcomes in the entire world.

The CBC has an article today that shows a map of global life expectancies, and a link to a site by an American professor that allows a comparison of mortality risks.

We should be proud of what we’ve accomplished here. . . . [more]

Slaw readers crossing the US border should read closely the folloing statement issued this morning by Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano

For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
Contact: 202-282-8010

CBP Border Search of Electronic Devices Containing Information

(PDF, 10 pages – 4.87 MB)
ICE Border Searches of Electronic Media (PDF, 10 pages – 453 KB)
Privacy Impact Assessment: Border Searches of Electronic Information
(PDF, 51 pages – 6 MB)

Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Janet Napolitano today announced new directives to enhance and clarify oversight for searches of computers . . . [more]

On August 25, 2009, the Alberta Securities Commission dismissed an application by TransAlta Corporation to cease trade the shareholder rights plan of Canadian Hydro Developers Inc. The TransAlta take-over bid for Canadian Hydro Developers was scheduled to expire, unless extended, on August 27, 2009 and was effectively blocked by the rights plan. Although the impact of this decision will not be clear until the ASC releases its written reasons, it may be further evidence of a shift by the Canadian securities regulators towards providing boards of directors with greater deference in resisting unsolicited take-over bids.

Shareholder Rights Plans

Shareholder rights . . . [more]

The Ontario Government has recently passed innovative legislation to stimulate investment in renewable energy, green jobs and energy conservation and demand management. One of the key features of the Green Energy and Economy Act, 2009 (“GEA”) are “Feed in Tariffs” for renewable generation such as wind, solar, biomass and hydro-electric power. This regime of Feed in Tariffs for renewable power has proved successful for many European jurisdictions that have been leaders in the development of renewable power projects.

At the present time, the Ontario Ministry of Energy and Infrastructure is working hard to draft the key regulations to support the . . . [more]

[Editor update, Feb. 28, 2014: BASESwiki has migrated to ACCESS Facility: www.accessfacility.org]

The United Nations has launched a new alternative dispute resolution wiki on business and human rights called BASESwiki, the Business and Society Exploring Solutions wiki:

“It is a forum where anyone can share, access and discuss information about the non-judicial mechanisms and resources available around the world to help companies and their external stakeholders resolve disputes. It will be a resource for all stakeholders – companies, NGOs, mediators, lawyers, academics and government officials. It will be an interactive forum, built over time by and for its

Canada’s Minister of National Revenue recently announced the Canada Revenue Agency’s intention to audit certain Canadian sellers (so-called high volume “PowerSellers”) of products on eBay, which is the world’s largest global online marketplace. The Canadian tax authority, which has long been concerned about a lack of tax compliance in respect of electronic commerce, wants to determine if those sellers have properly reported the income earned from their online sales.

The Canada Revenue Agency’s decision to audit the eBay sellers follows a series of Federal Court decisions confirming the tax authority’s ability to force eBay’s Canadian companies to disclose the names . . . [more]

It is fashionable for class counsel to plead “waiver of tort” as a common issue alleged to be certifiable in product liability class actions. Waiver of tort refers to a plaintiff’s election at a common issues trial to have recovery quantified not by provable tort damages but rather by the defendant’s gain arising from the alleged tortious act.

As merits-based classes defined by injury are impermissible in common law provinces, waiver of tort is the glue to hold together a claim on behalf of all users of a product — without regard to whether it is defective or causes injury. . . . [more]

George Paul says that digital record keeping has caused an evidentiary crises of societal proportions and that it is our responsibility, as lawyers, to find a resolution – to find a way of effectively testing the authenticity of digital records so they do “what people expect them to do,” and so that truth is found and justice done.

The American Bar Association published Paul’s “Foundations of Digital Evidence” in 2008. Paul is an American trial lawyer from Arizona with a deep interest in the evidentiary implications of digital information. He was kind enough to provide short interview this week, . . . [more]

There are few things more secret within lawfirms than the process of determining equity partnership admission and partner compensation. Even if there are disputes they’re handled behind closed doors or in the leak-proof process of arbitration. There are only a handful of reported cases on such issues involving the largest firms.

Which makes the travails of McCarthy Tétrault particularly newsworthy – although the reactions of many managing partners may well be to thank the relevant deity that it wasn’t their firm.

A former McCarthy Tétrault lawyer is suing the firm for $12 million dollars over an equity partnership admission dispute. . . . [more]

A couple of stories this morning in the Globe and Mail illustrate the changing nature of the internet. One is the report that the blogger “outed” by Google plans to sue Google for breaching its fiduciary duty to protect her privacy (ignoring, apparently, that Google revealed her name in response to a court order). The other is that Wikipedia intends to add a layer of editorial review to its content. Both indicate that in some ways, attempts to regulate the internet are occurring, for good or ill, as needed. . . . [more]

It’s 11 p.m.. Do you know where YOUR employee is?

Hopefully not. But if she’s home connecting to work on her laptop or smart-phone, she may be running up an overtime tab. Along with dozens/hundreds of others in your organization.

Canada has already witnessed the migration of American-style employee class actions across the 49th parallel. Dara Fresco’s bid at CIBC, described in an article in The Star, got slapped down (see Fresco v. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, 2009 CanLII 31177 (ON S.C.). But Fresco’s taking that rejection to a higher Court, according to an article in . . . [more]

Class action settlements — perhaps a bit arcane for a blog post, but a gripper if you are defending a class action.

Class action proceedings can be lengthy. The certification process easily adds an extra two years to the proceeding. Not surprisingly, defendants peripheral to the plaintiff’s case often look for an early exit.

In conventional actions, plaintiffs often throw a wide net hoping to find one or more defendants at fault.

Class proceedings have called for different strategies. Plaintiff have the onus of constructing a case with common issues of liability or damages. The common issues must advance the . . . [more]