The title of this post might sound straightforward, but discussions on measuring impact in research can be confounding. 

Much of what is already written about research impact, and many of the tools that are developed to measure it, focus on the STEM and social science disciplines. These tools have been more widely developed and used for scientific research due to the significant pressure in the sciences to provide measures of impact in grant evaluations, hiring, tenure and promotion, and reputation. Measurements of impact can also be used at the institutional level too for university rankings, to support program funding, and . . . [more]

Negligence is determined by a standard of care that a relevant prudent person would undertake, rather than the results that such a theoretical person would seek to attain or avoid.

Although Canada initially inherited the reasonable person standard from England in Vaughn v. Menlove, 1837 132 ER 490, it has developed significantly since that time. It as not, however, made exceptions for mental illness as in Vaughn, but has created a number of other exceptions, most notably for experts and professionals.

The standard set by the Ontario Court of Appeal in Crits v. Sylvester, and affirmed on appeal . . . [more]

Every week we present the summary of a decision handed down by a Québec court provided to us by SOQUIJ and considered to be of interest to our readers throughout Canada. SOQUIJ is attached to the Québec Department of Justice and collects, analyzes, enriches, and disseminates legal information in Québec.

COMMERCIAL (DROIT) : La demanderesse aura droit à 320 000 $ à la suite du dévoilement à ses concurrents, par la défenderesse, de ses secrets commerciaux dans le cadre d’un appel d’offres.

Intitulé : Equisoft inc. c. Éditions Protégez-Vous, 2021 QCCS 526
Juridiction : Cour supérieure (C.S.), Montréal
Décision de . . . [more]

One Sunday each month we bring you a summary from Supreme Advocacy LLP of recent decisions at the Supreme Court of Canada. Supreme Advocacy LLP offers a weekly electronic newsletter, Supreme Advocacy Letter, to which you may subscribe. It’s a summary of all Appeals, Oral Judgments and Leaves to Appeal granted from February 6 – March 12, 2021 inclusive.

Appeals

Criminal Law: Jury Selection Process; Curative Proviso
R. v. Esseghaier, 2019 ONCA 672; 2021 SCC 9 (38861)

The curative proviso in s. 686(1) (b)(iv) can be applied to cure jury selection errors, as here where both statutory . . . [more]

By Lewis Waring, Paralegal and Student-at-Law, Editor, First Reference Inc.

In Sole Cleaning Inc v Chu (“Chu”), an individual’s disparaging social media statements about her former employer were found not to be defamatory. Chu illustrates the way the legal system may from time to time, respond to digitally published statements that disparage an organization that may indeed have negative effects on that organization’s business. In short, Ontario law may allow individual disparaging comments about the former employer and only prohibit such statements in rare cases. This high standard reflects the value that Ontario places on protecting free speech, particularly in . . . [more]

Each Friday, we share the latest job listings from Slaw Jobs, which features employment opportunities from across the country. Find out more about these positions by following the links below, or learn how you can use Slaw Jobs to gain valuable exposure for your job ads, while supporting the great Canadian legal commentary at Slaw.ca.

Current postings on Slaw Jobs:

• Director, People and Culture (Full-time) | Remote/Vancouver, BC
  (Ecojustice)

*These characters are fictional. Any resemblance is purely accidental. This is humour.

1. The pick’m-up-truck-driving small town litigator

Small’s number is written on the local jail cell wall. Besides the odd vacation and discovery, Small’s only ever known this little town with one traffic light. Small pulled some strings to get the county judge’s kid a try-out on the hockey team. The court registrar, bailiff, trial coordinator, and, heck, all the staff, know Small on a first name basis. Small doesn’t go through security because Small has a key to the side door into the library. At the hearing Small . . . [more]

It is very difficult to read about the suffering of someone you admire and care about. And yet, when I finished Julie Macfarlane’s new book, “Going Public”, the story of her experiences of sexual abuse and violence, I felt enlightened and uplifted.

Why? I think it is because Julie is vulnerable about her experiences AND uses her professional wisdom, insight and experience to put her stories into a larger context.

“Vulnerability is our most accurate measurement of courage.” Brené Brown

This book is important for many people and groups, including:

• Survivors, their families and those supporting them
• Professionals

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.

National Security Law, 2e

Editors: Craig Forcese & Leah West
ISBN: Print (Paperback): 9781552215517
Publisher: Irwin Law
Page Count: 800 pages
Publication Date: December 1, 2020
Regular Price: $75.00

Excerpt from pages 3–7; 23–29; 57–61 (citations omitted)

Chapter 1: Scope

This is a book about the law governing the Canadian state’s response . . . [more]

I recently looked at a book on my shelf called “The Internet Handbook for Canadian Lawyers” published in 1996. It’s rather amusing to look at it from today’s lens and see how much has changed in the last 25 years. It explains in detail topics that at the time were cutting edge, but today are second nature to children, or are long obsolete.

Section headings include: “What Exactly is the Internet?”, “Can the Internet do Something for my Practice?”, “Finding Good Stuff with Archie”, “The Mother Protocol – TCP/IP”, “Using Encryption Programs to Stop Snoopers”, and “Navigating Gopherspace”.

It says . . . [more]

Each Wednesday we tell you which three English-language cases and which French-language case have been the most viewed* on CanLII and we give you a small sense of what the cases are about.

For this last week:

1. Nahum v. Honeycomb Hospitality Inc., 2021 ONSC 1455 (CanLII)

[46] As I have noted, other courts have concluded, without evidence, that pregnancy creates difficulties for a person searching for employment. Justice Dambrot specifically found that he did not need evidence to reach that conclusion. This past judicial consideration supports the conclusion that it is open to me to take judicial notice . . . [more]