On December 1, 2020, Dr. Sott Atlas resigned his position as “special advisor [on the coronavirus] to the president of the United States.” Many of us breathed a sigh of relief, if through our masks. After all, my Stanford colleagues had voted for a faculty senate resolution, that condemned this Stanford-affiliated man’s “disdain for established medical knowledge.” To take but one example I’ll return to below, Atlas had tweeted “Masks work? NO,” citing Oxford Professor Carl Heneghan.

What Atlas illustrates for me, as a long-time advocate of open access to research and scholarship, is a cautionary result of this . . . [more]

Twitter has received a lot of public attention recently, most notably for banning the President of the United States from using the platform. 

A new decision by the British Columbia Supreme Court in Giustra v. Twitter, Inc. concluded that the court has jurisdiction simpliciter over the platform, and that the Canadian courts were a forum conviens for the purposes of litigation.

The plaintiff had strong connections to both British Columbia and California, the latter also being the location of the defendant and all of its documents.

The allegedly defamatory content related to various conspiracies touted by the far-right, also known . . . [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.

ACTION COLLECTIVE (RECOURS COLLECTIF) : Contrairement aux prétentions des appelantes, le recours de l’intimée n’est pas prescrit car, depuis la modification de l’article 2926.1 C.C.Q. en juin 2020, le recours de la victime d’un préjudice corporel résultant d’une agression à caractère sexuel est imprescriptible, et ce, sans égard à tout . . . [more]

One size does not fit all.

A simple survey of the measures put in place so that the justice system may continue operating in spite of restrictive measures to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 will bear that out.

Virtual hearings have been a lifesaver for some proceedings. But while they may have increased opportunities for some individuals – making it easier to attend court, for example, by reducing travel time, costs and need for childcare – for others they presented more challenges.

When the pandemic was declared and physical-distancing measures instituted, Canadian courts, administrative tribunals and other dispute resolution bodies . . . [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:

• Legislative Affairs Specialist (Full-time) | Remote/within commuting distance to Victoria, BC
  (Ecojustice)
• Research Resources and Inclusivity Initiatives Librarian (Full-time) | Ithaca, New York
  (Cornell University Law Library)

How does one describe the legal dimensions of what happened last week as a violent rightwing mob incited by the American President assaulted the US Capitol in Washington, D.C.?

What words or phrases can one even begin to apply to such a wide range of criminal acts committed that day? An acquaintance of mine quipped last week: “What can the rioters be charged with? Do you have a copy of the US Code?”

There are many resources from American scholars, legal analysts and independent sources such as the Congressional Research Service to help readers start to unpack the many concepts . . . [more]

By Daniel Standing LL.B., Editor, First Reference Inc.

The recent New Brunswick labour arbitration decision in Unifor, Local 907 and J.B. v Irving Paper Limited, 2020 CanLII 38613 (NB LA) tells the unfortunate tale of an alcoholic’s losing battle to overcome his addiction and losing his job in the process. The decision provides helpful insights into how far an employer can or should go in accommodating this disability. The decision will be of particular interest to employers who operate safety-sensitive operations, and to employees who may be uncertain of the role they must play in the search for a . . . [more]

This is my first legal ethics column for Slaw. I am delighted and honoured to be taking the place of my former colleague, mentor, and all-around legal ethics and regulation rock star, Malcolm Mercer, who recently assumed the role of Chair of Ontario’s Law Society Tribunal. In the coming months and beyond, I look forward to using this space to consider rules of professional conduct and discipline; governance issues in lawyer regulation; legal education and training; and the future of legal services provision. But before diving into these topics, I propose to take a step back and first consider . . . [more]

Several times each month, we are pleased to republish a recent book review from the Canadian Law Library Review (CLLR). CLLR is the official journal of the Canadian Association of Law Libraries (CALL/ACBD), and its reviews cover both practice-oriented and academic publications related to the law.

Indigenous Water Rights in Law and Regulation: Lessons from Comparative Experience. By Elizabeth Jane Macpherson. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2019. xi, 291 p. Includes bibliographic references, index, and glossary. ISBN 978-1-108-47306-4 (hardcover) $126.95; ISBN 978-1-108-61109-1 (eBook via Cambridge Core) US$140.00.

Reviewed by Nadine Hoffman
Natural Resources, Energy & Environmental Librarian . . . [more]

The ability of Big Tech companies to shut out one of the world’s loudest men, Donald Trump, is astonishing. The events of last week, including the mob storming the U.S. Capitol building, forces us to ask how should we regulate Big Tech?

In the Harvard Business Review “How to Hold Social Media Accountable for Undermining Democracy”, Yael Eisenstat points out that simply silencing Donald Trump is not enough. The response “fails to address how millions of Americans have been drawn into conspiracy theories online”.

Eisenstat argues that social media companies are curating content that decides what speech to . . . [more]

Continuing with our theme of learning from failures – ours or others’ – let’s look at how you can make your project fail in ways related to client (mis)-management.

This column is #2 in a series, following up on October’s failures of project leadership. Again, these points of failure are based on excerpts of a book I’m working on, Pass the Blame! And 99 Other Ways to Screw Up Your Projects.

4. Misunderstand the Business Problem

Unless your specialty is criminal law, your clients come to you because they have business problems.

Sure, those problems (usually) have a . . . [more]