On Nov. 21, 2018, Finance Minister Bill Morneau provided the 2018 fiscal update, which includes nearly $600 million in tax credits and incentives over the next 5 years for the media, as well as a temporary tax credit for subscribers to digital news media sites. Non-profit media organizations will be eligible for charitable status and may receive funding from other registered charities.

The role of the media within our legal system is emphasized in our constitution. Though commonly referred to as simply “freedom of speech,” the Charter‘s expressive guarantee under s. 2(b) is slightly more refined as,

freedom

One Sunday each month OnPoint Legal Research provides Slaw with an extended summary of, and counsel’s commentary on, an important case from the British Columbia, Alberta, or Ontario court of appeal.

Johnson v Goyette, 2018 ABCA 353

AREAS OF LAW: Family law; Unjust enrichment; Joint family venture

~A trial judge’s finding on whether a joint family venture exists is a factual one, reviewable only for palpable and overriding error.~

BACKGROUND
The Appellant, Sandra Johnson, and the Respondent, Danielle Goyette, were in a 13-year common-law relationship. The Respondent was a professional hockey player and competed in three Olympic Games. The . . . [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.

Tout comme dans Chiasson c. Fillion (C.S., 2005-04-11), SOQUIJ AZ-50307092, J.E. 2005-757, [2005] R.J.Q. 1066, [2005] R.R.A. 459, la demanderesse a été victime d’un harcèlement systématique, caractérisé par une longue campagne de dénigrement basée sur des moqueries sur son apparence, la seule distinction étant que les injures, les menaces et . . . [more]

Planning – any planning – is better than doing none at all. For this reason, I encourage lawyers to engage in whatever level of complexity of planning they can muster. If that means spending a lunch hour talking about business goals with your partners, or writing down a few goals on a napkin, so be it. But for those who truly understand the value of focussed planning, I encourage you to go a step further to begin to truly manage your resources and take control of your business operations. You can do this by evolving, over time, the type of . . . [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.

The Law and Practice of Workplace Investigations. By Gillian Shearer. Toronto: Emond, 2016. xvii, 169 p. ISBN: 9781772551082 (softcover) $99.00.

Reviewed by Heather Wylie
Law Librarian
Alberta Law Libraries
In CLLR 43:1

The Law and Practice of Workplace Investigations is a welcome addition to the Emond Professional Employment Law Series, . . . [more]

An important resource for those who study the impact of data breaches is updated for 2018. The 2018 Cost of Data Breach Study: A Global Overview was released by Ponemon Institute, LLC.

The Ponemon Study covers numerous countries and includes a continuing focus on Canada. Some Canadian statistics show the financial impact of data breaches.

Globally, Canada has the highest direct costs from a breach at $81 USD per record including such items as engaging forensic experts, specialist law firm assistance, purchase of identity protection services and the like. Also Canada had the second highest indirect costs at $116 USD . . . [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. R. v. Acheampong, 2018 ONCJ 798

[72] The racialized context of the excessive use of force in this case also weighs in favour of a measurable reduction in sentence. While I accept that the actions of the police officers in this case were in no way influenced by any element of racism, there remains a perception of two armed white police . . . [more]

[See the full text article for this summary on the SSRN, using the same title]

Law societies are not trying to solve the A2J problem, but instead provide “alternative legal services”[1] that merely help that majority of the population that cannot afford legal services learn to live with the problem. That is inevitable because of the operative concept of a bencher[2] and the institutional culture of our law societies, i.e., they do only that which is compatible with that concept and with what they have always done, which does not include the affordability of . . . [more]

Here are excerpts from the most recent tips on SlawTips, the site that each week offers up useful advice, short and to the point, on practice, research, writing and technology.

Technology

Speed Up Your Computer by Dealing With Energy Hogs
Luigi Benetton

Are you reading this post on a computer that has slowed down significantly? To the point that you want to replace it? Before you whip out your credit card, try a few simple things on your computer. You might make it more useable without spending a dime. I’ve already posted two ways you can improve your computer’s . . . [more]

As more scholars are looking at doing statistical of case law, I wanted to give some advice on how to do that given the way court decisions are written and published.

The first thing to understand about a dataset of case law is that it is not representative of a sample of all the matters that appear before the courts. Jury verdicts and many oral reasons in various areas of law are never written down, so they are not distributed to CanLII and other publishers. This is particularly common for routine issues in areas law like criminal, family, or small . . . [more]

This is an important decision for everyone who comes across equitable relief in their practice.

In March 2017 a divided panel of the Ontario Court of Appeal in Moore v. Sweet overturned a finding of unjust enrichment on the ground there was a “juristic reason” for the enrichment. The decision was appealed. On 23 November 2018 the Supreme Court of Canada, splitting 6-2, applying precisely the same legal test, found there was there was no “juristic reason” for the enrichment, and restored the unjust enrichment remedy awarded at first instance.

The facts of the case are simple.

During their marriage . . . [more]