The civil (private) law system serves an important function in the resolution of disputes between individuals. Essential to this resolution is some protection from outside interference by external interests. Regulation of these relationships have changed over the years, where work would be done in advance by a lawyer on a promise of recovery, but is still limited in many ways across Canada.

The common law prohibited champetry, bargains by a stranger to a suit in consideration of proceeds; maintenance, meddling in a suit by maintaining or assisting a party; and barratry, an offence of exciting and stirring up quarrels in . . . [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.

PROTECTION DU CONSOMMATEUR : La juge de première instance n’a pas erré en concluant que Vidéotron a commis une pratique interdite en omettant d’expliquer clairement à ses abonnés la méthode de calcul des frais liés au Fonds pour l’amélioration de la programmation locale; toutefois, les dommages punitifs qu’elle doit verser . . . [more]

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.

WOMEN IN CRIMINAL JUSTICE: TRUE CASES BY AND ABOUT CANADIAN WOMEN AND THE LAW

Authors: Susan Lang , Nancy Morrison, Lise Maisonneuve, Danielle Coté, Iona Jaffe, Kim Pate, Jennifer Briscoe, Catherine Dunn, Kaysi Fagan, Deborah Hatch, Karen Hudson, Barbara Jackman, Lucie Joncas, Susan Kyle, Jill Presser, Rosellen Sullivan, Jennifer Trehearne

Foreword by: . . . [more]

By Order in Council 2018-0369 on March 26, 2018, mandatory breach notification under the federal Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA), comes in force November 1, 2018 for to all entities subject to its jurisdiction.

The PIPEDA rules follow Alberta’s leadership, which has had mandatory breach notification for 8 years. In Canada, provincial health privacy laws in Ontario, New Brunswick and Newfoundland and Labrador also contain reporting requirements. Most US states have mandatory breach notification requirements. It is recognized that notification of the affected individuals is a key factor in mitigation of risk in instances of cyber . . . [more]

I became a Foreign Law Librarian by accident. I didn’t plan on being one. Yet here I am. How did it happen? How did I come to specialize in foreign, comparative, and international law librarianship? What’s it like to be an FCIL librarian? What are the career paths of FCIL librarians generally? Should you become a Foreign Law Librarian?

My general plan after I decided I wanted to be a law librarian was to work as a general legal reference librarian in an academic law library. In order to do that, I needed a library science degree and a law . . . [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. Rankin (Rankin’s Garage & Sales) v. J.J., 2018 SCC 19

[1] A vehicle is stolen from a commercial garage. The vehicle is crashed. Someone is injured. Does the business owe a duty of care to the injured party? The question in this appeal is whether the courts below erred in recognizing a duty of care owed by a business that stores . . . [more]

Calls for access to justice improvements stress the importance of public-centered, multidisciplinary approaches. We know that in order to make the justice system more accessible, we need to diversify the problem solvers and our approaches. In response to this, The Action Group on Access to Justice (TAG) recently began working with Civic Tech Toronto in an effort to develop work that operates from the intersection of civic engagement, technology and law.

Civic Tech Toronto is a vibrant community-driven, volunteer organization that organizes weekly “meetups” where attendees learn about civic issues, share ideas and expertise, and develop solutions to civic challenges . . . [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 research, writing, and practice.

Research & Writing

Some Contractual Terms
Neil Guthrie

I generally stay away from drafting issues, but thought I’d mix things up a bit. Depositary and depository: Depositary in US contracts has always seemed wrong to me. Shouldn’t it be depository? No, in fact. The two words, while ‘often confounded’ (as the Oxford English Dictionary Online puts it), mean different things. …

Technology

New Mandatory Minimum Sentencing Online Resource
Alan Kilpatrick . . . [more]

Last month the Canadian Federation of Library Associations (CFLA-FCAB) issued a position statement on the treatment of indigenous knowledge in Canada’s Copyright Act. This three page position paper was prepared by the Indigenous Knowledge Protection Working Group operating under the CFLA-FCAB Indigenous Matters Committee. It provides background information, an analysis and a recommendation.

The issue, as framed in this paper, is as follows:

“Canada’s Copyright Act does not protect Indigenous knowledge, which may be found in published works as a result of research or appropriation. In Canadian law, the author of a published work holds the legal copyright

Nobody wanted to die. The life extension project raised millions with names of famous scientists and promises of ground-breaking research. Trustees earmarked the bulk of the money as a prize to the first researcher who solved the telomerase enzyme problem.

On the morning of January 2, 2020, two independent groups announced successful telomerase enhancement formulas. One was from Atlanta, and the other one from Singapore. The group that proved it was the first to record the formula would get $50 million to continue its research. Peer-reviewed publication was not relevant as both completed it at the same time. The only . . . [more]