Last October, Newstalk 1010 in Toronto conducted a poll: 6 in 10 (61%) people in Toronto indicated they would be scared if they were “pulled over by a police officer for no apparent reason”.

Women, younger people, and those with the lowest income, were all most likely to report that they would be scared. A similar survey conducted in 2003 only demonstrated 34% of the population felt the same way.

Part of the reason for these feelings are that people in Toronto believe that our police officers don’t get punished for wrongdoing, receive preferred treatment when charged or conducting an . . . [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.

FISCALITÉ : Une entreprise et son administrateur unique, qui ont fait des déclarations fausses ou trompeuses en vue d’aider l’Hôpital général juif à réclamer des crédits et des remboursements de taxe sur les intrants, reçoivent des amendes totalisant 270 814 $, soit 200 % des montants de droits éludés; des . . . [more]

I often get asked “what kind of marketing should we do?” Or I’m asked to “just provide us with a bunch of great marketing ideas”. No time spent determining what the firm wants to look like in the future. No proper assessment of where they are today. No indication of what success would look like. And no commitment to doing what will be suggested. Just “fix me”. It’s a bit like a disgruntled teenager saying “make me popular, but don’t ask me to change anything about my looks, personality or actions”. I can do that. Give me several million dollars . . . [more]

On November 27, 2017, the Fair Workplaces, Better Jobs Act, 2017 (Bill 148) received royal assent and is now law. Bill 148 makes significant amendments to Ontario’s Employment Standards Act, 2000, Labour Relations Act, 1995 and the Occupational Health and Safety Act. The amendments are significant and have various implementation dates. This article deals with providing a timeline for provisions in force from the date of assent to January 1, 2019 under Ontario’s Employment Standards Act, 2000 (ESA) and the Occupational Health and Safety Act (OHSA). Changes to the Labour Relations Act, 1995 will be dealt with in . . . [more]

Canadian law societies operate under a public interest mandate. This premise is often presented without much fanfare or introspection – as a fait accompli, as a matter of common sense, as something always there and always having been there. And, to be sure, there is a way that this framing makes eminent sense. It’s a legal reality as reflected in legislation governing law societies. And, on a more conceptual level, if not for a concern for the public interest, why regulate lawyers at all?

However, once we peel back even a few layers of the onion skin, it quickly . . . [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. Pohl v Midtal, 2017 ABQB 711

[1] When a parent gives an adult child a joint interest in real property during his or her lifetime, can that gift include an irrevocable right of survivorship that has the effect of preventing the parent from later severing the joint tenancy?

(Check for commentary on CanLII Connects)

2. Saugeen First Nation v Ontario . . . [more]

The creation and maintenance of a state is an ongoing exercise in force. Without the force the state will not continue. There are many societies throughout history that existed quite well without one, and recently I’ve been thinking about how each of experiences the force of the state differently, now that virtually all people live in them. I recently read that no group of hunters and gatherers or pastoralists has ever willingly transitioned to settled life, because it makes them easier to control and tax [1], and there is a vivid description of the violence and political machinations required to . . . [more]

A reader in search of a new book could be forgiven for taking a pass on The Mighty Hughes. After all, what could be interesting about the life and times of a saint who was neither mutilated nor martyred?

Such a reader should think again.

The story of the life of Ted Hughes QC, OC is a tale of aggressive virtue. His pursuit of honest outcomes and dishonourable individuals has brought him respect and fame throughout Canada. In the pages of Craig McInnes’s biography, Hughes is depicted as a heroic figure who has, at times, brandished the sword of . . . [more]

The not-so-smart money has pushed the price of a Bitcoin well above US$6,000. The crash is inevitable. The first-mover “cryptocurrency” is based on an inefficient proof of work model designed for anonymous transactions on a public network. The next generation of blockhain developers, like those working on the Ethereum platform, are less interested in the ideology of anonymous transactions than the practicality of efficient business applications. Corporate adopters like the Enterprise Ethereum Alliance have already noted the pace of migration from anonymous public blockchain networks to a combination of public and permissioned private networks. Since “altcoin” currencies are not . . . [more]

The new iPhoneX is hot. So hot that in Hong Kong, where I’m currently located, they are selling them out of suitcases on the sidewalk for approximately CDN$2,000 and up (depending on the size).

One of the phone’s hottest features is that it allows for it to be unlocked, simply by looking at it. Here’s what Apple has to say about Face ID:

 

Much of our digital lives are stored on iPhone and it’s important to protect that information. In the same way that Touch ID revolutionized authentication using a fingerprint, Face ID revolutionizes authentication using facial recognition.