The CRTC released a compliance and enforcement decision, CRTC 2016-428, October 26, 2016 in which it found that Blackstone Learning Corp. (Blackstone) committed nine violations of paragraph 6(1)(a) of Canada’s Anti-Spam Legislation (CASL) by sending commercial electronic messages (CEMs) without consent, and imposed an administrative monetary penalty of $50,000 on Blackstone.

The decision is noteworthy as it give more details and analysis than the CRTC’s prior press releases of enforcement action. As a result, it give a glimpse into the process used by the CRTC in an enforcement action. Importantly, it also confirms the CRTC views on the requirements to . . . [more]

The Supreme Court of Canada, in Royal Bank v Trang, made a privacy decision that will bring a sigh of relief to lenders and creditors.

A judgment creditor asked the sheriff to seize and sell a house to satisfy the judgment. To do that, the sheriff needed to know how much was owed on the mortgage on the house. The mortgage lender didn’t have express consent to provide the information, and said PIPEDA prevented it from giving it. Lower courts agreed.

But the SCC took a more practical approach. The issue was whether there was implied consent to release . . . [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. Ontario (Disability Support Program) v. Tranchemontagne, 2010 ONCA 593

[2] For both men, the impact of their alcoholism was so severe that they satisfied the criteria in s. 4 of the ODSPA for being disabled. However, the Director of the Ontario Disability Support Program (“ODSP”) denied the respondents’ applications for disability benefits based on s. 5(2) of the ODSPA. That section . . . [more]

People are inherently lazy. After all, why do something today that you can put off until tomorrow? Users hate to do anything that would slow down their access to their computer or data. That means they would much rather just sit at a keyboard and start to surf the Internet instead of entering logon credentials and then entering a second factor. How many times have you been tired of the constant password changes only to resort to using one you know you’ll remember and have previously used? Didn’t feel like creating a new account so passed on that online purchase? . . . [more]

In a rather unusual case, an Ontario Superior Court judge has set aside a default judgment that was obtained at an uncontested trial where the defendant intentionally decided not to show up.

In September, 2015 the lawsuit was set down for trial for the week of April 18, 2016. In the first week of March, 2016, the defendant’s lawyer informed her that they would not represent her at trial and the defendant signed a Notice of Intention to Act in Person shortly thereafter.

The defendant tried to obtain new counsel without success from March 4 to March 18. She then . . . [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

The Research Log
Karen Sawatzky

Today’s tip is courtesy of Melanie Bueckert, legal researcher extraordinaire at the Manitoba Court of Appeal via Brian Roach, articling student at Tapper Cuddy LLP. The Research Log (well deserving of its capitalization) is a deceptively simple template that forces the legal researcher to document all sources consulted and note what about that source was of importance. …

Practice

Why Public Wi-Fi . . . [more]

If you read a little bit of sarcasm in the title, you read it correctly. Law firm marketers across the country are scrutinizing recently released business law firm rankings, while growing increasingly anxious about looming submission deadlines in mid-December. It’s an intense time of year, one that makes many of us question the value of participating in various rankings processes.

But given that firms of all sizes are paying more attention to rankings than ever before, the perception of the value of rankings, particularly when aggregated across a firm, remains high. Many firms are developing specific strategies and devoting greater . . . [more]

This article suggests that the Internet of Things could be made more secure if large buyers of interconnected devices put into their procurement specs some fairly simple rules, e.g. *some* security to start with, e.g. an adjustable password, and patchability to respond to known or discovered threats.

Does this sound right to you? Do your clients insist, or even care?

No doubt large-scale one-off procurement contracts deal with security – well, I hope they do – but what about procurements on more of a mass scale?

I heard of a study over three years ago that found a huge proportion . . . [more]

With such a large amount of claims prevention information available in LAWPRO Magazine articles and practicePRO resources, we had the idea to create simple fact sheets that CPD providers and others could use in developing their program material for specific areas of law. The latest in our series of “malpractice claims fact sheets” covers corporate/commercial law.

The fact sheets include quick claims facts, the main causes of claims against lawyers, hot topics in the particular areas of law, tips for avoiding claims and links to practicePRO resources. The sheets can also be used as program inserts in their own right. . . . [more]

In late September leaders from legal, business and technology gathered in New Orleans at Clio Con, also know as the Clio Cloud Conference.* Andrew Arruda, ‎CEO and Co-Founder of ROSS Intelligence, delivered a talk called, “Artificial Intelligence and the Law: Science Fiction or Science Fact?”

Arruda sets out to clarify some of the misconceptions that surround artificial intelligence and demonstrate how AI is currently being used. He provides examples of AI inside and outside of the legal environment and concludes that if it’s working elsewhere it can work for law too. He then talks . . . [more]

Each Monday we present brief excerpts of recent posts from five of Canada’s award­-winning legal blogs chosen at random* from seventy recent Clawbie winners. In this way we hope to promote their work, with their permission, to as wide an audience as possible.

This week the randomly selected blogs are 1. Canadian Appeals Monitor  2. The Court 3. Eloïse Gratton  4. AvoidAClaim  5. Michael Geist

Canadian Appeals Monitor
Policyholders stay tuned: final word on the LEG 2/96 defective workmanship exclusion yet to come

As we reported here, the BC Court of Appeal in Acciona Infrastructure Canada Inc. v. Allianz Global . . . [more]

This might be one of the more important things you read. It’s purpose is to direct you to a submission to the Law Society of NSW Future of Law & Innovation in the Profession (FLIP) Commission of Inquiry. Robyn Bradey is a mental health consultant to the Law Society, NSW Legal Aid and other organisations. Her submission is among the many excellent videos to . This one should be compulsory viewing for every lawyer, and their management teams.

Robyn is testament to the benefits of a culture of diversity, and the foresight of those driving FLIP which also saw speakers . . . [more]