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.

PÉNAL (DROIT) : La réhabilitation amorcée par l’accusée, reconnue coupable de leurre, de contacts sexuels, de trafic de stupéfiants et de bris de probation, a été considérée à sa juste mesure par la juge de première instance, qui lui a imposé une peine globale de 18 mois d’emprisonnement; il convient . . . [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 Quantified Worker: Law and Technology in the Modern Workplace. By Ifeoma Ajunwa. Cambridge, U.K.: Cambridge University Press, 2023. xiv, 461 p. Includes bibliographic references, illustrations, and index. ISBN 9781316636954 (softcover) $39.95.

Reviewed by Alexandra Kwan
Digital Services and Reference Librarian
Bora Laskin Law Library
University of Toronto

The Quantified . . . [more]

The Crisis of Court and Tribunal Delays and the Loss of Faith in the Justice System

Timely delivery of justice is not just a legal ideal; it’s a societal necessity. In Canada, however, this ideal is increasingly out of reach due to mounting court and tribunal backlogs.[1] The Canadian justice system has long grappled with delays, but recent figures underscore a crisis of unprecedented proportions. Following the COVID-10 pandemic, courts and tribunals across the country have had to postpone a vast number of cases. As an example, data from the post-pandemic Tribunals Ontario 2021-22 Annual Report revealed that the . . . [more]

We complete surveys on a daily basis. You get assistance from Microsoft Support and they immediately ask you to complete an online survey. William Dalrymple and Anita Anand, the hosts of one of my favorite history podcasts, Empire, are currently asking their listeners to complete a survey to provide feedback on the show. You buy a product and get an email asking for a review, which is essentially a survey on the product. But it’s a crazy idea in law, am I right?

For those in private practice, sending a survey to your client about how much they liked . . . [more]

Contracts are integral to how institutions operate – from government, to banks, to non-profits, to commercial markets, and beyond. However, the past few years have rocked our understanding of how we work with contracts. The continuing effects of pandemic disruptions, rising prices, and the proliferation of artificial intelligence and blockchain are just some of the system-wide changes that have filtered down into the fundamentals of contracting.

Whether your role involves drafting, negotiating, enforcing, or litigating contracts, you need to be up to date on how contract law is changing today.

Make sure you’re prepared with OsgoodePD’s National Annual Symposium on . . . [more]

Artificial Intelligence (AI) has suddenly emerged as a disruptive force across numerous sectors, including the field of Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR). The integration of AI into the mediation process holds the promise of enhanced efficiency, reduced costs, and improved access to justice. However, at this stage, it is virtually impossible to fully grasp the potential impact on mediation, both in its immediate and long-term effects.

AI has been around since the 1950s and we are all familiar with it in one form or another. But GPT type AI is a different technology compared to earlier AI. It will change our . . . [more]

One Sunday each month we bring you a summary from Supreme Advocacy LLP of recent decisions at the Supreme Court of Canada. Supreme Advocacy LLP offers a weekly electronic newsletter, Supreme Advocacy Letter, to which you may subscribe. It’s a summary of all Appeals, Oral Judgments and Leaves to Appeal granted from August 21 – October 17, 2024 inclusive.

Appeals

Bankruptcy & Insolvency: Corporate Attribution; Fraud & No Benefit Exceptions
Aquino v. Bondfield Construction Co., 2022 ONCA 202; 2024 SCC 31 (40166)

The S.C.C. already established that the corporate attribution doctrine is not a “standalone” principle; there . . . [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.

PÉNAL (DROIT) : Dans le cadre de l’examen d’une requête de type Jordan, il semble inapproprié d’attribuer un délai présomptif afin de tenir compte de l’effet de la pandémie de la COVID-19 sur la progression des dossiers après la réouverture des tribunaux; la Cour rejette l’appel du jugement de la . . . [more]

In 2019, The Strand bookstore in New York and the building it inhabits were granted heritage status by the city’s Landmarks Preservation Commission, and they threatened to sue the city in response (the story was widely reported, here is a story from the Guardian). The owner’s concern was that the administrative requirements associated with the designation would be onerous and that the bookstore might not be viable with them. They said this is especially relevant given the competition from online retailers like Amazon.

The Strand is still in business, but the reason this matters here is recognizing that legal . . . [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.

Heenan Blaikie : the making and unmaking of a great Canadian law firm

Author: Adam Dodek
Publisher: UBC Press
Series: Law and society series (Vancouver, B.C.)
Publication Date: October 15, 2024
ISBN 9780774870733 (hardcover) | ISBN 978077487076 4 (EPUB) | ISBN 9780774870757 (PDF)
Page count: 396 pages; 6 x 9

Excerpt: Prologue, . . . [more]

Across Canada, our justice system is under attack. In British Columbia, the New Democratic Party is erasing the law society, eliminating with it the independence of lawyers. In Alberta, the United Conservative Party sought to cease funding to legal aid – which funds individuals and families who stand at and below the poverty line and cannot afford justice otherwise – and continues to negotiate further oversight and restrictions to limit its reach. In Manitoba, the New Democratic Party removed a politician from caucus when it was discovered he had a connection to a lawyer who represented an accused, despite breaking . . . [more]