In recent years, brick-and-mortar businesses faced hardship with government shutdowns forcing them to pay expenses without revenue. Desperate for relief, tenants sought court help but were consistently denied and required to pay rent regardless. Refer to my previous column for more on this matter. Though it may appear that landlords emerged as winners when tenants …
Lawyers and Business Owners Beware! New Decision Threatens to Make Asset Protection More Difficult
Business owners often use a strategy to protect their assets from potential creditors seeking to realize on their debts. To protect themselves, business owners can transfer ownership of property to family members or create other legal structures to shield assets. However, these strategies (often referred to as “creditor-proofing”) are subject to scrutiny under legislation like …
A Payment Plan Does Not Equal a New Contract
When parties enter into a transactional contract, they are free to enter into a payment plan agreement for outstanding debt owed under the contract. However, the payment plan itself does not necessarily mean that the parties have entered into a new binding contract. Such was the case in Songbird Life Sciences Inc. v. Connectus Services …
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Canada Amends Prohibition on Foreigners Acquiring Residential Real Estate to Protect Investment and Development Deals
This column was originally published by Daniel Waldman on the Real Estate News Exchange (Renx.ca). At the beginning of the year, a new statute was introduced to address housing supply woes for Canadian citizens. However, after a few short months, the legislation has inadvertently sunk a number of development and real estate investment deals and …
U.S. Marketing Materials Can and Will Be Used Against You in a Canadian Court
Health Canada determined that Texas-based LE-VEL BRANDS, LLC (“Le-Vel”), broke the law by selling its weight loss products to Canadians without seeking product licenses for their natural health products. The products had been distributed in Canada for some time, and Health Canada had flagged no health concerns. In deciding to issue a stop-sale order, Health Canada relied upon …
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A Bridge Too Far: Liability in Ontario for “Intrusion Upon Seclusion” Limited
The Ontario Court of Appeal (the “Court”) recently released three decisions in class actions about expanding on the tort of intrusion upon seclusion. The Court limited the tort’s application, particularly concerning parties who do not commit the “intrusion.” This is consistent with other recent Ontario decisions, including another appeal decision in a class action recently …
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Canada Introduces New Prohibition on Foreigners Purchasing Residential Real Estate: What You Should Know And How to Protect Yourself
This column was originally published by Daniel Waldman on the Real Estate News Exchange (Renx.ca). In the latest attempt to curb the price of residential real estate in Canada, Parliament has introduced a new statute aimed at making housing more affordable and accessible to Canadians. The Prohibition on the Purchase of Residential Property by Non-Canadians Act, S.C. …
Two New Decisions Shed Light on When Claims Can (and Cannot) Be Commenced
If you ask most lawyers and potential litigants which issue causes them to lose the most sleep at night, the answer will most often be missing a limitation period. After all, no matter how much money is at stake in a lawsuit or no matter how egregious the facts are if a claim is not …
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2023 HR Checklist for Ontario Employers
New for 2023 Effective January 1, 2023, private companies incorporated in Ontario must establish and maintain a Register of individuals with significant control (“ISCs”). Significant Control means a direct or indirect interest in a significant number of corporation shares. Significant Number means shares carrying 25% or more of all voting rights or 25% or more …
Good News for Creators: Canada Extends Copyright Term
Just under the wire, before the end of 2022, Canada enacted a significant change to its copyright law. December 30 was fixed[1] as the day on which section 281 of the Budget Implementation Act, 2022, No. 1 came into force. The result: copyright protection under the Copyright Act of Canada was extended from 50 years …
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