The Canadian government has now announced that October 3, 2022, is the date on which significant changes to the Canadian Patent Rules, which we had previously reported, will come into force. The changes will streamline examination procedures by instituting excess claims fees, by instituting a procedure for requesting continued examination, and by introducing conditional notices …
Snowbirds Purchasing United States Real Estate
Given our winter climate, many Canadians choose to be “Snowbirds” and buy a property to spend the winter in warmer climates in the United States (“US”). Once that decision is made as to where and what, the structure of the purchase must be considered, so as not to run afoul of or be adversely impacted …
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Canada Denounces Russian Military Actions and Announces New Sanctions on Russia in Response to Escalation in Ukraine (Updated as of March 4, 2022)
On February 22, 2022, the Government of Canada announced that it was enacting new sanctions against Russia, one day after Russian President Vladimir Putin sent Russian troops into Donetsk and Luhansk (two separatist regions in Eastern Ukraine) and Russia’s Parliament (“Russian State Duma”) formally recognized the independence of Donetsk and Luhansk. The new sanctions under the Special …
Defamation Claim Against Premier Ford Slapped Down
In Blair v. Ford, 2021 ONCA 841, Brad Blair (“Blair”) appealed the decision of Justice Belobaba to dismiss Blair’s action against Premier Doug Ford (“Ford”) on the basis that it was a strategic lawsuit against public participation (“SLAPP”). The Court of Appeal dismissed Blair’s appeal and upheld the decision of Justice Belobaba. This is another …
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Bad Reviews – Defamation or Not?
With social media, the number of defamation cases has increased. What is defamation? In a nutshell, it means that someone has written something about you that jeopardizes your reputation. Take the following example: “The restaurant at “X” is terrible, and I encountered food poisoning last time I was there”. Suppose the owner of the restaurant …
Egregious Contempt Punished Severely
A. Introduction In Paramount Fine Foods v Johnston,[1] the Ontario Superior Court of Justice (the “Court”) sentenced the defendant, Kevin J. Johnston (“Johnston”), to 18 months in prison for six acts of contempt arising from his breaches of a permanent injunction. This decision demonstrates that Ontario judges are not reluctant to impose severe penalties for …
Damages for Identity Theft? Think Again.
In today’s day and age, data breaches are common. Digital extortionists will use sophisticated techniques to obtain confidential and private information of millions of individuals from well-known platforms like Yahoo and Shopify. If you are a victim of such an attack, the question becomes: what damages are you entitled to? Unfortunately, a recent decision by …
Recent Developments in Ontario Employment Law
On August 20, 2021 the Medical Officer of Health for Toronto issued a “strong recommendation” that every local business implements a COVID-19 vaccination policy. The City of Toronto has also provided guidance on the key components of such a policy. On August 24, 2021, O. Reg 364/20, Rules for Areas at Step 3 and at …
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Consumer Privacy Protection – What It Means for Cross-Border Businesses
As a cross border firm, we are legally “bilingual”. Meaning, we translate and interpret the requirements of U.S., Canadian, EU and other international privacy requirements into a comprehensible format for our clients. For example, from the Canadian perspective, we focus on “personal information”, from the EU perspective, the focus is on “personal data”, and both …
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Everybody Is Jumping on the Privacy Update Bandwagon: Alberta Consulting on Critical Updates to its Privacy Laws
The province of Alberta has joined the Canadian Federal Government and a number of the other Canadian provinces, proposing to update its privacy laws. Currently, Alberta’s legal privacy framework includes the Personal Information Protection Act (PIPA) and the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (FOIP). These laws govern the collection, use, and disclosure …