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 …
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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Release of the Federal Budget, 2021
On Monday, April 19, 2021, Canada’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, Chrystia Freeland, released the first official budget in the past two years, titled, Federal Budget 2021: A Recovery Plan for Jobs, Growth, and Resilience (the “Budget”). The Budget proposed over $100 billion in spending, and, among the more significant measures, the Budget proposes extending …
Limitation Periods
Given the ongoing pandemic, many purchasers are unable to pay their vendors for products they received. Many vendors have tried their best to accommodate these purchasers by delaying payment dates or entering into payment plans. But what happens if the purchaser never pays? How much time does the vendor have to sue the purchaser for …
Federal Government Proposes Overhauling Canada’s Rules for Corporate Consumer Privacy Measures
Introduction On November 17, 2020, Canada’s federal government introduced a bill to enact new legislation to strengthen protections for individuals from privacy loss due to the failures and limitations of corporate consumer privacy measures. The proposed legislation, known as the Consumer Privacy Protection Act (“CPPA”), would be the first major overhaul of Canada’s privacy law …
Trezzi v. Trezzi: Can You Gift Assets You Do Not Own?
The Ontario Court of Appeal recently upheld a gift made to beneficiaries under a will, despite the assets being owned by a corporation, and not the deceased himself. This is an important decision that will affect estate planning and will construction. In particular, testamentary gifts that may previously have failed may now be valid. In …
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Onerous Conditions
In my previous blog (Volume 1, Number 2), I discussed the importance of reading contracts before signing them. As a refresher, if you sign a contract, you are generally bound by the terms of the contract even if you had not read the terms of the contract before you signed it. While this advice is …
Canada Sanctions Belarusian Officials for ‘Gross and Systematic Human Rights Violations’
On September 29, 2020, the Government of Canada imposed sanctions on several officials representing the Government of Belarus under the Special Economic Measures Act (SEMA), including Belarusian President Aleksandr Grigoryevich Lukashenko. According to Government Affairs Canada, the sanctions are part of a broader diplomatic effort in the wake of “a systematic campaign of repression and …
UPDATED: Ontario Court of Appeal Sends Employers Back to the Drafting Table … AGAIN!
On June 17, 2020, the Court of Appeal for Ontario released its decision in Waksdale v. Swegon North America Inc., (“Waksdale”) 2020 ONCA 391, delivering a seismic victory for employees, upending decades of practice in drafting employment agreements, and sending companies scrambling to bring their agreements into compliance with the new reality. Drafting Employment Contracts before Waksdale …
A Look at New and Recent Fiduciary, Diversity and Corporate Filing Rules for Federal Corporations
Companies governed by the Canada Business Corporations Act (the “CBCA”) should be aware and mindful of recent amendments to the CBCA related to directors’ and officers’ fiduciary duties and diversity disclosure requirements with consequential filing obligations. Some of the amendments are already in place, others will come into force in January 2020 and the balance …