Cross-Border & Canadian Business Blog
Exploring cross-border business opportunities and trends.
Schedule 1 employers should be aware that Ontario’s Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (“WSIB”) will usher in its new rate framework on January 1, 2020. As we count down toward implementation, my posts will provide quarterly updates and insights to assist Schedule 1 employers with the transition. The WSIB’s new framework is long anticipated, dating …
Continue reading “WSIB’s Rate Framework Reform – The Countdown is On”
Just a few weeks ago, the Supreme Court of Canada released a decision which confirmed that shareholders cannot sue third parties such as accountants or lawyers for negligent advice that causes losses to the corporation they own (Brunette v. Legualt Joly Thiffault s.e.n.c.r.l., 2018 SCC 55 (Brunette)). In this blog post I outline the Court’s …
Earlier this year, Canada’s federal government released the latest revisions to the Trademarks Act (the “Act”) and Regulations — a key step towards implementing the most significant changes to the Canadian trademark regime in half a century. After many false starts, it was announced that Bill C-31 (to amend the Act as part of a …
The movement towards the legalization of recreational cannabis has been greeted by the business world with the raptures reminiscent of the U.S. gold rush of the 19th century and the worldwide dot-com fixation of the 20th century. As governments try to figure out what controls they wish to impose on production, quality, location of retail …
UPDATE: effective the evening of December 13th, 2018, the Ontario government has taken a different approach to the retail cannabis licensure process as a result of the legal cannabis supply shortage across Canada. In lieu of the unlimited number of applications that were to be accepted on December 17th, 2018, the regulator will be accepting …
On June 1, 2017, following two years of consultation, Ontario’s Liberal Government unveiled the Fair Workplaces, Better Jobs Act, 2017 (“Bill 148”), which introduced some of the widest-sweeping changes to Ontario’s employment legislation in the province’s history. The changes did not last long; less than one year after Bill 148 was passed, Premier Doug Ford’s …
Continue reading “What’s Old is New Again in Ontario with Bill 47’s Sweeping Employment Law Changes”
Canada’s tax rules are complex and subject to change. The information contained herein is not, and is not intended, to be a comprehensive overview of Canada’s tax system. Canada’s federal income tax system for businesses and individuals is governed by the federal Income Tax Act (Canada) (“ITA”) and its regulations. Businesses operating in Canada might also be affected by …
Continue reading “What Does a Business Setting Up in Canada Need to Know About Canada’s Tax Rules?”
In the first half of 2018, according to a report by PWC Canada, mergers and acquisitions (“M&A”) activity in Canada hit $93 billion. This is largely attributable to increased activity in the cannabis, technology, real estate and energy sectors. This trend is likely to continue for the rest of the year despite the current climate …
Continue reading “The Top Trends in Cross-Border M&A: What to Watch For”
You may have read recent media reports about the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) which came into force on May 25, 2018. This legislation aims to enhance individuals’ protection from privacy and data breaches and improve how organizations approach data privacy. Practically speaking, the GDPR will impact individuals and companies around the world, not …
Continue reading “What Steps Should your Company Controllers Be Taking for GDPR Compliance?”
Along with my colleagues on the Dickinson Wright Cybersecurity Team, I recently attended the Incident Response Forum in Washington, D.C. The Forum, sponsored by Dickinson Wright, brought together the top government cyber-prosecutors and cyber-investigators, attorneys and experts who specialize in data breach response. These experts discussed the most important and timely data breach response topics. After …