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. …
Entire Agreement Clauses Do Not Preclude Claims for Pre-Contractual Negligent Misrepresentations
In a recent decision, the Ontario Court of Appeal again held that an entire agreement clause in a contract is not a complete defence to claims involving pre-contractual misrepresentation claims. This decision comes on the heels of 10443204 Canada Inc. v. 2701835 Ontario Inc., 2022 ONCA 745, where the Court of Appeal ruled that an entire …
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 …
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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Brace Yourself – Quebec’s Bill 96 Proposes Substantial Changes to French Language Laws
What happened? The Quebec Government made waves when they tabled Bill 96 – An Act respecting French, the official and common language of Quebec, on May 13, 2021. The bill amends the province’s Charter of the French Language by instituting some broad and significant changes to Quebec’s language laws. Once passed, Bill 96 would affirm …
Discoverability and Fraudulent Misrepresentation
The date a limitation period begins depends on when the claim was discovered. The recent decision of the Ontario Court of Appeal in Kaynes v. BP, PLC clarifies the law of discoverability under the Limitations Act, 2002, S.O. 2002, c. 24 (the “Act”) concerning claims for fraudulent misrepresentation. Overview The defendant, BP PLC (“BP”), is …
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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 …
Financial Product Differentiation Using Patents – A Canadian Example (Part 2)
As I mentioned in my previous post, quant and TOBAM funder Yves Choueifaty’s journey towards securing a Canadian patent for his process of constructing “anti-benchmark” securities portfolios has not been easy. But first, a quick detour. Many companies have secured Canadian financial system patents. For example: TD-Bank: 36 patents in block chain, machine learning, recommendations, …
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