The government of South Australia has recently adopted a law that
requires people commenting on the forthcoming state election to use
their real names, and media will have to retain the names and
addresses for six months. The requirement appears to apply to bloggers
and comments on blogs etc. Unsurprisingly, not everyone likes this. Is
it fair to say that requiring people to give their real names is a
"gag" on debate? Would the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms
prevent such a law in this country? In Posted on Sunday, February 7, 2010 at 5:47 pm

A 5-member panel of the Ontario Court of Appeal released a
significant, 150-paragraph reasoned decision this morning involving
conflicts of laws and when Ontario should take jurisdiction over
out-of-province defendants - see: Van Breda v. Village Resorts
Limited, 2010 ONCA 84
http://www.ontariocourts.on.ca/decisions/2010/february/2010ONCA0084.htm
At issue were claims for personal injury damages occasioned as a
result of accidents suffered by Canadian tourists at resorts in Cuba
and whether the plaintiffs Posted on Sunday, February 7, 2010 at 5:47 pm

Back in November John Gregory wrote about Dealing with Digital Assets
After Death and a New York Times article quoting Montreal marketing
consultant Adele McAlear. Adele happens to be a friend, so I took the
opportunity to speak with her in detail about the topic on behalf of
Slaw readers. Our full interview (held in December) is below. Since
that time, she has launched her new website DeathandDigitalLegacy.com
to better track this wide-ranging subject. Adele will also be speaking
on "Death and Digital Posted on Sunday, February 7, 2010 at 5:47 pm

As many of you know, I transferred law schools after my 1L year. Many
law students consider transferring after their 1L year, generally to
move to a higher ranked school. I transferred because I was marrying
someone out of state (and dropping a little in the law school
rankings), so I didn't have the same academic pressure. Unfortunately,
that transfer process did not go smoothly for me. Thankfully, a LoaLS
listener has written a comprehensive guide on transferring,
appropriately entitled The Art of the Law Posted on Saturday, September 19, 2009 at 3:05 pm

Among other things, I am Firearms Instructor. When I tell people this,
it's usually a 50/50 split as to whether their eyes are filled with
fear or interest. Minds have been conditioned by the media and social
biases that "Guns are bad." When I counsel students at the college
where I work who are starting their education in legal studies, I ask
them a few questions (this works a bit better during an election
year): 1) Do you think guns should be banned? 2) The guy who held the
sign "You're a Liar" in the Posted on Wednesday, September 16, 2009 at 7:32 am

I found out this morning that Life of a Law Student is the top choice
over at OnlineSchools.Org on their list of 100 Best Blogs for Law
School Students. "Law school is an arduous ordeal few are prepared to
undertake. In recent years, the proliferation of technology has made
it easier for students to get study tips, career advice or anything
else they may need. Blogs have been especially useful for sharing
information between people. Whether you're already in law school or
are thinking about applying check Posted on Monday, August 3, 2009 at 4:41 am

Drunk driving has been a major problem for law enforcers and law
makers for many years; drunk driving puts the lives of many innocent
people at stake. These include the lives of other drivers, people on
bikes and motorbikes and even pedestrians. After drinking, your senses
as well as reflexes become impaired and although, you are fooled into
believing that you can drive home but the truth is that you can either
get pulled over on the basis of DUI suspicion or you can cause a car
accident that can injure or Posted on Tuesday, February 9, 2010 at 1:30 am

Aimee Green of The Oregonian reports, An attorney for Aurora Hill
filed suit in Multnomah County Circuit Court Wednesday afternoon -
stirring memories of a controversial 1994 suit in which a jury awarded
$2.86 million to an Albuquerque, New Mexico woman who spilled
scalding-hot coffee on herself, suffering severe burns that required
hospitalization. Upon appeal, the parties settled for an undisclosed
amount. …She went into "nervous shock," endured pain and has
scarring. She seeks $7,182 for her pain and Posted on Tuesday, February 9, 2010 at 1:30 am

Anthony Morgan, a McGill law student and president of the Black Law
Students' Association of Canada, interviewed Frederick Phillips,
McGill's first black law grad and Quebec's first black lawyer. You can
read the interview on inFocus online, McGill's news magazine. Posted on Tuesday, February 9, 2010 at 1:30 am

I did a presentation a few months ago at my place of work on United
Kingdom cases. Part of the session included a quick overview of how to
find content from the English Reports, a multivolume series that
reproduces old English cases from the 13th century to the late 19th
century. The Stream, the blog published by Courthouse Libraries BC,
recently posted The English Reports: A Comparison of HeinOnline and
CommonLII on the exact same topic: "One of my favorite moments on the
reference desk is when someone Posted on Monday, February 8, 2010 at 11:52 pm

Law Librarian Blog has pointed to an interesting discussion sparked by
Sarah Glassmeyer, who blogged that she thought it was unethical to
accept free gifts from vendors - known as swag. Posted on Monday, February 8, 2010 at 11:52 pm

The list of new library titles added to the Supreme Court of Canada
collection for the period of January 16th to 31st, 2010 is now
available on the Court website. The web page explains: "The Supreme
Court of Canada Library does not lend materials from this list, which
is provided for information only." But, once the material goes into
the general collection, after about a month, the works do become
available for inter-library loan to authorized libraries. It is
possible to subscribe via e-mail to receive Posted on Saturday, February 6, 2010 at 2:04 pm

I'm getting a lot of requests these days for information on and help
with shareholder agreements, so I thought a post explaining what they
are and how they work would be helpful. Background But before I start,
I'd like to introduce you to two guys I suspect wish they'd had a
shareholder agreement in place when they created their company: Craig
Newmark and Jim Buckmaster, two of the three early shareholders of
Craigslist. As I understand the case, the third shareholder decided to
leave the company, and sold Posted on Friday, January 22, 2010 at 8:55 am

If you're not following April Dunford, you should. Her post today
titled "Pre-Launch Marketing for Stealthy Startups" is a good example
of why. April's one of my hohoto colleagues, and spoke at our
inaugural meshmarketing last year - she's a keen observer, and you
should add her blog to your reading list. Similar Posts: None Found Posted on Friday, January 8, 2010 at 1:46 am

I'm often asked whether it's better for the company to work with
people as employees or as independent contractors (also called
contractors or consultants - the differences are of style, not
meaning). Consulting is common in the technology business in Canada,
particularly during any recession, and as businesses staff up it's an
important question to ask. Like most everything else, the answer is
"it depends". If you need occasional help, or a discrete task
performed, using the services of an independent Posted on Wednesday, December 23, 2009 at 6:19 am

Jon Newton's one of a kind P2PNet site is shutting down for lack of
funds. Even Wired has taken notice. Jon was ahead of his time in many
ways with this site, which was often a "go to" place for information
on lots of things relevant to copyright law and other eclectic topics.
He was persistent in his criticism of the film and record industry,
especially the RIAA "sue 'em all" litigation campaign. He had to fight
off defamation litigation and constantly struggle to get enough income
to support his family Posted on Thursday, February 4, 2010 at 4:35 pm

The Federal Court in Australia has given a huge victory to an ISP that
fought back against Hollywood. Justice Cowdroy's landmark judgment is
summarized as follows: In summary, in this proceeding, the key
question is: Did iiNet authorise copyright infringement? The Court
answers such question in the negative for three reasons: first because
the copyright infringements occurred directly as a result of the use
of the BitTorrent system, not the use of the internet, and the
respondent did not create and does not Posted on Thursday, February 4, 2010 at 4:35 pm

There will likely be another round of confusing use of terminology
involving "secondary liability" and "authorization" following the
landmark iiNet decision of February 4, 2010 decision in Oz. In 2005, I
was asked to co-author an amicus brief on behalf of Sharman in the US
Supreme Court Grokster case. In that brief, we stated: While the legal
systems of many countries are capable of dealing with the issue of
secondary liability in copyright law, there is no consistent pattern
in terms of doctrine or even Posted on Thursday, February 4, 2010 at 4:35 pm

Question: in a bankruptcy, if there are only 2 creditors to be
satisfied, one being CRA and the other party is a 'common-law' spouse,
is it possible that CRA will not agree to the payout it will receive
as set out by the bankruptcy trustee. That is, is it possible that CRA
will ask for more money? Answer: Any creditor can oppose your
discharge from bankruptcy, and then attend a hearing in front of the
bankruptcy judge to request that you make additional payments. They
would have to have a good reason for Posted on Monday, February 8, 2010 at 3:04 pm

Question: I lost my job in aug 2009 after 15 years. I now make 9.75 an
hour,I am not discharged from a feb 2007 bankruptcy and am due to pay
about 3000.00, I have a evcition from my landlord and don't want to
relocate my family the only money I have is in a locked in rrsp,I AM
APPLYING FOR FINANCIAL HARDSHIP FOR LOW INCOME AND EVICITION this will
take time, there will be about 7000.00 left over if aproved after my
rent is paid based on my 2010 income that I would like to ask for to
help for rent for 2010 . Posted on Wednesday, February 3, 2010 at 12:18 pm

Question: What happens if you win a lottery after you've filed and
been discharged from personal bankruptcy? Didn't seem to find this
question on your Bankruptcy Ontario FAQ section. Answer: If you win
the lottery while you are bankrupt (before you are discharged), the
trustee will seize the lottery winnings and distribute the money to
your creditors. If you win more than you owe, the trustee would return
the difference to you, since all your creditors would have been paid
in full. If you win the lottery Posted on Wednesday, February 3, 2010 at 12:18 pm

Tenant Exclusion Endorsement inconsistent with Standard Mortgage
Clause and therefore unenforceable. Hum v. Grain Insurance and
Guarantee Co., [2009] A.J. No. 1351, December 4, 2009, Alberta Court
of Queen's Bench, R. Stevens J. The Applicants sought a Declaration of
Coverage, as mortgagees, under the Standard Mortgage Clause in a fire
insurance policy. The policy was issued by the Respondent Insurer to
an Insured who was not a party to the proceedings. The Insurer had
denied coverage on the basis of a Posted on Thursday, February 4, 2010 at 2:01 pm

The Defendant sought and was awarded a deduction from a cost of future
care award pursuant to 83(5) of the Insurance (Vehicle) Act. Sauer v.
Scales, [2009] B.C.J. No. 2490, December 11, 2009, British Columbia
Supreme Court, B.I. Cohen J. The Plaintiff stated that ICBC had
initially paid some chiropractic and physiotherapy expenses under Part
7 of the Act, but then discontinued benefits on the basis that the
accident did not cause the injuries. The Plaintiff argued that the
application was therefore an abuse Posted on Thursday, February 4, 2010 at 2:01 pm

Insurer's right to subrograte under Standard Mortgage Clause requires
fulfillment of two preconditions, (1) the insurer must make payment of
the loss award, or part of it, to the mortgagee; and (2) the insurer
must establish a claim that it has no liability to the mortgagor.
Pinder v. Farmers' Mutual Insurance Co. (Lindsay), [2009] O.J. No.
4964, November 26, 2009, Ontario Court of Appeal, D.R. O'Connor
A.C.J.O., R.A. Blair and R.G. Juriansz JJ.A. This appeal raised the
question of whether the subrogation Posted on Monday, February 1, 2010 at 4:26 pm

I received some big promotional swag today from a major U.S. legal
publisher, Thomson Reuters Legal, for the launch of their new product
WestlawNext. I share my thoughts on it in this video. Connie Crosby
opens WestlawNext Promo Swag from Connie Crosby on Vimeo. See Sarah
Glassmeyer's blog post On Vendor Swag which she posted today on this
topic as well. Photo: Thomson Reuters Legal's President & CEO
Peter Warwick at media briefing for WestlawNext at LegalTech NY
earlier today. Source: Westlaw on Posted on Wednesday, February 3, 2010 at 10:53 pm

Something a little new: catching you up on all I'm doing (well, except
real client work!) in a chatty video. Let me know what you think--is
this of interest? Should I do this again? Are there questions you
would like me to answer?? Cheers! Connie Connie Crosby Update: My New
Brainchild from Connie Crosby on Vimeo. Links to a few things
mentioned: Knowledge Workers Toronto My new book from Neal-Schuman:
Effective Blogging for Libraries (Part of the new Tech Set series)
scheduled to be released in March Posted on Sunday, January 31, 2010 at 8:55 pm

If you missed her speaking at the Women's Law Association of Ontario's
90th anniversary gala last week, here is Chief Justice Beverley
McLachlin of the Supreme Court of Canada in a recent interview with
Steve Paikin of TV Ontario's The Agenda. It is an interesting look
inside the SCC rarely seen. The video runs about 26 minutes. Some of
the things they discuss: being the first woman to head the Supreme
Court of Canada how diversity on the Supreme Court is important the
life of a "Supreme" cameras in the Posted on Wednesday, December 23, 2009 at 11:13 am

Sadly, as reported by Matthew Coutts of the National Post, Mr. Daniel
Johnson's bid for Canadian permanent residence on Humanitarian and
Compassionate grounds was dashed when the Federal Court upheld the
refusal of his application. Johnson is former pro basketball player
who fled the devastation of Hurricane Katrina for Toronto where he had
two Canadian born [...] Posted on Sunday, February 7, 2010 at 9:28 am

Hi Mary, I would like to just inform you that My sons , Purav and
Purvin (twins) have booked their air tickets for the last week of
April 2010, for Toronto from India. As such I may request once again
to let me know if you need any specific documents from them before
their landing, which could [...] Posted on Thursday, February 4, 2010 at 10:37 pm

Fadi was fantastic! He answered my many questions promptly and with
unending patience. Fadi worked within my time constraints and with a
US employer who was not particularly easy to work with. I felt
confident submitting my TN Visa application at US customs after our
meeting. Erin Posted on Thursday, February 4, 2010 at 10:37 pm

With the clock ticking towards the start of the Vancouver Olympic
Winter 2010 Games next Friday, some athletes have already arrived in
the City and moved into the Olympic Athletes' Village. Amongst these
are members of the Australian Olympic Team, who have already found
themselves in some in hot water with the International Olympic
Committee ("IOC'). According to a recent story, team members have hung
a 50-metre flag, depicting a boxing kangaroo, on the side of one of
the housing complexes in the Olympic Posted on Tuesday, February 9, 2010 at 4:19 am

The Canadian Intellectual Property Office has initiated two short
consultations (January 29 to February 28, 2010) for proposed Practice
Notices regarding section 12(1)(b) of the Trade-marks Act. Section
12(1)(b) provides that "a trademark is registrable if it is not,
whether depicted, written or sounded, either clearly descriptive or
deceptively misdescriptive in the English or French language of the
character or quality of the wares or services in association with
which it is used or proposed to be used or Posted on Saturday, February 6, 2010 at 6:34 pm

Further to an earlier post, the Canadian Intellectual Property Office
("CIPO") has announced a change in practice with respect to the
granting of extensions of time in examination. This new Practice
Notice will come into effect on March 11, 2010. Currently, responses
to examiner's reports are due within six months of the date of
issuance of the report. Under the changed practice, CIPO will grant an
applicant one extension of time up to a maximum of six months to
respond to the examiner's report, "if the Posted on Friday, January 22, 2010 at 11:30 am

For the London Free Press - February 8, 2010 Read this on Canoe
Canadians are invited to submit comments Canada's Privacy
Commissioner, Jennifer Stoddart, recently announced a new consultation
with the Canadian public on privacy issues related to the online
tracking, profiling and targeting of consumers by marketers and other
businesses. Canadians are invited to submit comments and participate
in panel discussions. Details are on the Privacy Commissioner's
website at http://www.priv.gc.ca/. The commissioner Posted on Monday, February 8, 2010 at 4:08 pm

This is a term I've never heard before. In the context of the alleged
problems with Toyota electronic throttles, an engineer uses the term
"electronic disobedience" to describe a glitch or interference that
causes electronics to do unwanted or unintended things. Such as sudden
acceleration. Posted on Saturday, February 6, 2010 at 6:08 am

Wired Epicenter writes that athletes are confused by the IOC rules
that limit what they can publish on blogs, twitter, facebook, etc.
during the games. That's not surprising given the nature of the
restrictions. For more details about those restrictions, see some of
my earlier comments. Posted on Saturday, February 6, 2010 at 6:08 am

Yesterday, the Committee on Payment and Settlement Systems (CPSS) and
the International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO)
announced the launch of a comprehensive review of financial market
infrastructure standards, including payment systems, securities
settlement systems and central counterparties. The review, which will
be led by CPSS members (consisting of central banks, including the
Bank of Canada), members of the IOSCO Technical Committee (which
includes the OSC and AMF), the IMF and World Posted on Friday, February 5, 2010 at 3:44 pm

On February 1, the Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA) released
its 2009 Enforcement Report. According to the report, 141 enforcement
cases were concluded in 2009, resulting in over $153 million in fines
and administrative penalties ordered and over $92 million in
restitution, compensation and disgorgement. The fines and penalties
assessed in 2009 represented a large increase from the $12 million
ordered in 2008. The report also discusses the preventative measures
employed by the CSA as well as the Posted on Friday, February 5, 2010 at 3:44 pm

Silver v. IMAX Corporation et al. [2009] O.J. Nos. 5573 and 5585
(S.C.J.) Simon Bieber and Jennifer Imrie On December 14, 2009, Justice
van Rensburg of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice handed down two
related rulings in the Silver v. IMAX Corporation litigation. The
first (the "Leave Decision") granted the plaintiffs leave to proceed
with their class action against IMAX Corporation and certain
individual respondents (collectively, the "IMAX Defendants") under
section 138.8 of Ontario's Securities Act Posted on Friday, February 5, 2010 at 3:44 pm

Dans le cadre d'une poursuite pour contrefaçon d'une marque de
commerce, les défendeurs Richard Glover et Michael Kichuk ont
présenté une requête pour jugement sommaire afin de faire rejeter
les conclusions prises contre eux personnellement (Franco Petrillo et
al. c. Allmax Nutrition Inc. et al., 2006 CF 1199). La requête
portait sur la question litigieuse � l'égard de la responsabilité Posted on Friday, January 29, 2010 at 7:14 pm

En vertu du sous-alinéa 9 (1) n) (iii) de la Loi sur les marques de
commerce, (ci après- «la Loi») «Nul ne peut adopter � l'égard
d'une entreprise, comme marque de commerce ou autrement, une marque
composée de ce qui suit, ou dont la ressemblance est telle qu'on
pourrait vraisemblablement la confondre avec […] tout insigne,
écusson, marque ou emblème […] adopté et employé par une
autorité Posted on Wednesday, January 6, 2010 at 11:39 am

La publicité sur internet tend � croître au fil des ans. Le Bureau
de la concurrence s'est penché sur le phénomène en publiant, en
février 2003, le Bulletin d'information intitulé Application de la
Loi sur la concurrence aux indications dans Internet. L'Association du
Barreau canadien a exprimé ses commentaires de concert avec la
Section nationale de l'information et des télécommunications avec Posted on Saturday, December 12, 2009 at 1:00 am

I recently attended a conference on waste management in Quebec,
organized by CRE Montreal with speakers from the Recyc-Québec, Centre
Eaton and Héma-Québec. The conference was titled, "Projet de
nouvelle politique de gestion des matières résiduelles" The main
speaker was Mario Laquerre, from Recyc-Québec, went through their
plans for reducing the of waste sent to landfill. Recyc-Québec's
first policy came out in 1989, the second in 1998 and the third in
2010. The new goals go further than ever before and Posted on Sunday, February 7, 2010 at 10:17 pm

From the Economist, here's a chart that shows China and America vying
for the greatest rate of increase in wind capacity. Interestingly,
China is about to overtake Germany. As the magazine points out, the
global cumulative capacity of wind power grew by 31% in 2009, despite
the global economic downturn. Posted on Friday, February 5, 2010 at 11:44 am

As a special offer, we are posting all of our environmental guidance
text in all of the jursidictions available to non-members. This is a
temporary offer for one week, please let us know what you think and
feel free to sign-up for an account. Here are our topics and
sub-topics: Click here to access all of the topics listed below. Air
Emissions Prohibitions and Approvals Ambient Air Quality Standards Air
Emissions Standards Combustion Emissions Standards Monitoring and
Reporting Vehicle Emissions Other Posted on Tuesday, February 2, 2010 at 7:02 pm

Last year I noted a Statistics Canada study that showed that women who
have children earn less than women who do not (about 12% less
overall). A new study by some Harvard economists looking at men and
women with MBAs has come to a similar conclusion. I've noted a similar
study in Canada. The Harvard study [...] Posted on Friday, February 5, 2010 at 12:54 am

York's Centre for Research on Work and Society (CRWS) has begun its
search for a new Director, a position that would begin on July 1,
2010. The position is for a term of 3 to 5 years, and comes with a 1.5
course release and stipend. The Director must be a York professor.
Here's the job [...] Posted on Friday, February 5, 2010 at 12:54 am

One of the aims of this blog is to promote Canadian labour &
employment law scholarship. In that vein, I have posted articles by
Canadian law professors, and I have a permanent category link on this
page to Free Labour Law scholarship, which includes posts linking to
new articles on our subject matter. Today, I am [...] Posted on Friday, February 5, 2010 at 12:54 am

Some of our print copies of our older BC Statutes are very damaged and
brittle. A few are stored behind the Circulation Desk and are not
available for patrons. We can find most of them online via LLMC -
http://toby.library.ubc.ca/resources/infopage.cfm?id=805... Posted on Friday, February 27, 2009 at 3:11 pm

http://www.pch.gc.ca/pgm/ceem-cced/prtcl/address5-eng.cfm... Posted on Wednesday, February 18, 2009 at 4:04 pm

Please fill in this interactive form, print it off, and fax it to the
number on the form.
https://staffinfo.library.ubc.ca/branches/collections/pdf/rushcatfax080703.pdf... Posted on Wednesday, February 18, 2009 at 4:02 pm

The Intellogist, a wiki for patent searchers, has launched a blog.
It's a nice addition to a site that already has some great resources,
including patent search system profiles and comparisons, coverage
information and best practices for patent searching. I look forward to
following it... Posted on Saturday, January 30, 2010 at 5:45 pm

This morning I discovered several nice enhancements in esp@cenet: 1.
Expanded search terms For years the maximum number of search terms you
could input in any esp@cenet field was four. This limitation appears
to have been lifted. I was able to successfully run searches using
five or more terms. 2. Highlighted search terms Search terms are now
highlighted in retrieved titles and abstracts. 3. Sorting search
resultsSearch results can be sorted by priority date, inventor,
applicant, ECLA code and upload date. Posted on Wednesday, January 27, 2010 at 1:28 pm

The USPTO has published two more classification orders affecting Class
210, Liquid Purification and Separation, and Class 707, Data
Processing: Database and File Management or Data Structures. (#1890
and #1893) Approximately 83,767 patents and 14,473 published
applications are classified in Class 210. The earliest patent is no.
X5,013, which was registered on Feb. 22, 1828 to a Christopher Hall of
Norfolk, Virginia for a method of purifying and filtering water. Of
the 84,000 patents in Class 210, 56.5 Posted on Wednesday, January 27, 2010 at 1:28 pm

Join the forum discussion on this post - (1) Posts Pamela Pengelley,
our resident expert on Facebook, is now internationally recognized for
her expertise. Most recently, Pamela was quoted in an article
published by Law 360 entitled "Poking Around Facebook Could Win Your
Case." According to Pamela, "'Lawyers are realizing [Facebook] is a
gold mine of information…it's pretty much standard that you subpoena
Facebook when you get a personal injury action. It's not a substitute
for having a private investigator, Posted on Saturday, February 6, 2010 at 1:12 pm

The risk of cyberattacks is real and growing. While many of us
theorize and speak in hypotheticals about the possibility of a major
and potentially devastating cyberattack (or twenty), those considered
most "in the know" are taking these risks seriously. And for good
reason. A January 29, 2010 study commissioned by McAfee, Inc and
authored by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS)
reports that over one-third (37%) of the IT security executives
surveyed believe that critical infrastructure Posted on Monday, February 1, 2010 at 12:15 am

"Since time immemorial" and "time out of mind" are phrases that we
throw around with little thought as to their meaning. We mean, of
course, a very long time ago, or way, way back. Few know that, by a
statute of Edward I in 1276, legal memory was actually fixed to begin
with the reign of Richard I (yes, the Lionheart himself) on July 6th,
1189. The point of this discursis into the mists of time? Well eight
hundred plus years, back to the accession of King Richard, is
undoubtedly a very long time. Try Posted on Monday, February 1, 2010 at 12:15 am

The Canadian Trade-marks Office (TMO) has announced upcoming practice
change regarding extensions of time to respond to examination reports.
Presently, multiple extensions of time are available if sufficient
reasons justifying each extension are provided. This has been the
practice for many years. Starting March 11, 2010, the TMO will
generally grant only one six month extension of time to respond to an
examination report. The applicant must demonstrate exceptional
circumstances to obtain a further Posted on Tuesday, February 2, 2010 at 5:06 pm

The IP Osgoode blog published my article on the impact of recent
bankruptcy law amendments on licensing and possible solutions for
dealing with the impact. The article can be found here. Posted on Thursday, January 21, 2010 at 7:13 am

Lorraine Fleck is pleased to announce that she is continuing her
practice at Hoffer Adler LLP in Toronto, Canada. Lorraine's updated
biography can be found here. Hoffer Adler LLP is a boutique law firm
focusing on litigation, commercial, corporate and intellectual
property law. Joining Hoffer Adler enables Lorraine to assist her
clients in more diverse areas of law, including: commercial and
corporate law; distribution, franchising and licensing; intellectual
property, IT and marketing law; leasing; and a Posted on Thursday, January 7, 2010 at 12:34 am

Social Media for Lawyers: Twitter Edition By: Adrian Dayton Social
Media for Lawyers: Twitter Edition focuses entirely on how you will
bring new clients to your firm by engaging with an already waiting
community of people looking for your services. Practical advice and
proven examples are provided of how to establish trusted relationships
and gain new clients with a relatively small amount of effort and,
crucially, no initial cost. (publisher's description) Call number: KF
316.5 D39 2009 (on new books truck Posted on Wednesday, February 3, 2010 at 3:19 am

Treaty Talks in British Columbia: Building a New Relationship 3rd ed.
By: Christopher McKee This updated edition includes a postscript,
co-authored with Peter Colenbrander, which provides an extensive
overview of the treaty process from 2001 to 2009. The authors outline
the achievements of and challenges for the treaty process as well as
review some of the most recent jurisprudence affecting Native and
non-Native rights. They also reflect on the growing number of
initiatives outside the treaty process to Posted on Wednesday, January 27, 2010 at 5:55 pm

Finding Materials for your Research Papers What: Lunch hour session on
using the Library's online databases to find secondary legal materials
for research, e.g. journal articles, e-books, web resources, to help
you find relevant materials quickly. Upper year students writing
research papers should find this particularly useful, however all are
welcome, we encourage anyone interested to attend. We'll also go over
services like Request/Holds and Interlibrary Loan. Bring your lunch
and any questions you may Posted on Wednesday, January 27, 2010 at 5:55 pm

Following up on an earlier blog post, today, the British Columbia
Utilities Commission approved BC Hydro's request to purchase a 1/3
interest of the Waneta Dam from Teck Metals Ltd., calling it "in the
public interest". See the attached order from the BCUC. The BCUC also
determined that BC Hydro's consultations with First Nations with
respect to the Waneta Transaction were adequate and upheld the honour
of the Crown. The BCUC's reasons for the decision will be released at
a later date. When the transaction Posted on Friday, February 5, 2010 at 5:56 pm

With the 2010 Winter Olympic Games set to leap out of the starting
gate on February 12, we thought it would appropriate to highlight some
of the initiatives that are helping make the 2010 Vancouver Games the
"greenest" and most sustainable Olympic games ever. As the Globe and
Mail reported last week, in Whistler, BC, the sight of the alpine
skiing and sliding events for the 2010 Winter Olympics, Innergex
Renewable Energy Inc., is days away generating electricity from its
$33 million 7.9 megawatt small-scale Posted on Wednesday, February 3, 2010 at 2:30 am

Following up on my earlier blog post, the Bear Mountain Wind Park is
now officially open, online and generating electrons to the British
Columbia power grid, bringing Canada's total current installed wind
energy capacity to 2,956 MW. The $200 million Bear Mountain project
located near Dawson Creek, BC was completed on time and on budget.
With a total capacity of 102 MW, the park will produce enough energy
to power most of BC's South Peace region. Under the Government of
Canada's ecoENERGY for Renewable Posted on Friday, November 13, 2009 at 8:35 am

The Ontario Superior Court of Justice recently confirmed the simple
notion that a condominium lien is not slander of title where the unit
owner is in arrears of common expenses at the time the certificate of
lien is registered on title. The following portion of Madam Justice
Low's decision in Jeffers v. YCC 98, 2010 ONSC 474 (CanLII) is
instructive: [52] I turn now to the plaintiffs' claim against the
Condo Corporation. The plaintiffs claim damages for slander of title
and for property damage. [53] The Posted on Tuesday, February 2, 2010 at 10:38 am

With the twenty-tens now well underway, let's look back at some of the
best of the condo-related blogosphere for the last month of the
"aughts." New Year Resolutions for Boards - Colorado lawyer Molly
Foley-Healy of the HOA Legi-Slate blog suggests three new years'
resolutions that any condo or HOA board should make. It's not too
late! 10 Tough Questions with Herman Turkstra - The Hamiltonian blog
picks the brain of local institution, lawyer and former politician
Herman Turkstra on Steeltown's successes, Posted on Saturday, January 30, 2010 at 7:48 am

Bob Gardiner reminds us that the grace period for the ban on hand-held
devices while driving is coming to an end. ********* Now it is illegal
for drivers to talk, text, type, dial or e-mail using Blackberrys,
cellphones and similar hand-held devices. Bill 118, the Countering
Distracted Driving and Promoting Green Transportation Act, promoted by
the Ministry of Transportation, took effect on October 26, 2009. A
three-month probationary educational period will end February 1, 2010,
when police will begin Posted on Saturday, January 30, 2010 at 7:48 am

USCIS released a memorandum issued by USCIS Acting Deputy Director,
dated 01/19/2010, concerning Acceptable Signatures on applications and
Petitions. The first Hit: Non-employee legal representatives cannot
sign the forms in place of their clients!!!! Any applications and
petitions without the authorized signature of the petitioner or
applicant in violation of this memorandum will be "rejected." Please
click here to read the memorandum Posted on Friday, February 5, 2010 at 12:23 pm

AILA has updated that its liaison office has been informed that USCIS
memorandum dated January 19, 2010, addressing signature requirements
on applications and petitions, was posted to the USCIS website
prematurely and is being withdrawn. USCIS intends to conduct a
stakeholder engagement event early next week to discuss development
and implementation of policies on signature requirements for
applications and petitions. Posted on Friday, February 5, 2010 at 12:23 pm

Its easy now for Visa applicants, the new web-based nonimmigrant visa
application (NIV) form DS-160 will come into effect in all U.S.
consular posts in India starting from February 1, 2010. The U.S.
Department of State has issued a press release. Click here for the
press release. Posted on Saturday, January 9, 2010 at 1:01 pm

The Ontario Ministry of the Environment has issued a comprehensive
guide to navigating the provincial approval process for renewable
energy projects. The guide is intended to help project proponents
understand the process and requirements for applying for a renewable
energy approval ("REA") under the Environmental Protection Act
(Ontario). It includes: * an overview of the approvals process; * a
discussion of consultation requirements; * requirements regarding the
protection of cultural heritage and the Posted on Sunday, January 31, 2010 at 5:12 am

The Government of Quebec yesterday took a concrete step in its plan to
develop the province's vast resources situated North of the 49th
parallel by holding the first meeting of the Partners' Discussion
Table. The sustainable resource development initiative known as the
"Plan Nord" or "Northern Plan", is a broad-based joint action process
to lay the foundation for a new partnership with communities in the
North and covers an area of over one million square kilometres
(1,000,000 km2). The Northern Plan had Posted on Thursday, January 28, 2010 at 2:02 am

On December 31, 2009 the Alberta Utilities Commission ("AUC") gave
Greengate Power Corporation ("Greengate") approval to construct and
operate its Halkirk I Wind Project pursuant to Section 11 of the
Alberta Hydro and Electric Act. Greengate is expecting to begin
construction on the project later this year, with a target commercial
operation date of Q1 2011. Following Greengate's application
requesting approval from the AUC for the Halkirk I Wind Project at the
end of February 2009, the AUC conducted an Posted on Friday, January 22, 2010 at 2:58 am

On January 1, 2010 the rules governing civil actions in Ontario are to
undergo sweeping changes. One notable change is the expansion of the
small claims court jurisdiction from $10,000 to $25,000. The changes
are supposed to improve access to justice and reduce the cost of
litigation for all parties. Initial opinions from employment counsel
acting for both employers and employees have suggested the changes
could lead to an increase in litigation. A recent decision at the
Ontario Superior Court of Justice Posted on Tuesday, December 22, 2009 at 2:20 pm

The Canadian Federation of Independent Business ("CFIB") appears to
have ruffled the feathers of the WSIB. In a combative September 3,
2009 press release, the CFIB blasted the WSIB for recent financial
market losses and called for an independent review of the Board as a
result of what the CFIB called "…blatant mismanagement and
monopolistic complacency". The CFIB even compared the WSIB's situation
to the recent high profile public scandals involving E-Health and the
Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation. Posted on Monday, September 21, 2009 at 3:50 pm

An Employment Insurance Board of Referees has decided that both
parents of newborn twins qualified separately for 35 weeks of
employment insurance parental benefits. Christian Martin's wife gave
birth twin girls who were premature, underweight and required constant
care and attention. The Board heard evidence that the parents were
overwhelmed and exhausted caring for the babies and as a result of
complications during the pregnancy. The added complications required
Mr. Martin to assist with the ongoing care, Posted on Monday, September 21, 2009 at 3:46 pm

President Obama has proposed the creation of a US $4B
"national-infrastructure fund" in an effort to get away from "the
federal government's traditional approach of giving grants to specific
states and localities for infrastructure spending": WSJ. At least one
well-known American construction attorney, John Ahlers, thinks that
the fund is a good idea, providing of course that it is properly
managed. It seems like a sensible idea to me too for financing similar
types of large-scale infrastructure projects. I Posted on Friday, February 5, 2010 at 11:35 pm

A little off the topic of construction law. A recent post by Simon
Chester at slaw.ca discusses Professor Peter McCormick's work -
specifically his book, Supreme at Last: The Evolution of the Supreme
Court of Canada - on the sources of authority cited by the Supreme
Court of Canada in their decisions:
http://www.slaw.ca/2010/01/27/65-years-of-change-in-what-the-supreme-court-cites/.
The post points out a few things, including the unequivocal shift away
from English common law: "Canadian law has become Posted on Wednesday, February 3, 2010 at 9:14 am

American construction lawyer Christopher Hill's latest thoughts have
been on the effectiveness of mediation. He gives three good reasons
why, in his opinion, mediation works: It's cheaper than litigation,
Mediated outcomes can be far more flexible than those possible at
trial, and The parties retain ultimate decision-making control,
instead of giving it up to the court. I agree with him completely, and
I have a few things to add. What is mediation? First, though, a quick
rundown on the nature of mediation. Posted on Tuesday, December 22, 2009 at 3:36 pm

Defence Lawyers on Facebook Everybody seems to be interested in
Facebook, Twitter and all the other social media networks these days.
That includes lawyers who represent insurance companies. There have
been a series of cases across Canada where lawyers for insurance
companies have demanded production of plaintiffs' Facebook pages in
order to use the information against the plaintiff. Depressed Victim
Looked Too Happy In a recent case in Quebec, Nathalie Blanchard was on
disability for depression. She had Posted on Saturday, January 23, 2010 at 1:33 pm

Darrel Dexter's NDP Government pledged to remove the unfair $2,500.00
cap on compensation for motor vehicle accident victims who have
suffered a "minor injury". Constitutional Challenge Unsuccessful A
constitutional challenge was filed against the legislation arguing
that the cap of $2,500.00 for persons who have supposedly suffered a
minor injury was contrary to the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. The
constitutional challenge failed at both the trial level and the Nova
Scotia Court of Appeal. Leave to Posted on Saturday, January 23, 2010 at 1:33 pm

Lawyer Fees Generally Usually lawyers are paid an hourly rate for the
time they spend working on behalf of the claim. For the most part, the
hourly rate changed by lawyers increases depending on the lawyer's
experience and, in particular, the lawyer's experience in the
particular field in which he is being retained. Time = Money Abraham
Lincoln once said, "A lawyer's time and advice is his stock in trade."
In essence, asking a lawyer for his or her advice is no different than
asking an accountant to do your Posted on Sunday, December 27, 2009 at 5:36 pm

I am pleased to announce that Mr. Stephane Duval, Partner and Chair of
the Immigration Department of RSS, has been named to BEST LAWYERS IN
CANADA. Best Lawyers in Canada, the premier rating organization for
attorneys in Canada, has just announced the names of the Canadian
attorneys who will be listed in the 2010 Edition. Inclusion in Best
Lawyers is based solely on peer review. All lawyers listed in Best
Lawyers are asked "if you are unable to handle a case, to whom would
you refer it?" Once the results Posted on Friday, October 9, 2009 at 1:04 am

Beginning on July 14, 2009, Czech and Mexican nationals require a
passport visa to travel to Canada, Citizenship, Immigration and
Multiculturalism Minister Jason Kenney announced For the first 48
hours, such citizens may apply for entry on arrival in Canada. After
11:59 p.m. EDT July 15, 2009, a visa will be required. In the cases of
both countries, citizens had previously been able to seek admission to
Canada at a port of entry without first obtaining a visa. Continuing
to mount a strong defensive about Posted on Friday, July 17, 2009 at 7:17 am

Citizenship and Immigration Canada recently removed the passport visa
requirement for Czech nationals visiting Canada. This meant that such
individuals became eligible to seek admission at a Canadian port of
entry without first seeking a passport visa at a Canadian visa office.
This expedited the ability of tourists and business persons to travel
to Canada. A recent wave of refugee claimants from the Czech Republic,
number approximately 100 in the past few months, has caused Canada's
Minister of Citizenship Posted on Thursday, July 2, 2009 at 5:48 am

I was speaking to a friend in an academic library a couple of weeks
ago and she mentioned her library recently signed a contract with a
publisher? jobber? to provide patron driven acquisitions. Maybe this
is old news for you academic librarians but it's the first time I had
heard the term. The vendor catalogue is linked into the library
catalogue. When students search the library catalogue they may also
retrieve hits for electronic books the library does NOT own. If the
students wants that ebook, they Posted on Friday, February 5, 2010 at 11:13 pm

Last summer it came to my attention that Westlaw Canada has a glitch
in the way it handles searching citations, which I posted to this blog
on August 31, 2009. This email is an update to that glitch. If you
enter a citation in the Find box (Home page) you can use periods or no
periods, e.g.: 46 c.p.r. 3d 492 works, as does 46 cpr 3d 492. But, if
you enter a cite in the Citation box under the Cases template, it only
works with periods, e.g. 46 cpr 3d 492 returns zero results. I
reported the issue to Carswell Posted on Thursday, January 21, 2010 at 10:13 pm

There is a very thought provoking article on the Value of Checklists
by Mary Abraham at Above and Beyond KM. Mary's blog is excellent and I
would highly recommend it for your RSS feeds. This post talks about
surgeons using checklists for both routine and complex tasks. We had a
new associate start today, and of course we have pulled the "new
lateral hire" checklist out of our Library Procedures Manual to make
sure we share all of the relevant need to know info as well as do all
the preparatory steps to Posted on Thursday, January 7, 2010 at 10:52 am

I guess I knew this day would come, but surprisingly, I'm not sad
about it. With lots of exciting but time-consuming things happening in
my life lately, and a moderately successful new group blogging
endeavour underway, I'm just not committed to this blog the way I used
to be…and I'm okay with that. So, I'm putting Ballad in Plain E into
back-burner mode for the foreseeable future. While I may write about
my adventures at SLA in DC this year, I'm giving myself permission to
not feel bad about not blogging Posted on Wednesday, May 13, 2009 at 7:07 pm

Karen over at Library Technician Dialog has just written a great post
entitled "A Value Proposition". In it she explains something we've
been thinking and talking about lately: why Winnipeg law firms don't
employ as many library staff as similarly-sized firms in other cities
do. I'm glad she took the time to outline her ideas. Ultimately, Karen
wonders "is it the person in the position, or is it the position that
has the value?" I think it's both, but in the end, personality matters
more. Personality plays Posted on Thursday, March 26, 2009 at 3:13 pm

I've been thinking all day about who I might write about for Ada
Lovelace Day, the day that celebrates women and technology. I realised
that it would only be fitting to write about two women who taught me
during my two years doing the Library & Information Technology
Program at SAIT. Without the program, I'm not sure where I'd be today!
Marg Anderson and Darlene Taylor are two women who instilled in me a
sense of pride in library work, passion for technology, and confidence
in my abilities. They helped Posted on Tuesday, March 24, 2009 at 4:04 pm

In late December of last year the Court of Appeal recognized the
existence of the dependent contractor in the case of McKee v. Reid's
Heritage Homes Ltd. In this case, the plaintiff was an in-house sales
agent for Reid's Heritage Homes. Reid's is a new home builder that
originally retained the services of McKee to sell [...] Posted on Wednesday, January 27, 2010 at 11:10 pm

I always counsel employers that it is best to help employees with
their job search if employers need to terminate them without cause.
The reason for this is an employment agreement is a contract.
Employment law isn't simply govern by legislation by it is govern by
common-law, and contract law is made up of a [...] Posted on Friday, January 22, 2010 at 1:41 am

Of review of the November 2009 Court of Appeal decision of Brien v.
Niagara Motors Ltd is an interesting read. In this case the appellant
employer raised three grounds of appeal from a wrongful dismissal
decision which awarded 24 months severance plus Wallace (for bad
faith) damages of two months. Firstly, the employer argued to the
[...] Posted on Sunday, January 10, 2010 at 12:50 am

After having founded the Workplace Fairness Institute in 2005 and
working hard to ensure a reputation for fairness and partnership in
the workplace, I was appalled to find that our name was being used by
a right wing U.S. organization to oppose the Employee Free Choice Act
The Employee Free Choice Act would serve to allow protections to
employees who sought to organize into a union. This Act provides
protections similar to what Canada has had for many years. These
protections have ensured that employees are Posted on Friday, November 27, 2009 at 12:30 pm

Greetings Fairness Enthusiasts! I am proud to announce that the
Workplace Fairness Institute has added a new associate - Bernd Weller,
who will be acting as Vice President and Senior Consultant of the WFI.
Bernd is a seasoned management consultant who has moved into the world
of conflict management systems analysis and design. He will be working
with me to provide fairness assessments for workplaces around the
world. Welcome Bernd! We have some big plans on the horizon, so stay
tuned! Also I would like to Posted on Sunday, July 27, 2008 at 1:11 am

Hi all: This note is for those of you who will be attending the
Blogging Seminar advertised by the Ontario Bar Association ADR
Section. Here is how it reads: The ADR/Law Blogger: Free Marketing Is
Just 15 minutes Away" Blogs are quickly overtaking web sites as the
most important web based marketing tool available to practitioners in
the ADR and legal communities. They cost nothing to set up, are easy
to use and update, have higher visibility on the web than websites,
are an excellent source of referrals to Posted on Monday, June 4, 2007 at 1:48 pm

A Canadian software company, Aegis Mobility, apparently has a software
program, called DriveAssistT, that can be loaded into Windows Mobile
or Symbian smartphones and will disable the phone when the software
senses that the phone is moving at a speed that suggests the user is
in a car. The purpose of doing [...] Posted on Wednesday, October 15, 2008 at 1:11 am

I recently acquired a Redfly Mobile Companion from Celio. This device
provides much (but not all) of the functionality previously promised
by Palm for its never-released FOLIO. The Redfly, the size of a very
small laptop, provides a larger screen and keyboard for using a mobile
phone. It is ideal [...] Posted on Wednesday, October 8, 2008 at 11:43 am

In case you missed it, last month a class action lawsuit against
Rogers, Telus and Bell was certified. The suit claims that Canadian
cellphone subscribers were misled about the $6.95 to $8.95 monthly so
called "system access fees" or "license fees". See CTV. Posted on Sunday, October 7, 2007 at 8:24 am

I've recently received some emails from students who have been
accepted into the Class of 2010. Congrats! For those of you who were
accepted into multiple law schools, it is now time to decide which
best suits your personality and career goals. (Actually, this is only
one of many stages where you will be wondering where you "best match".
Every future employer, especially the Bay Street firms, will be asking
the same question. "Yes, but do you really fit here?") I won't tell
you where to go, but I suggest Posted on Wednesday, June 20, 2007 at 3:54 pm

This past month has been crazy. Another class of Queen's Law grads is
about to be unleashed onto the world. Our final set of exams has been
written, our final papers have been submitted, our final keggers have
been savored, etc. To an extent, Queen's is undergoing a
transformation. Construction of the new "Queen's Centre" is underway
and Union Street is closed off. The law school is hiring another batch
of new profs. We even have a new "tradition" of first year students
jumping into Lake Ontario after their Posted on Thursday, May 3, 2007 at 4:53 pm

The Montreal Gazette published an article about the law schools in
Quebec. It seems like the process there is pretty much the same as the
process in Ontario. First, beginning in February, there is a flood of
student job applications at the top firms and a ruthless cull to
determine who gets an interview and who gets a polite rejection. Then
there are the interviews themselves, which culminate in Call Day -
Monday - when the lucky ones are told they have a job. However, it
seems like our articling terms Posted on Monday, March 26, 2007 at 4:43 pm

This article addresses the thematic parameters of Canadian charitable
tax policy and opportunities for new charitable giving incentives. The
author outlines the shift in tax policy since 1996 to encourage
donations of assets (typically capital property) rather than income,
which has made the Canadian incentive system the most generous in the
world. Recent tax policy changes have increased giving but have
(perhaps) done so at the expense of small charities and "ordinary"
donors. Some recently proposed Posted on Friday, May 1, 2009 at 3:10 pm

Posted on Thursday, April 30, 2009 at 10:33 pm

Posted on Thursday, April 30, 2009 at 10:25 pm

The Supreme Court released the Leskun decision today:
http://www.scc-csc.gc.ca/judgments/2006scc025.htm At issue was the
interplay between fault and spousal support. Ms Leskun argued that
support should not be reduced as, 8 years after the fact, she was
still too emotionally devastated by her husband's affair to work. The
Supreme Court held that while fault is not directly considered in
awarding spousal support the consequences of the fault can be
considered. In the circumstances, the Supreme Court upheld Posted on Wednesday, June 21, 2006 at 11:23 pm

In her comments on my post about the so-called Roe v. Wade case for
men, Jenny raises a number of interesting questions about what rights
and responsibilities an unwed father in Canada has in regards to his
unborn children when he is no longer in a relationship with the
mother. Child Support Once a child is born, the father has an
obligation to pay child support. The amount of child support is the
same regardless of whether the parties were married or not or whether
the child was expected or not or whether Posted on Wednesday, April 26, 2006 at 10:25 pm

Most people involved in a family law case in Canada know that the
amount of spousal support or child support that must be paid is based
on income. However, income for family law purposes is not the same as
income for income tax purposes. The question that often arises is what
is income for family law purposes. Often people receive income in a
year that they don't normally receive - this is known as non-recurring
income. Should this be considered as income for purposes of
calculating child support or spousal Posted on Sunday, April 2, 2006 at 8:22 am

In the recent decision of Grant v. Torstar Corp., 2009 SCC 61("Grant")
and its companion case, Quan v. Cusson, 2009 SCC 62 ("Quan"), the
Supreme Court of Canada sought to strike a more appropriate balance
between freedom of expression and the protection of reputation by
creating the new defence of "responsible communication on matters of
public interest" (the "Defence"). The Defence allows defendants in
libel cases where statements of fact are at issue to evade liability
if they can show that they acted Posted on Thursday, January 28, 2010 at 2:18 am

An open issue in Canadian internet defamation law is whether courts
should require that anonymous defendants be given notice of, and an
opportunity to oppose, applications to compel the disclosure of their
identities by third parties such as websites and internet service
providers ("ISPs"). Because applications to compel disclosure are
generally left unchallenged by third parties who would rather evade
the costly cross-fire of litigation, courts have tended to review such
applications ex parte. The concern Posted on Tuesday, December 22, 2009 at 7:48 pm

A recent case illustrates that American jurisprudence is increasingly
coalescing around a uniform approach to determine whether a plaintiff
may compel the disclosure of an anonymous defendant's identity in
internet defamation cases. As discussed below, the Canadian experience
has been different. In Swartz v. Does ("Swartz") (see: judgment) a
Tennessee state court held that plaintiffs were entitled to discover
the identity of an anonymous blogger that published allegedly
defamatory statements about them. The Posted on Monday, October 26, 2009 at 7:04 pm

[Edited: The video is actually produced by the Access to Justice
Coalition, rather than Access Justice.] This brief video by the Access
to Justice Coalition includes eye-opening interviews with lawyers and
low income clients about the difficulty in accessing British
Columbia's legal system and is worth a look: Find more Rights &
Remedies at http://rightsandremedies.blogspot.com/ Posted on Tuesday, December 22, 2009 at 10:45 am

The best way to prevent disagreements between lawyers and clients
about billing is to have a clear retainer agreement from the start,
detailing exactly how you, the client, will be charged. It's also a
good idea to have your lawyer contact you when the outstanding bill
reaches a certain agreed upon amount or the work reaches an agreed
upon stage, so that you can reassess the situation throughout the
legal process, and avoid any sticker shock at the end. But let's say
its too late for all of that and you Posted on Monday, December 21, 2009 at 5:24 pm

The Legal Services Society (LSS), which administers legal aid in
British Columbia, has announced that it will be closing its offices in
Surrey, Kelowna, Victoria, Prince George and Kamloops - essentially
all of its regional offices outside of Vancouver. There are also
reports that LSS will be closing LAWline, a free service providing
legal advice over the telephone, the value of which I wrote about
earlier this year. Both of these developments will severely limit
access to justice in rural areas of the Posted on Tuesday, November 3, 2009 at 12:03 pm

A New Decision on Facebook: Ex Parte Injunctions and Preservation
Orders Another Ontario decision dealing with production of Facebook
profiles in personal injury lawsuits was released on October 29, 2009.
In Schuster v. Royal & SunAlliance Insurance Company of Canada,
the defendant brought a motion before a judge, without notice to the
plaintiff, seeking an injunction requiring the plaintiff to preserve
and produce her Facebook webpage. The particulars of the decision are
set out in detail, below. The Posted on Monday, December 21, 2009 at 10:53 pm

As you may have noticed, a number of my posts have dealt with articles
that address recent cyber law topics such as Facebook, Twitter and
Blogging in the context of civil litigation in Canada. In an effort to
create a more "focused" forum for law and technology issues, I have
recently started up a cyber law blog with Richard Bortnick of Cozen
O'Connor in Philadelphia. The blog, "CyberInquirer"
(http://www.cyberinquirer.com) deals with news and views regarding
recent developments in cyber law and insurance Posted on Monday, December 21, 2009 at 10:53 pm

NOTE: The following article is directed to subrogating insurance
companies who have obtained judgments against defaulting creditors,
however the methods of enforcement discussed below are not limited to
subrogated actions and apply more generally to civil judgments for
damages that are to be enforced in Ontario. INTRODUCTION As
subrogation professionals will know, obtaining a judgment against a
defendant in a subrogated action may often be only the first step in a
long process - obtaining a judgment is no Posted on Monday, December 21, 2009 at 10:53 pm

The B.C. Supreme Court has ruled that the British Columbia Attorney
General lacked authority to appoint a new special prosecutor to
consider and prosecute criminal charges of practicing polygamy against
Winston Blackmore and James Oler, members of the community of
Bountiful, British Columbia. The Attorney General previously appointed
a special prosecutor who concluded that no criminal charges should be
laid as there was not a substantial likelihood of conviction, and
recommended that the public interest was Posted on Thursday, September 24, 2009 at 9:01 am

The Employment Insurance Board of Referees recently ruled that the
Ottawa parents of twins can each receive full parental leave. Existing
rules restrict parental leave to a maximum of 35 weeks of Employment
Insurance benefits for each pregnancy. Although the ruling does not
bind other Board panels, it may set a precedent that can be relied on
by other multiple birth parents. It also remains to be seen whether
the federal government will experience or respond to increased
pressure to alter the existing Posted on Wednesday, September 23, 2009 at 6:26 pm

The court in A.B. v. C.D., 2009 BCCA 200 considered the interesting
question of mental capacity of a spouse required to form the necessary
intention to separate or enter into marriage. The husband refused to
accept that his wife wanted to divorce him. He argued that his wife
suffered delusions about him, and as a result she lacked the intention
to permanently separate. A party must intend to permanently separate
in order to obtain a divorce, and there must be no reasonable prospect
of reconciliation to Posted on Tuesday, June 23, 2009 at 8:20 am

August 14, 2009 The silent treatment By Joe Friesen From Saturday's
Globe and Mail Mackel Peterkin was no gangster. He'd benefited from
many social programs to help him make something of his life. So why,
at 18, did he find himself charged with murder? It's because, where he
came from, 'no snitching' was the highest law of all Mackel Peterkin
had lived so long suspended between condemnation and redemption that
the wait had become almost normal. Sitting outside Toronto's main
criminal courthouse under a Posted on Saturday, August 15, 2009 at 10:52 am

A jury has acquitted two Toronto men in the 2007 murder of Allan Benn
in a northwest Toronto housing complex, leaving a courtroom awash in
emotion. Shaun Blake and Mackel Peterkin, both 20, had faced charges
of first-degree murder. "Thank you Jesus!" shouted Peterkin's mother
on Friday after the jury filed out. "This is what happens when you
pray!" Family members of both mean wept and danced for joy. "I'm
speechless ... I have no words," Blake said as he walked out of the
courthouse into the warm sunshine. Posted on Friday, June 26, 2009 at 6:24 pm

Obstructing Police Charges in Toronto, Ontario. This article reviews
legal information about obstructing police charges in Toronto,
Ontario. Those looking for advice on this, or any criminal charge,
should consult a criminal lawyer. Obstructing Police It is a crime in
Canada to resist or intentionally obstruct a police officer in the
lawful execution of his duty. What is the definition of "obstruction"?
The definition of "obstruction" that has generally been applied by the
court occurs when a person makes Posted on Sunday, April 12, 2009 at 5:32 pm

I have previously downloaded podcasts from Itunes and so I'm pretty
familiar with that method of content delivery, but Twitter was new to
me. I signed up yesterday (June 22) and added a few celebs, etc. to my
"following" list. It was all very easy and straightforward and I can
see that they both offer some limited utility to libraries. Podcasts
are great content delivery mechanisms as they allow the recipient to
enjoy them on their own terms. I like them. Twitter, I'm not so sure
about. Twitter is perhaps Posted on Tuesday, June 23, 2009 at 7:24 am

Eaton & Le May at booklaunch On Monday May 25 while at the annual
conference of the Canadian Association of Law Libraries in Halifax my
book was launched. Co-author Denis Le May and I signed copies of the
book for about 40 or so folks who purchased a copy from the
publisher's display booth. It was certainly a new experience for me.
The hardest part was figuring out what to write in each book (that was
almost harder than writing the book itself!). Posted on Thursday, May 28, 2009 at 9:40 am

I'm madly trying to get del.icio.us to work and I've kind of got it
working. I registered an account and then tried to upgrade my browser
(using IE 7 ) and followed the instructions. Didn't seem to do
anything as no delicious-related stuff has appeared on any toolbars.
Perhaps when I return in June from a conference in Halifax, I'll
switch to Firefox and this might all go a little smoother. I like the
idea, however, of accessing all my links from wherever. However, maybe
I'm not very social by nature, as I Posted on Thursday, May 21, 2009 at 1:45 pm

The first defence raised by the City of Toronto was that Ms. Guy's
lawsuit was barred by the Municipal Act because she failed to give
notice of her claim in writing by registered mail and within seven
days (note that current requirement is 10 days). Ms. Guy's fall
occurred on March 11, 1999. Five days later she wrote a handwritten
letter to the City about her fall. She sent the note by regular mail.
The City received the letter on March 22, 1999, eleven days after the
fall. Her note stated the following: I, Posted on Monday, March 16, 2009 at 12:00 pm

On December 15, 2008, Justice A.J. Stong of the Ontario Superior Court
of Justice released the Guy v. Toronto (City) court case involving a
slip & fall accident. The case touches on a number of important
legal issues involving liability in slip & falls on municipal
property. The Facts On March 11, 1999, Ms. Vier Guy and her husband
were on their way to Robotech school located on Greenwood Avenue in
the City of Toronto. They took the Bloor/Danforth TTC subway line to
Greenwood Station. After exiting Posted on Tuesday, March 10, 2009 at 6:48 am