The Marine Liability Act and the “polluter pay” regime: A review of the Court’s decision in British Columbia v. The administrator of the Ship-source Oil Pollution Fund, 2019 BCCA 232
Earlier this summer, the British Columbia Court of Appeal dismissed an appeal by the Province of British Columbia concerning the Province’s liability for oil pollution under the federal Marine Liability Act, S.C. 2001, c.6. The pollution in question had emanated from a derelict vessel of whi…
View the post titled The Marine Liability Act and the “polluter pay” regime: A review of the Court’s decision in British Columbia v. The administrator of the Ship-source Oil Pollution Fund, 2019 BCCA 232We (do not?) have a deal: Mutual agreement on essential terms will make settlement binding
Consider the following scenario. A business gives advance written notice of termination to one of its employees. At the same time, the business delivers to the employee a letter offering a termination package (i.e., a settlement agreement) that exceeds the employee’s minimum entitlements und…
View the post titled We (do not?) have a deal: Mutual agreement on essential terms will make settlement bindingOntario government moving towards further auto insurance reforms
On April 11, 2019, the Ontario Provincial Government released the “Putting Drivers First” blueprint, which proposes a series of reforms to the auto insurance system in Ontario. While many details of the plan have yet to be released by the Government, some of the proposed changes include: All…
View the post titled Ontario government moving towards further auto insurance reformsVedanta Resources PLC v Lungowe, [2019] UKSC 20
Removing straitjackets, and widening the potential scope of parent company liability for a subsidiary’s actions Can the parent company of a multinational group owe a duty of care to a third party for the actions of a foreign operating subsidiary? There remains no definitive answer at the tim…
View the post titled Vedanta Resources PLC v Lungowe, [2019] UKSC 20Ministry of Finance seeks to prevent insurers from improperly including HST in accident benefit limits
On March 13, 2019, the Ministry of Finance proposed changes to the Statutory Accident Benefits Schedule (“SABS”) under the Insurance Act to clarify that Harmonized Sales Tax (“HST”) is required to be paid by insurers in addition to the maximum accident benefit amounts limits. In Ontario, con…
View the post titled Ministry of Finance seeks to prevent insurers from improperly including HST in accident benefit limitsSpeeding up Certification by Extending Filing Deadlines?
On July 17, 2019, the Law Commission of Ontario (“LCO”) released its final report, Class Actions: Objectives, Experience and Reforms. The LCO report makes 47 recommendations to reform Ontario’s Class Proceeding Act (“CPA”) and related policies. One major theme of the report is that the speed…
View the post titled Speeding up Certification by Extending Filing Deadlines?Accommodation is a Two-Way Process
The case of Joseph v. Tecumseh Community Development Corporation (2019 HRTO 635) is a good reminder that the process of accommodating human rights in the workplace is a cooperative one, requiring effort and information by both parties. In this case, Ms. Joseph forwarded a human rights comp…
View the post titled Accommodation is a Two-Way ProcessCan an Employee Declare Frustration of the Employment Contract?
More often than not, the employer asserts frustration of the employment contract when an employee is absent on a lengthy medical leave and there is little prospect of a return to work in the foreseeable future. Employers often want to get these employees “off the books”, even though it means…
View the post titled Can an Employee Declare Frustration of the Employment Contract?Federal Carbon-Pricing Scheme is Constitutional: A Review of the Reference re Greenhouse Gas Pollution Pricing Act, 2019 ONCA 544
Last week, the Ontario Court of Appeal released its decision in Reference re Greenhouse Gas Pollution Pricing Act, 2019 ONCA 544 on the constitutionality of the federal carbon pricing scheme. The Court held that the Greenhouse Gas Pollution Pricing Act, which imposes charges for various fuel…
View the post titled Federal Carbon-Pricing Scheme is Constitutional: A Review of the Reference re Greenhouse Gas Pollution Pricing Act, 2019 ONCA 544Not-so-breaking news: You may not contract out of the Employment Standards Act, 2000
In a previous blog, I discussed recent cases discussing the enforceability of termination clauses in employment agreements. In Ariss v. NORR Limited Architects & Engineers, 2019 ONCA 449, a Court of Appeal decision released on May 30, 2019, the Court confirmed that employees and employe…
View the post titled Not-so-breaking news: You may not contract out of the Employment Standards Act, 2000Receive Blog Posts
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