Resources, Articles, & Advocacy
Article | April 14, 2025
Dividing the Enterprise: Business Law Solutions for the Family Business Separation
This guide seeks to provide an overview of the legal considerations involved in dividing a family business during a spousal separation. It attempts to demonstrate the importance and overlap of both business and family law aspects. This guide is written exclusively however, from a business lawyer perspective.
Legislative Update | April 07, 2025
Your OBA LegUp Policy and Legislative Update Week of April 7
Province Wants More Strong Mayors: Ontario is proposing to expand strong mayor powers to the heads of council in 169 additional municipalities starting in May. The province said on Wednesday that the expansion would help ensure municipalities have the tools they need to reduce obstacles to new housing and infrastructure developments. The additional municipalities would include the City of Orillia, the Township of Uxbridge, the Town of Wasaga Beach, the Township of King, and the Town of Collingwood. The government first granted the powers to the mayors of Toronto and Ottawa in 2022, and since then has expanded them a few times. Public comments on the proposal may be submitted via email until April 16, 2025.
Legislative Update | April 04, 2025
Your OBA LegUp Policy and Legislative Update Week of March 31
Ford Calls Tariffs “Unacceptable”: Canada got "the best of a bad deal" when the country was spared yet another volley of tariffs from U.S. President Donald Trump's administration Wednesday, Ontario Premier Doug Ford says. But that deal is still "totally unacceptable," Ford was quick to add when speaking with reporters at Queen's Park Thursday, noting the threat to the nation's auto sector especially is still "very high." Prime Minister Mark Carney has announced Canada is retaliating against Trump's trade policy with a 25 per cent tariff on vehicles imported from the U.S. that are not compliant with the Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA).
Superior Court of Justice | April 04, 2025
Superior Court of Justice – Notice to the Profession and Public – Northeast and Northwest Regions: Uploading to Case Center for Civil and Family Cases
Effective March 17, 2025, in the Northwest and Northeast regions, all properly filed Family Responsibility Office materials at the Superior Court of Justice, must be uploaded to Case Center. For both Family and Civil matters, Court Services will release orders and endorsements through Case Center and may assist self-represented litigants with uploading materials where appropriate.
Legislative Update | March 31, 2025
Your OBA LegUp Policy and Legislative Update Week of March 24
OBA Seeks "Urgency, Transparency and Accountability" from LSO: In an op-ed published on Thursday, the OBA urged the Law Society of Ontario to deal quickly with the current crisis and then shift its focus from the insular considerations of how to govern itself to the vital work of governing. “These are hard times for the rule of law, access to justice and our economic stability. Lawyers have a critical role to play," OBA President Kathryn Manning wrote. “We must get past this issue and turn our efforts to these fundamental matters. The only way past this issue is to chart a straightforward course through; there is no getting around it. We look forward to working with the many benchers who recognize that.”
Article | February 04, 2025
Case Law Update: JFR v KLL 2024 ONCA 520
Last fall, I presented at the OBA Health Law Section – Case Law Update, a quarterly session aimed at summarizing recent important cases in the health law area. I presented the 2024 Ontario Court of Appeal decision, JFR v KLL, 2024 ONCA 520. While this is a family law case on its face, it has a huge bearing on health and disability law, as it fundamentally concerns the rights and autonomy of adult people living with disabilities.
Submission | November 18, 2024
LSO Increased Transparency Proposal
The OBA provides feedback to the Law Society of Ontario recommending it reject the Increased Transparency proposal as outlined. The public protection goals are important shared objectives, but the proposal has an extreme imbalance between the risks to licensees and the profession, and those public protection goals. We urge the LSO to work with legal stakeholders on an updated proposal that achieves the necessary balance for the profession and the public.
Advocacy | May 10, 2024
Your OBA LegUp Policy and Legislative Update Week of May 6
Safeguarding Students: The Ontario government plans to introduce regulatory changes through legislation that would create protections to better safeguard students’ information from being stolen or used inappropriately while on school devices. In a news release, the province said future regulations could include age-appropriate standards for software programs on devices, like laptops, used by students at school, as well as stronger standards for software procurement to avoid the use or selling of student data for predatory marketing by third parties.
