Articles 2020

The article summarizes a Public Sector Lawyers Section program, How to Work with Self-Represented Parties in your Public Law Practice, delivered on November 18, 2020.

The changes to the Construction Act, including the introduction of prompt payment and adjudication, were designed, in part, to bring construction projects to completion faster and with fewer payment delays. In the construction context, adjudication is the determination of a dispute arising under a contract by an adjudicator who is a qualified person appointed to conduct an investigation and make a quick decision.

The new CCDC 2 updates the standard form contract to catch up with recent prompt payment and adjudication changes in Ontario. It also introduces a number of other changes to both reflect more recent trends in contracting and to otherwise streamline the contract. This article provides a brief summary of some of these changes, with references to the corresponding paragraphs of the CCDC 2.

The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic has provided the impetus for the increased use of technology in many industries – including the construction industry, which has historically been criticized for having productivity problems and being slow to embrace new technology.

Effective January 1, 2021, Ontario Regulation 689/20 substantially amended the Rules of Civil Procedure. In many ways, the changes reflect the reality of litigation in Ontario since the onset of the COVID-19 Pandemic and focus on a technological shift in the nature of litigation, which was both necessary, and needed. Not only do the changes affect litigation under the Construction Act but they will also have an impact on the prompt payment and adjudication provisions therein.

Below are our last summaries of 2020. On another note, please mark down April 27, 2021, from 5:30-7:45pm in your calendars for our 5th annual “Top Appeals” CLE, which will be held via Zoom. I am pleased to announce that Justice Benjamin Zarnett will be co-chairing the event with me and Chloe Snider. Please register for the program on the OBA's website.

In litigation, there are a number of factors parties (and their advocates) can control, but an equally important number of factors they cannot. It can be difficult to determine where control of a case ends when the stakes are high, but there are some crucial aspects of any litigation case to keep in mind.

In a series of decisions released in the spring, summer and fall of 2020, the Ontario Superior Court of Justice granted summary judgment to the class in an overtime class action brought on behalf of approximately 35,000 front-line employees of CIBC. The decisions represent the first merits determination in an overtime class action case in Canada and could serve as a template for future cases.

Since the #MeToo hashtag and the resulting movement swept across social media in 2017, purchasers are increasingly requiring that vendors provide diligence disclosure and a legal representation concerning sexual harassment in merger and acquisition agreements. This article identifies various considerations for navigating the tension between providing thorough disclosure while upholding obligations regarding privacy, privilege, and confidentiality.