Articles 2020

There were only three substantive decisions released by the Court of Appeal this week. In Paulpillai Estate v. Yusuf, the Court reviewed in detail the factors to be considered in an analysis of whether an order is final or interlocutory for the purposes of determining the proper appeal route. Other topics covered this week included bank negligence, and building code violations. Wishing everyone a pleasant weekend.

When COVID-19 was declared a pandemic in March, everyone was saying that we are all in it together. Six months in, it is clear that we are not. We have seen huge disparities in terms of the impacts of this virus on the elderly, the unemployed and underemployed, women, the disabled, Indigenous peoples and racialized minorities.

I am a new member of the OBA Women Lawyers Forum Executive and I am excited to share my first article for the WLF’s article page and Section Insider. I wanted my first contribution to be something positive and inspiring for women lawyers, but a few experiences in my solo tax and estates practice (since launching it in 2019) raise certain persistent issues prevalent in our profession.

An estimated 70 per cent of people experience feeling like an imposter at some point in their lives. While imposter syndrome affects everyone, women and in particular, Black, Indigenous and People of Colour (“BIPOC”) women are uniquely affected by imposter syndrome. 

The Federal Government has recently announced proposed regulations for single-use plastics. From a plastics ban, to recycled content requirements, to extended producer responsibility schemes, this article provides a high-level overview of the proposed measures being contemplated by the Federal Government, and outlines next steps for stakeholders that may be impacted by them.

On Oct. 7, 2020, federal Environment and Climate Change Minister Jonathan Wilkinson announced the federal government would draft regulations to add “plastic manufactured items” to the Schedule 1 list of toxic substances under the Canada Environmental Protection Act (CEPA) by December 2021. This article looks at various aspects of the proposed federal plastics regulatory plan, including potential complications arising from the public and provinces.