Articles 2023

In 2023, the Supreme Court of Canada considered a defamation case revolving around the public criticism of transphobic and homophobic comments made by a school board trustee. The decision of Hansman v Neufeld emphasized the importance of counter-speech and recognized the trans community is a marginalized group deserving rights and protections under Canadian law.

Representing a client in litigation where there is a self-represented party can be challenging for lawyers. Generally, the self-represented party does not have the awareness or understanding of substantive and procedural law that a lawyer has, which can lead to protracted proceedings and additional legal fees spent.

On October 30, 2023, the Chief Commissioner of the Ontario Human Rights Commission joined others to discuss a wide range of topics and best practices related to human rights and equity. The conversation and key takeaways are summarized below.

On September 6, 2023, the Ontario Land Tribunal (the “OLT”) issued its decision in Calloway REIT (Mississauga) Inc. v Mississauga (City) (the “Decision”). The OLT found that the Planning Act grants municipalities the authority to enact general policies encouraging and promoting affordable housing, but does not allow them to mandate specific requirements outside of inclusionary zoning.

The Ontario Land Tribunal (OLT) has published new rules for proceedings under the Expropriations Act. Specifically, the OLT has revised Part II (Expropriation Proceedings) of the OLT’s Rules of Practice and Procedure (the Rules). The new Rules are in effect as of October 13, 2023.

Personal injury cases involving catastrophic injuries can be some of the most hotly-contested actions in this field of law. Significant amounts of money are often on the line. Since most civil cases settle before trial, a mediation session where the parties are brought together to negotiate with a neutral third party can be the pivotal moment in proceedings. In this article, I offer some thoughts on how to effectively mediate catastrophic injury cases.

To meet the growing housing demands, the Ministry of Environment, Conservation and Parks has been undertaking extensive consultation regarding amending regulations for the Environment Protection Act and the Ontario Water Resource Act concerning dewatering construction sites ending on October 30, 2023. A closer examination of the proposed regulations reveals gaps that will inevitably lead to violations of environmental law.