Articles 2025

One recent judicial review, Sloat v Grand Erie District School Board, 2024 ONSC 6209, offers a cautionary tale about the importance of protecting procedural rights and ensuring that decision-makers have a full understanding of the facts before rendering their decisions.

I attended a program on Auer v. Auer, where experts discussed its impact on administrative law. The decision clarified how courts review regulations, building on previous cases like Vavilov and Katz. It helped me connect my coursework to real-world legal challenges, deepening my understanding of key concepts and their future applications.

Happy New Year! We’re excited to bring you the latest edition of the Shepherd Rubenstein Energy Regulatory Update, a comprehensive quarterly summary of the incredibly busy period in Ontario's energy sector. This issue highlights the flurry of regulatory activity and significant developments from October to December (and the first few days of January).

Following are our summaries of the civil decisions of the Court of Appeal for Ontario for the week of January 27, 2025.

The public has become increasingly aware of the potential dangers of widespread use of perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) to human health and the environment. This has led to class actions in the United States and Canada as well as regulation of PFAS. However, Canada lags behind the US both in litigation and regulation. Developments in the US may foreshadow the future regulatory and litigation landscape for PFAS in Canada.

In October 2024, the Ontario Court of Appeal released its decision for Mathur v. Ontario, 2024 ONCA 762. This article addresses some of the finer points in Mathur and discusses whether the remedies ultimately suggested by the Court of Appeal are appropriate in the face of climate emergencies.

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.