Articles 2025

A look at providing legal services to Canada's increasingly diverse population.

If COVID-19 overwhelms hospital resources, should the Ontario government consider a recommendation for an Executive Order to temporarily suspend the law requiring doctors to obtain consent of patients or families before withdrawing a life-sustaining treatment?

A feature unique to class actions is that class members are not always happy with settlements. Occasionally, class members object to settlements but judges approve them anyway. Is there recourse for class members when this situation arises? Alberta Court of Appeal ruled in Macaronies Hair Club and Laser Center Inc. v Bank of Montreal that unhappy class members have no right to appeal a settlement order and have no other recourse.

Novel claims present a significant challenge for courts in the context of interlocutory proceedings such as motions to strike or amend pleadings, or to certify class proceedings. In Atlantic Lottery Corp. Inc. v. Babstock, the Supreme Court of Canada provided welcome guidance on how courts should approach motions to strike pleadings of novel causes of action. Notably, the Court held that a plaintiff’s claim will not survive a motion to strike simply because it is novel.

The OSC has finally decided the merits of a class action under the secondary market liability provisions of the Ontario Securities Act. Belobaba, J. began by noting that “leave to proceed will be granted if there is enough evidence to clear the ‘reasonable possibility’ hurdle,” but “when the matter is litigated in full and the plaintiff’s hurdle is the more demanding ‘balance of probabilities’, the defendants may prevail and the securities class action will be dismissed."

Effective advocacy in health law requires the ability to argue before a variety of adjudicators. Read this summary of the OBA Health Law Section's recent PD program on Advocating before Health Discipline Committees and gain valuable insights from the decision-makers themselves about how counsel can advocate effectively for their clients at health discipline committee hearings.

We are excited to share with you the insights of five prominent members of the bar with extensive experience in medical malpractice litigation, both from the perspective of plaintiffs and defence counsel. Whether you are currently working on medical malpractice files, considering a career in this interesting and complex area of litigation, or are just curious about what senior members of the bar who practice in this field have to say about their work, read on.

Following are this week’s summaries of the civil decisions of the Court of Appeal for Ontario. In Rusinek, the Court refused to allow the trustee in bankruptcy to bring a claim for equalization of net family property against the bankrupt’s spouse. The Court found that s. 7(2) of the Family Law Act precludes a trustee from commencing an equalization claim for the first time after the bankruptcy. Other topics addressed this week included social host liability and interveners.

The Toronto Estates Court and its Estates List Users Committee (ELUC) have approved the publication of full Minutes (rather than summaries) of all ELUC meetings going forward. These December 2020 Minutes provide updates on probate wait times, issuing applications, booking hearing dates, and best practices for filing large records, among other matters.