Articles

The following articles are published by OBA Sections, including the Student Section. Members are encouraged to submit articles.

Editor: Cláudio Antônio Klaus Júnior 

Today
Today
photo of author Laura Epplett

Termination for Excessive Innocent Absenteeism Upheld

  • May 02, 2023
  • Laura Epplett

An arbitrator upheld the termination of a unionized employee under the employer’s attendance support program for excessive absenteeism where there was no prospect of reasonable attendance.

Labour and Employment Law, Student Forum

Brown Bag Lunch – March 21, 2023

  • May 01, 2023
  • Rebecca Kennedy, Adair Goldblatt Bieber LLP

OBA members met in March for the monthly Brown Bag Lunch session. Topics discussed included the current turnaround time for probate applications, and the recent Grattan v Grattan decision in which the court relied on the new substantial compliance provision of the Succession Law Reform Act.

Student Forum, Trusts and Estates Law

Court of Appeal Summaries (March 27, 2023 – March 31, 2023)

  • April 30, 2023
  • John Polyzogopoulos and Ines Ferreira

Following are this week’s summaries of the civil decisions of Court of Appeal for Ontario for the week of March 27 to 31, 2023. There were only two substantive decisions. One was a commercial leasing matter, and the other was a receivership matter.

Civil Litigation, Student Forum
photo of author Lucy G. Jackson

Statistical and Circumstantial Evidence in Medical Malpractice Class Action Proceedings: Levac v James, 2023 ONCA 73

  • April 28, 2023
  • Lucy G. Jackson

This article summarizes an important medical negligence class proceeding decision that addresses the use of circumstantial evidence to support findings of negligence and discusses common, class-wide findings of breach of the standard of care and causation. The Court of Appeal approved of the lower court’s reliance on statistical evidence with respect to rates of infection and agreed that there was a causal link between the class members’ infections and the Defendant’s subpar IPAC practices.

Health Law, Student Forum
photo of author Mina Karabit

Reducing Barriers for US-trained Physicians to Practice in Ontario

  • April 28, 2023
  • Mina Karabit

The College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario has proposed changes to its registration policies to encourage more US-trained physicians to practice in Ontario. This article briefly highlights the different pathways through which physicians may become registered to practice in Ontario. The proposed policies are not yet in force and, for now, the old pathways still apply.

Health Law, Student Forum

Energy Regulatory Update (Q1, 2023)

  • April 27, 2023
  • Mark Rubenstein, Shepherd Rubenstein

This update features a round-up of the important developments in the Ontario energy sector between January and March (and the first days of April). The author has scoured the regulatory landscape so that you can stay informed and ahead of the curve in this rapidly changing environment.

Natural Resources and Energy Law, Student Forum

From Settlement to Stay: The Ontario Court of Appeal Affirms the Importance of Prompt Disclosure of Settlement Information to Related Parties

  • April 27, 2023
  • Grace Murdoch

In its recent decision, Skymark Finance Corporation v Ontario, 2023 ONCA 234 , the Ontario Court of Appeal took the opportunity to comment on the importance of immediate disclosure of settlement minutes to other parties in an action and to clarify the meaning of the phrase “to change the entirety of the litigation landscape."

Insurance Law, Student Forum

Expertise Employed and Employed Experts: Independent Expert Witnesses in Tax Disputes Post-White Burgess

  • April 21, 2023
  • Brian M. Studniberg

Expert witnesses play an important, and often decisive, role in litigation. Tax disputes are no different, as experts regularly testify on matters such as those involving asset valuations, transfer pricing or scientific research and experimental development. It is a truism that the first obligation of the expert is to the court to which the expert is called to assist and not to the party calling the expert.

Student Forum, Taxation Law