Articles

Following are our summaries of the past week’s civil decisions of the Court of Appeal for Ontario. The Court delivered a flurry of year-end decisions ahead of the holidays.

The final BBL meeting of the year focussed on things to come, including O. Reg. 690/20, which will change the process of applying for a Certificate of Appointment of Estate Trustee, and electronic filing of those applications.

Like almost everything this year, the OBA’s Make a Will Month looked a little different in 2020. The annual November event pivoted to an online platform for its presentations. Events were well attended, with participants attending from across and even outside the country, thanks to the flexibility offered by online programming.

A reminder to estate planners: upcoming changes to trust reporting rules will affect most Canadian-resident express trusts, and all non-resident trusts that file a T3 return, for taxation years ending on or after December 31, 2021.

This article explores the recent advances in AI generated art, including images and voices of dead celebrities that are digitally resurrected to create new artistic works. Such works, the author argues, are unlike anything that came before, and a new legislative framework, including in estates law, is required to address complicated issues surrounding the creation, ownership, and profit from such works.

In the wake of COVID-19, which has strained already limited judicial resources, the Alberta Court of Appeal has issued a decision addressing the need for judicial economy and the avoidance of duplicative and overlapping proceedings in multijurisdictional class actions.

On November 27, our Section Chair, Molly Reynolds, sat down by the virtual fireside with Ontario’s new Information and Privacy Commissioner, Patricia Kosseim, for an insightful discussion on the future of privacy and access laws in Ontario.

Members of the CCCA – Ontario Chapter offer their appreciation of those who’ve educated, empowered and inspired them, including Mark Crestohl and Graham McNeil.

The Government of Canada recently released its new climate plan, “A Healthy Environment and a Healthy Economy – Canada’s strengthened climate plan to create jobs and support people, communities and the planet” (Plan). Building on the 2016 Pan-Canadian Framework, the Plan proposes to exceed Canada’s 2030 emissions reduction target under the Paris Agreement, achieve net-zero emissions by 2050, and create over one million jobs, restoring employment to pre-pandemic levels.