Articles

The recent OBA Elder Law Section CPD program, "Congregate Care: Legal Issues Facing Residents, Families & Substitute Decision-Makers,” conveyed how critical clear communication is to explaining and understanding the rights of hospital patients and residents of long-term care and retirement homes.

In two recent decisions, Harvey v. The Queen, 2018 TCC 67 and Ashworth v. The Queen, 2018 TCC 76, the Tax Court of Canada addressed issues of consideration and valuation in the context of non-arm's length transfers by tax debtors, demonstrating the importance of expert valuation and documentation.

Topics covered in our summaries of this week’s civil decisions of the Ontario Court of Appeal include crown wardship, constructive dismissal, partial summary judgment, unjust enrichment as a result of an overpayment by an insurer, a construction lien action, and a claim for negligent investigation and related torts against the police and Fire Marshall in a case of arson by negligence.

Examining the application of the standard two-year limitation period in the context of mandatory alternative dispute resolution provisions often found in franchise agreements, with reference to the relatively recent decision, PQ Licensing S.A. v. LPQ Central Canada Inc., 2018 ONCA 331.

Topics covered in this week's summaries include the validity of a will of someone with chronic alcoholism and an application for habeas corpus in the immigration law context.

Indemnities are a tool for allocating risk. Contracting parties often use indemnities to achieve certainty and finality in their affairs. This requires drafters to be conscious of the assumptions and inferences that a court might draw when interpreting the contract. A recent Ontario Court of Appeal decision, Weyerhaeuser v. Ontario (Attorney General), 2017 ONCA 1007, highlights the need for clear language to establish air-tight indemnities.

New guidance from FSCO on biennial member statements and SEPP to JSPP conversions, a PRPP member guide from OSFI, and updates from CAPSA...

Section Chair, Caroline Abela, provides a message to the Trusts and Estates Law Section and reports on the activities of the Section's committees for the 2017-2018 OBA executive year.

Esther Nwator and Christine Laviolette offer a brief overview of the recent developments on this hot topic: the status of the legalization of cannabis, associated regulations, connection to Bill C-46 , and some of the key issues emerging from legalization.

Topics covered this week included the breach of an agreement of purchase and sale of land, whether a termination clause in an employment contract violated the Employment Standards Act, and the appeal route when seeking to review an order of a single judge of the Divisional Court (to a panel of that court, not to the Court of Appeal).