Ontario Legal Conference: Insurance Law
Join us to get up to speed on current trends, recent developments, and essential best practices in the insurance sector. Our expert faculty will share valuable insights to ensure you are equipped to best represent your clients.
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9:00am
Welcome & Opening Remarks
9:05amSABS Update: Upcoming Changes and Recent Developments in Accident Benefits
- how the move to optional benefits will reshape coverage disputes, affect priority and entitlement challenges, and push more claimants toward tort; and
- what these changes mean for client counselling, policy interpretation, LAT litigation, and broker liability
Prepare your practice for the new AB landscape. Plus get the latest developments in case law, emerging trends, and valuable guidance for handling LAT hearings with confidence.
10:30 amProfessional Negligence: Insurance Brokers Update
Stay current on professional negligence trends affecting insurance brokers. We’ll unpack recent case law, emerging risks, and practical strategies to minimize liability while navigating complex client relationships particularly in light of the anticipated SABs changes.
11:00 amTop ONCA Cases You Need to Know
Review the most impactful Ontario Court of Appeal decisions on insurance law as we unravel key rulings, their practical implications, and strategies for applying these cases in advising clients and managing risk.
11:30amInter-Sections Networking Break
11:50amAI Evidence in Personal Injury Cases
Explore how AI is shaping evidence in personal injury cases, and the use of AI-generated data, predictive analytics, and digital tools to support claims, assess damages, and strengthen litigation strategies.
12:20pmCoverage Update: PFAS “Forever Chemicals” and the Next Wave of Coverage Claims
PFAS “forever chemicals” are shaping the next generation of long-tail coverage disputes and creating a significant underwriting hazard. Explore the emerging PFAS litigation and regulatory landscape and what it means for CGL, environmental, employers’ liability and D&O policies, with a focus on occurrence triggers, pollution exclusions and the duty to defend.
12:50 pmConcluding Remarks
12:50pmInter-Sections Networking Lunch
Feb 6 • 9:00-3:30pm
Ontario Legal Conference: Municipal, Planning and Environmental Law
Back by popular demand, this flagship event in the OBA’s municipal, planning, and environmental law calendar will provide the insights, advice, and expertise you need to master these evolving legal areas. From recent developments and critical case law to key issues and practice challenges, hear from leading Ontario professionals as they share best practices and updates to help you navigate the critical issues you face daily whether you are in private or public practice.
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All Attendees
9:00 amWelcome and Opening Remarks
9:05 amPlanning for Stormwater and Flood Risk Management
Regulators and legal practitioners unpack the evolving landscape of stormwater and flood control management and share insight on navigating complex regulatory requirements while mitigating risk in an era of increasing climate-related challenges. Hear diverse points of view on:
- Municipal Risk and Liability: Legal implications and exposure municipalities face in managing stormwater systems and flood mitigation strategies.
- Regulatory and Policy Changes: Recent amendments affecting conservation authorities and their impact on planning and compliance.
- Best Practices and Emerging Trends: Innovative approaches for integrating flood risk management into municipal planning frameworks.
10:15 amThe Expansion of Strong Mayor Powers
Municipal & PlanningMore municipalities than ever are grappling with the legal implications of “strong mayor” powers. Unravel the complex problems you’re facing in practice, including the “good faith” requirement and how to confidently advise your clients during this changed era of municipal law.
Director and Officer Liability
EnvironmentalIn today’s evolving regulatory landscape, directors and officers face increasing personal exposure to liability in the area of environmental compliance. Environmental law contraventions can have devastating consequences, including lawsuits, penalties and fines, and even imprisonment.
Get critical insights into:
- Statutory duties to actively prevent corporate environmental transgressions;
- Potential consequences following adverse environmental events; and
- Proactive measures to ensure environmental law compliance and safeguard against liability.
10:55 amThe Duty to Consult: Lessons from Galibier Materials Inc. v. Springwater (Township)
Municipal & PlanningStay ahead on the role and obligations of municipalities in upholding the duty to consult in the land use planning process, and how to integrate the consultation process into planning and regulatory procedures.
11:35 amInter-Sections Networking Break
11:55 amCase Law Update: The Latest in Expropriation Law
Municipal & PlanningDon’t miss your essential review of recent expropriation law decisions and current trends, and what they mean for your clients.
Environmental Insurance: Navigating Pollution Exclusions and the Duty to Defend
EnvironmentalEnvironmental liability continues to pose complex challenges for insurers, municipalities, and businesses. Take a deep dive into the critical issues surrounding environmental insurance coverage, with a focus on:
Get critical insights into:
- Scope and interpretation of pollution exclusion clauses, and the implications for coverage disputes.
- Duty to Defend: Recent case law and evolving standards governing insurers’ obligations to defend environmental claims.
- Strategic Risk Management: How to draft and negotiate policy language to minimize uncertainty and litigation risk.
- How climate change is influencing the environmental insurance landscape.
12:35 pmKeynote Address
1:00 pmInter-Sections Networking Lunch
2:10 pmMaking Sense of Major Legislative Changes to the Planning Act
Municipal & PlanningOntario is undergoing an unprecedent volume of planning and land use reform. Walk away with practical advice on how to best protect your clients’ interests in our shifting planning landscape as we unpack:
- Bill 60, Fighting Delays, Building Faster Act, 2025
- Bill 5, Protect Ontario by Unleashing our Economy Act, 2025
- Bill 17, Protect Ontario by Building Faster and Smarter Act, 2025
- Changes to the community benefits charges regime
Federal vs. Ontario Environmental Prosecutions: Setting a Course through Jurisdictional Nuances
EnvironmentalEnvironmental prosecutions can have wide-ranging consequences and, depending on the regulator, can have their own jurisdictional nuances. Delve into the legislative, enforcement, and nuances between prosecutorial approaches that arise when environmental offences are prosecuted under different levels of government.
3:00 pmCase Law Update: The Latest in Planning Law
Municipal & PlanningThis exceptional annual review will bring you up to speed on the latest in planning case law. Don’t miss this opportunity to hear about the most important decisions of the past year.
Landfill Law and Policy: New Pressures, Old Problems
EnvironmentalOntario’s landfill landscape is under increasing pressure. With the province projected to run out of landfill capacity within the next decade, the government has begun fast-tracking controversial projects, sparking legal, political, and environmental policy debates across the province.
Hear perspectives on the legal and regulatory challenges associated with siting, reopening, and expanding landfills, and gain a comprehensive understanding of the complex interplay between environmental law, municipal planning, and provincial policy on landfills.
3:30 pmProgram Concludes