Dickinson Wright (JD Supra Canada)

What happened? The Quebec Government made waves when they tabled Bill 96 – An Act respecting French, the official and common language of Quebec, on May 13, 2021. The bill amends the province’s Charter of the French Language by instituting some broad and significant changes to Quebec’s language laws. Once passed, Bill 96 would affirm French and significantly strengthen French as the first...

On April 30, 2021, as part of the 2021 federal budget, the Canadian government introduced Bill C-30, An Act to implement certain provisions of the budget tabled in Parliament on April 19, 2021, and other measures (the "Bill")[1] for first reading in Parliament. Included in the Bill is the initial draft of the proposed Retail Payment Activities Act (the "RPAA"), which, if enacted, would represent...

(Procureur général du Québec v. Association canadienne des télécommunications sans fil) - Overview The Canadian Criminal Code(the “Code”) sets out the parameters of legal gaming in Canada pursuant to section 91 (27) of the Constitution Act, 1867, which gives the federal government jurisdiction over criminal penalties and sanctions such as those applicable to gambling.

In Prowse v. Noroozi 2021 ONSC 3099 (CanLII), Justice McCarthy of the Superior Court of Justice recently granted summary judgment for $806,380.59 against a purchaser of a luxury home in King City (the “Property”) in an aborted real estate transaction.

The date a limitation period begins depends on when the claim was discovered. The recent decision of the Ontario Court of Appeal in Kaynes v. BP, PLC clarifies the law of discoverability under the Limitations Act, 2002, S.O. 2002, c. 24 (the “Act”) concerning claims for fraudulent misrepresentation.

Starting in 1997, the Supreme Court of Canada (“SCC”) has rendered a series of decisions that have progressed from the imposition of a duty of good faith and fair dealing on the employer, at the time of an employee’s dismissal, towards a duty of good faith and fair dealing in the overall employment relationship.

On Monday, April 19, 2021, Canada’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, Chrystia Freeland, released the first official budget in the past two years, titled, Federal Budget 2021: A Recovery Plan for Jobs, Growth, and Resilience (the “Budget”). The Budget proposed over $100 billion in spending, and, among the more significant measures, the Budget proposes extending the Canada Emergency...

The Canadian Criminal Code (the “Code”) sets forth the parameters of legal gaming in Canada. The Code generally prohibits sports-based wagering except where such wagering is conducted and managed by the provincial governments; however, section 207(4)(b) of the Code prohibits even those governments from offering wagering on the outcome of a single sporting event or contingency thereon.

Introduction - On March 25, 2021, the Supreme Court of Canada (the “SCC”) released its decision in Reference re Greenhouse Gas Pollution Pricing Act, upholding the constitutionality of a federal law establishing minimum national standards for carbon pricing in Canada.

As I mentioned in my previous post, quant and TOBAM funder Yves Choueifaty’s journey towards securing a Canadian patent for his process of constructing “anti-benchmark” securities portfolios has not been easy.

Lightbulbs, bike gears, corkscrews, drilling rigs, TV towers, computer chips, medicine, and cleaning supplies. That’s the kind of stuff patents are for, right? Patents are only applied-for by those white-coated toilers frowning at lab benches, by those strange tinkerers in their dusty garages, and by those hoody-clad Silicon Valley campus-dwellers carting their chaotic circuit boards, right?

On March 22, 2021, the Government of Canada imposed sanctions on several officials representing the Government of China and a Chinese entity for ‘gross systematic human rights violations’ under the Special Economic Measures (People’s Republic of China) Regulations.

Preservation of property during litigation is dealt with under rule 45 of the Ontario Rules of Civil Procedure. The traditional test under rule 45 was designed for situations where the thing being preserved was the subject of the litigation, such as an asset over which ownership was disputed. This test was not appropriate for all of the situations when rule 45 motions might arise. The Ontario...

Now that the first anniversary of the COVID-19 pandemic is here and there is hope that there will not be a second based on vaccinations, here is an HR Check List that employers should consider as our economy will be re-opening.

On March 1, 2021, new public health measures to limit the spread of COVID-19 went into effect in Ontario. These measures represent the Government of Ontario moving multiple public health regions to new levels of its COVID-19 Response Framework.

Security For Costs Explained - As discussed in Volume 1, Number 4, an unsuccessful party at trial is generally required to pay 60 percent of the successful party’s legal fees.  Thus, if the successful party incurred costs of $100,000, the unsuccessful party is responsible to pay the successful party $60,000, in addition to paying his own legal fees.

Background - Six years ago, in Bhasin v. Hrynew (“Bhasin”), the Supreme Court of Canada (“SCC”) recognized a contractual duty of honest performance.[1] On December 18, 2020, the SCC released its decision in CM Callow Inc. v. Zollinger (“Callow”), clarifying that duty.

On January 12, 2021, the Government of Ontario declared a second provincial emergency (the “Declaration”) which introduces additional restrictions in an attempt to combat the spread of COVID-19, including: A limit of 5 people in outdoor organized public and social gatherings.

In the 2019 federal budget, the Canadian federal government announced changes to the taxation of employee stock options. On November 30, 2020, in its Fall Economic Statement, the federal government announced it was moving forward with plans to amend the tax treatment of employee stock options and released further information. Beginning July 1, 2021, stock options granted on or after this date...

On December 12, 2020, the Ontario Court of Appeal released its decision in Malik v. Attia, 2020 ONCA 787. In this case, the Court of Appeal sent a clear message to judges scheduling motions for partial summary judgment: stop!

Background - On October 23, 2020, the Supreme Court of Canada (“SCC”) released its decision in The Owners, Strata Plan LMS 3905 v. Crystal Square Parking Corporation (“Crystal Square”), an appeal about whether a pre-incorporation agreement was binding on the owner of an office tower.

COVID-19 required Ontario Courts to adopt temporary measures to quickly modernize the court system. This included implementing virtual hearings, piloting the new CaseLines online platform, and permitting service by email.

Given the ongoing pandemic, many purchasers are unable to pay their vendors for products they received. Many vendors have tried their best to accommodate these purchasers by delaying payment dates or entering into payment plans. But what happens if the purchaser never pays? How much time does the vendor have to sue the purchaser for non-payment?

Introduction - On November 17, 2020, Canada’s federal government introduced a bill to enact new legislation that would strengthen protections for individuals from privacy loss due to the failures and limitations of corporate consumer privacy measures. The proposed legislation, known as the Consumer Privacy Protection Act (“CPPA”), would be the first major overhaul of Canada’s privacy law rules on

The Ontario Court of Appeal recently upheld a gift made to beneficiaries under a will, despite the assets being owned by a corporation, and not the deceased himself. This is an important decision that will affect estate planning and will construction. In particular, testamentary gifts that may previously have failed may now be valid.

In my previous blog (Volume 1, Number 2), I discussed the importance of reading contracts before signing them. As a refresher, if you sign a contract, you are generally bound by the terms of the contract even if you had not read the terms of the contract before you signed it.

On September 29, 2020, the Government of Canada imposed sanctions on several officials representing the Government of Belarus under the Special Economic Measures Act (SEMA), including Belarusian President Aleksandr Grigoryevich Lukashenko. According to Government Affairs Canada, the sanctions are part of a broader diplomatic effort in the wake of “a systematic campaign of repression and violence...

Early morning on September 30, 2020, the House of Commons unanimously passed legislation authorizing new benefits for Canadian workers impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. The federal government's latest COVID-19 legislation (Bill C-4) will expand paid benefits for Canadians who are vulnerable due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The bill will now need to be passed by the Senate.

Early morning on September 30, 2020, the House of Commons unanimously passed legislation authorizing new benefits for Canadian workers impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. The federal government's latest COVID-19 legislation (Bill C-4) will expand paid benefits for Canadians who are vulnerable due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The bill will now need to be passed by the Senate.

Those applying for Canadian patents will be pleased to learn of a recent decision by the Federal Court of Canada invalidating the patent office’s controversial problem-solution approach to patent claim construction. The Court suggested that, because the problem-solution approach fails to respond to the issue of an inventor’s intention in choosing words for a patent claim, it is not in keeping...