Other Areas of Practice
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May 30, 2025
Canada might not be for sale ... but is Ontario?
Ontario Premier Doug Ford campaigned on a tough response to Trump’s bullying, but now that he has his new mandate, it sure looks to me like he is adopting the president’s authoritarian playbook. That should be no surprise, since he frequently expressed admiration for the Donald before the latter declared a trade war.
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May 29, 2025
Ontario MPP base salary to increase to over $157K
The Ontario government is introducing new legislation that will adjust compensation for members of provincial parliament (MPPs), which includes a reintroduction of pension benefits. This change was said to come with the support of all parties in the legislature.
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May 28, 2025
Common pitfalls in tribunal adjudication of mental health matters, part two: Potential solutions
In part one of this series, I highlighted due process and natural justice or fairness concerns identified by reviewing courts in two mental health tribunal proceedings. In a span of less than four weeks recently, decisions of Ontario’s civil mental health adjudicator, the Consent and Capacity Board, and the Criminal Code-based forensic psychiatric administrative tribunal, the Ontario Review Board, were overturned and returned to them for re-hearing in Hastick v. Banik, 2025 ONSC 3007 and Clayton (Re), respectively.
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May 28, 2025
A dance of justice and order: Legal themes in ballet
Ballet is often celebrated for its ethereal beauty, technical precision and emotionally charged storytelling. Yet, hidden beneath the graceful movements and elaborate sets are recurring themes that mirror society’s deeper structures, including the realms of law, order and justice. Legal themes woven into some of the most enduring ballets examine how narratives of retribution, social contracts and class divisions provide a compelling framework for dance.
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May 28, 2025
Pitfalls in tribunal adjudication of mental health matters: Issues identified by reviewing courts
This past month, two different reviewing courts have provided very similar guidance to two different mental health tribunals in Ontario. On April 24, 2025, the Court of Appeal for Ontario found that Ernest Clayton’s fitness review hearing before the Ontario Review Board constituted a miscarriage of justice and must be reconsidered afresh. Similarly, on May 21, 2025, the Superior Court of Justice returned a review of Arlene Hastick’s Community Treatment Order to the Consent and Capacity Board for re-hearing on the basis that she was denied procedural fairness.
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May 28, 2025
What ‘agreed statement of facts’ really means
The “facts” aren’t always so obvious. More than 90 per cent of criminal convictions in Canada are not the result of a trial, but of a guilty plea. People plead guilty for many reasons, only one of which is that they are actually guilty. But that’s another matter.
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May 27, 2025
Class action certified against Bayer for alleged non-disclosure of contraceptive migration risk
The Alberta Court of King’s Bench has certified a class action against Bayer Inc. over allegations the pharmaceutical giant failed to disclose the migration risk of its Mirena intrauterine contraceptive device.
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May 26, 2025
Federal Court rejects constitutional challenge to $20K damages cap in federal human rights cases
The Federal Court has dismissed a constitutional challenge to the $20,000 cap on pain and suffering damages in federal human rights cases, finding the cap does not violate the Charter’s s. 15(1) equality rights.
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May 26, 2025
Appeal dismissed in case where holdback funds were to be paid by developer
In a decision with five judges on the panel, the British Columbia Court of Appeal has dismissed an appeal regarding a builders lien declaration and order related to holdback funds to be paid by the appellant.
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May 23, 2025
Court allows appeal to change convenient forum from B.C. to Alberta
The British Columbia Court of Appeal has allowed an appeal challenging the jurisdiction of B.C. in a case where the respondent engineering company’s principal brought an action in Alberta despite the company being successful on a forum selection application for B.C.