ADR
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September 07, 2023
Ottawa names Quebec Court of Appeal judge to lead public inquiry into ‘foreign interference’
The Liberal government has established a “Public Inquiry into Foreign Interference in Federal Electoral Processes and Democratic Institutions,” following all-party agreement to the new commission of inquiry’s terms of reference and its commissioner.
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September 05, 2023
Ottawa extends tenure, assessments of judicial advisory committees to three years from two
Faced with loud complaints that Ottawa chronically takes too long to fill vacancies on the superior courts, the Liberal government has announced that new members of its 17 judicial advisory committees (JACs) which vet applications for the bench across Canada will serve for three years, rather than two, while the JACs’ evaluations of individual applicants as “highly recommended,” “recommended” and “unable to recommend” for the federal benches are similarly extended to three years from two, as of Aug. 1.
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September 05, 2023
Canadian legal market AI survey shows high awareness of tech, ‘significant’ ethical concerns
Generative artificial intelligence (GAI) tools, such as ChatGPT, have been a hot topic for the legal profession over the past year, with courts, associations and law schools grappling with the implications of the technology. A new report, issued by LexisNexis Canada, noted that a vast majority of the Canadian legal market had “significant” concerns about the ethical implications of generative AI and over half of the profession, as well as students, believe it will “change law schools and the way law is taught and studied.”
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September 01, 2023
Manitoba lawyer takes over helm of CBA
The Canadian Bar Association (CBA) on Sept. 1 announced that John Stefaniuk of Winnipeg has begun his year-long tenure as the 95th president of the 127-year-old association of more than 38,000 lawyers, notaries, law professors and law students across Canada.
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August 24, 2023
Ottawa ‘saves’ millions by making tardy judicial appointments; average delay 11 months in 2023
The Trudeau government has taken an average of 11 months to fill dozens of empty spots on the bench so far this year, discloses a Law360 Canada examination of 435 judicial vacancies, which reveals as well that Ottawa “saves” the federal treasury tens of millions of dollars annually, on average, by not making timely judicial appointments.
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August 23, 2023
Court: Arbitrator to determine inclusion of corporate lenders in project dispute
The Ontario Superior Court has ruled that an arbitrator should decide whether corporate lenders owned by individual co-owners of a project should be required to be parties to arbitration regarding project contributions.
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August 11, 2023
Family mediators shunning Quebec government program offering free mediation
A Quebec government proposal to increase the hourly fees of family mediators for the first time in more than a decade is far from sufficient to stem the exodus of professionals participating in the government program that offers free family mediation, affirms the head of a mediation organization.
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August 08, 2023
Court rejects appeal regarding arbitration clause in video game terms of service
The British Columbia Court of Appeal has dismissed an appeal concerning an arbitration clause in a case where the appellants spent money on loot boxes for potential prizes found in the video game Pokémon Go.
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August 04, 2023
Letter from the Editor: Addition of Law360 Canada Pulse and Access to Justice Newsletter
I am happy to announce some exciting new enhancements to Law360 Canada, all at no additional cost to subscribers. Pulse is a new section for Law360 Canada, focused on the business of law. This section combines all the content from our previous Business of Law, Insider and Legal Innovation sections into one enhanced section. Pulse includes a frequent newsletter, delivered to your inbox multiple times per week, covering industry trends, best practices and exclusive surveys of Canadian legal professionals.
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August 03, 2023
Ontario court stays action in favour of arbitration in shareholder dispute
The Ontario Superior Court has granted a stay in favour of arbitration in an action involving allegations of fraudulent misrepresentation and breach of contract related to a share purchase agreement.