Wills, Trusts & Estates
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July 05, 2024
SCC-bound case challenges refusal to publicly disclose court records revealing civil case delays
Does the principle of judicial independence enable judicial leaders to veto, in their absolute discretion, the public release of court records that reveal the extent of civil trial delays in the courts they administer? Absent transparency about courts’ operational performance, is the judicial branch of government sufficiently accountable to the public for its role in managing the courts?
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June 28, 2024
SCC settles confusion in tax disputes about jurisdictional boundaries of Federal and Tax Courts
In judgments that clarify the jurisdictional boundaries between the Federal Court and the Tax Court in tax disputes, the Supreme Court of Canada has rejected separate appeals by two Canadian companies who challenged how their taxes were assessed by the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA).
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June 28, 2024
Veteran Toronto lawyer starts term as LSO treasurer
The Law Society of Ontario’s (LSO) new treasurer praised his predecessor, spoke of past accomplishments and talked about “ceremony, fellowship and policy.” The LSO’s June 28 Convocation featured remarks by newly elected treasurer Peter Wardle, a Toronto-based commercial litigation and professional liability lawyer who will serve in the role for the 2024-25 term.
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June 27, 2024
Canada sanctions ‘extremist settler violence’ against Palestinians
Canada has imposed sanctions on seven Israelis and five entities in Israel “in response to the grave breach of international peace and security posed by their violent and destabilizing actions against Palestinian civilians and their property in the West Bank.”
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June 26, 2024
New public trustee announced for Northwest Territories
R.J. Simpson, the Northwest Territories minister of Justice, announced the appointment of Erin Wagner as the new public trustee of the Northwest Territories. According to a June 25 news release, Wagner’s appointment was effective June 17, 2024.
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June 26, 2024
More Beds, Better Care Act: Dangers disguised as legislation, part two
As we discussed in the first article in this two-part series, thousands of patients every year wait in hospitals for another level of care and are designated as alternate level of care (ALC) patients. A substantial number of these people do not have the capacity to make decisions about their health care and, therefore, rely upon a substitute decision-maker to do so. Bill 7, the More Beds, Better Care Act, 2022, S.O. 2022, c. 16, adversely impacts these already vulnerable members.
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June 25, 2024
Canada sanctions Hamas ‘financiers’ in response to Hamas’s Oct. 7 terror attacks in Israel
Declaring “we stand with the Israeli people and call for the immediate release of all hostages,” Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly announced dealings and entry bans of nine “financiers” of Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad and two Hamas-affiliated financial exchange companies, “effective immediately.”
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June 25, 2024
DEVOLUTION OF ESTATES — Intestacy — Distribution of net estate on intestacy — Determination of beneficiaries
Application by Plaintiffs ("Parents") for procedural orders seeking a stay of Petition in favour of the Notice of Civil Claim ("Action") or a consolidation of the Petition with the Action. Application by Dhaliwal ("Reenu") for order dismissing the Action. The deceased was survived by his Parents, the plaintiffs in the case.
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June 25, 2024
The More Beds, Better Care Act: Dangers disguised as legislation, part one
Each year, thousands of patients are admitted to the hospital in Ontario because of a need for acute care. Once the issue of acute care is resolved, these patients wait in the hospitals for another level of care and are designated as alternate level of care (ACL) patients.
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June 24, 2024
Liberal government’s ‘intransigence’ and undue secrecy spurs litigation: information commissioner
A recent ruling from the Federal Court affirming a disclosure-of-government records order by Canada’s Information Commissioner illustrates the growth in litigation highlighted by the commissioner's 2023-24 annual report to Parliament, a litigation trend she says is fuelled by the Trudeau government’s court challenges and flouting of her legally binding orders.