Family
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June 24, 2024
Ontario anti-SLAPP law has strayed too far away from its original intention, lawyer says
Ontario’s top court has overturned a decision that dismissed a man’s defamation case as a strategic lawsuit against public participation, or SLAPP, but a legal expert is saying the ruling once again demonstrates the failings of the province’s current anti-SLAPP legislation.
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June 21, 2024
Public school boards are bound by Charter; tribunals’ Charter rulings reviewed for correctness: SCC
In an important Charter and standard of review case, the Supreme Court of Canada has ruled that labour arbitrators and other administrative tribunals “should play a primary role” in deciding Charter issues within their bailiwicks — which Charter determinations courts should review on a “correctness” rather than “reasonableness” standard — and that the Charter applies to Ontario public school boards, thereby protecting board employees’ reasonable expectations of privacy in their workplaces and shielding employees from unreasonable search or seizure by their employers.
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June 21, 2024
Feds ban foreign students from ‘flagpoling’ at border to bypass work permit wait times
The federal government has announced that foreign nationals will no longer be allowed to apply for post-graduation work permits (PGWP) at the border, according to a release by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC).
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June 21, 2024
Ontario Court overturns finding that company directors were personally liable in property dispute
The Ontario Court of Appeal has overturned a finding that the directors of two companies were personally liable for the proceeds of the sale of a property that was the subject of a joint venture dispute.
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June 21, 2024
CUSTODY, PARENTING, AND ACCESS — Appeals and judicial review — Constitutional issues
Motion by JL and RS (“appellants”) for state-funded counsel to represent them on appeal. The appellants were parents of four children. The Minister of Community Services (“Minister”) commenced legal proceedings against them and sought orders placing the children in permanent care.
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June 21, 2024
3 judicial appointments in Ontario
Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada Arif Virani announced in a June 18 press release three judicial appointments to the Superior Court of Justice of Ontario: Barbara A. MacFarlane, Colleen Yamashita and S. James Mountford.
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June 20, 2024
Ottawa lists Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as a terrorist entity in Criminal Code
The Government of Canada listed the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) of Iran as a terrorist entity under the Criminal Code, effective June 19, 2024.
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June 20, 2024
Inheriting assets: Balancing wealth and family dynamics
A recent legal decision surrounding the death of the founder of the prominent Onni Group, DeCotiis v. DeCotiis Estate, 2023 BCSC 2163, highlighted how important it is for families to use diverse planning strategies to safeguard assets and to keep out of expensive legal disputes.
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June 20, 2024
Bill C-71 corrects many historic citizenship wrongs | Don Chapman
Bill C-71, An Act to Amend the Citizenship Act (2024) is the result of a Charter challenge ruling on Dec. 19, 2023, by the Ontario Superior Court of Justice, in a lawsuit against the government by several affected Canadian families (Bjorkquist et al. v. Attorney General of Canada, 2023 ONSC 7152). The successful outcome was the result of legal arguments by the plaintiff’s attorney and wrenching personal stories presented to the court, including in-depth and historically solid research. The result? The Canadian Citizenship Act is not Charter-compliant as it violates the constitution by discriminating against first-generation born-abroad Canadians and women.
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June 19, 2024
International family mediation
Family disputes are often complicated by complex emotional and financial considerations. The complexities can escalate into particularly stressful ordeals when family issues cross international borders. Fortunately, the flexibility that the mediation process allows can empower parties to resolve challenging international family disputes in an expedient way and at a lower cost than litigation.