In-House Counsel
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May 30, 2024
Alberta lashes out at proposed expansion of federal anti-greenwashing laws
Alberta’s environment minister is crying foul over Ottawa’s proposed Bill C-59, saying its anti-greenwashing measures will amount to a gag order on Canada’s oil and gas industry.
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May 30, 2024
MPs call for automatic renewed work & study permits for Hong Kongers; 97.6% get permanent residence
The Commons citizenship and immigration committee has urged Ottawa to “immediately automatically renew open work permits and study permits” for Hong Kong nationals as they wait in Canada for their permanent resident applications to be decided by the immigration department, which has more than 10,000 applications awaiting disposition.
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May 30, 2024
Alberta legislature adopts municipal governance bill that raised ire of stakeholders
Alberta legislators have passed a contentious municipal governance bill that observers have characterized as a “power grab” that allows for too much provincial intrusion into local government and politics. Bill 20, the Municipal Affairs Statutes Amendment Act, which passed third reading in the Alberta legislature on May 29, amends both the Local Authorities Elections Act (LAEA) and the Municipal Government Act (MGA) and gives cabinet the power to both order a recall vote for municipal councillors and require municipalities to amend or repeal bylaws. The legislation also opens the door to the establishment of local political parties while also permitting union and corporate donations to local candidates with the same $5,000 per municipality per year donation limits as individual donors.
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May 30, 2024
Cellphones in Ontario schools, the voice of the child, part two | Marvin Zuker
On March 25, 2024, Florida became the first state to effectively bar residents under the age of 14 from holding accounts on services like TikTok and Instagram. The bill, effective January 2025, signed by Gov. Ron De Santis, prohibits certain social networks from giving accounts to children under 14 and requires the services to terminate accounts that a platform knew or believed belonged to underage users. It also requires the platform to obtain a parent’s permission before giving accounts to 14- and 15-year-olds.
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May 29, 2024
More Ontario schools, school boards join $4.5 billion lawsuit against social media giants
A number of school boards and private schools in Ontario have joined a multi-billion dollar lawsuit against tech giants Meta, Snapchat and TikTok for allegedly disrupting student learning and the education system.
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May 29, 2024
Politically exposed persons and money laundering, part two
Politically exposed persons (PEPs) are individuals who hold prominent public positions or have close associations with such individuals. Due to their influential roles, PEPs are considered to be at a higher risk of being involved in corrupt activities, including money laundering. However, it is crucial to emphasize that being a PEP does not grant immunity from the law, especially when it comes to money laundering.
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May 29, 2024
Cellphones in Ontario schools, the voice of the child: Both on silent | Marvin Zuker
According to Ontario Premier Doug Ford on April 30, 2024, “[I]t’s staggering numbers, the numbers I’ve seen with parents supporting the ban because they want their kids to go to school and learn — not to be on social media and fiddling around with their cellphones during class,” he said. “Outside of class, all the power to them. You can do whatever you want. But while you’re in learning, you’ve got to learn. The teachers want the kids to pay attention. It’s as simple as that. It’s not that complicated. Don’t use the phones.” (Toronto Star, April 30, 2024.)
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May 28, 2024
Federal government’s ‘anti-scab’ legislation passes unanimously in Commons
The House of Commons has passed the government’s so-called anti-scab legislation to prevent the use of replacement workers in federally regulated workplaces.
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May 28, 2024
Commercial arbitration awards: Why courts won’t interfere
Under Ontario’s Arbitration Act, 1991, S.O. 1991, c.17 (the Act), domestic arbitration awards are notoriously difficult to appeal to the courts.
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May 28, 2024
Keep the peace and be of good behaviour | Norman Douglas
I ordered thousands of people to do that.