Personal Injury
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May 06, 2024
Pharmacogenetic testing: A game changer | Courtney Mulqueen
Combining the sciences of genetics and the study of drugs, pharmacogenetic testing offers doctors the ability to determine a patient’s potential response to medications based on their genetics.
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May 03, 2024
Despite Tomec, insurers and tribunal continue to apply SABS limitation period in a rigid way
In November 2019, the Ontario Court of Appeal released its decision in Tomec v. Economical Mutual Insurance Company, 2019 ONCA 882, in which it found that the two-year limitation period set out in the Statutory Accident Benefits Schedule (SABS) was subject to the rule of discoverability. The Court of Appeal stated that applying a hard limitation period was contrary to the consumer protection purposes of the SABS and discouraged a narrow interpretation of the time limitation by insurers. Such an approach was not only inconsistent with the policy rationales that underlie limitation periods but could also lead to absurd results.
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May 03, 2024
Court of Appeal upholds standard: Establishing link between employment, workplace injuries
The plaintiff ceased working in 2002 due to the deterioration of his vision in the course of his employment as a butcher; he was exposed to chemicals and suffered blows to the head from hanging hooks. The subsequent year he applied for disability benefits under the Canada Pension Plan (CPP). An optometrist medical examiner, Dr. Jeannot Cormier, reported, validating reports from Montreal and Ottawa, a cone-rod retinal dystrophy and a progressive bilateral retinal degeneration that led to a loss of central vision.
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May 02, 2024
New independent watchdog would assess & report how Ottawa carries out its modern treaty obligations
Ottawa says it will create an independent oversight body, led by a new “Commissioner for Modern Treaty Implementation” who reports to Parliament and whose role will be “to work to hold the Government of Canada accountable for its modern treaty obligations and advance key priorities.”
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May 02, 2024
Quebec court authorizes class action for neglect of off-reserve Indigenous children
The Quebec Superior Court has authorized a class action concerning allegations that Quebec and Canada neglected off-reserve Indigenous children by prioritizing removing them from their homes over prevention services that would have allowed them to stay in their families and communities.
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April 30, 2024
Ottawa unveils first 2024 budget bill, but doesn’t include boost to capital gains inclusion rate
The minority Liberal government says it hopes to expedite into law a newly proposed 660-page omnibus budget bill, which would enact many measures announced in this month’s federal budget, but not the government’s controversial proposal to tax capital gains at a higher rate.
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April 30, 2024
Home safe home: The legal side of property injuries
Life is unpredictable and household accidents can occur at any time, which is why having proper insurance coverage is essential. However, beyond simply being insured, there are steps a homeowner should take to minimize the chance of a mishap.
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April 30, 2024
B.C. Supreme Court confirms employer’s circumstances not relevant to wrongful dismissal claim
A 2022 decision from the British Columbia Supreme Court constitutes another clear marker that the door is closed to employers using wrongful dismissal to get out of paying severance in executive employment contracts in both B.C. and Ontario. Recent case law suggests that the courts will have little sympathy for an employer who dismisses an employee even in circumstances where that dismissal is necessary for business reasons.
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April 26, 2024
Court stays proposed class action against Canada related to '60s Scoop
The British Columbia Supreme Court has partially stayed a proposed class action against Canada that concerned the '60s Scoop for not complying with a settlement and being duplicative of another class action.
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April 25, 2024
SCC to hear appeals on Charter mobility rights and mandatory minimum penalties for child pornography
The Supreme Court of Canada will hear an appeal of a novel Charter s. 6 mobility rights ruling, which held that Newfoundland and Labrador did not violate the constitution when the province closed its borders for health reasons to non-essential visits by non-residents early in the COVID-19 pandemic.