The case for employee ownership trusts
By Julius Melnitzer | March 29, 2023 Tuesday’s federal budget finally provided Canadian businesses with the promise of a vehicle — the employee ownership trust (EOT) — that incentivizes business owners to sell their businesses to their employees. The budget contemplates that rules governing the EOTs will come into effect on January 1, 2024. “EOTs […]
Zoom trials: benefits outweigh hiccups
By Julius Melnitzer | March 28, 2023 Alf Kwinter of Toronto’s Singer Kwinter, a 77-year-old icon of the plaintiff’s personal injury bar who is in his 51st year of practice, has become an advocate of the virtual Zoom trial. “I was very surprised by how well it worked, so much so that the recent move […]
Employers can’t rely on original termination clauses when employee responsibilities increase: court
By: Julius Melnitzer | March 27, 2023 The Ontario Court of Appeal has ruled that employers can’t rely on termination clauses when employees’ duties have escalated significantly after they signed their original employment contracts, including situations where the employee didn’t receive a promotion. In its ruling, the court relied on the changed substratum doctrine, which states […]
Marine commerce group calls for green shipping corridor to help cut emissions
Would enable marine industry to achieve its 2050 net zero goals By Julius Melnitzer | March 26, 2023 Canada’s Chamber of Marine Commerce is calling for the establishment of a green shipping corridor in the Great Lakes–St. Lawrence region as the centrepiece of its 2023 wish list for legislators and policy makers. The green corridor […]
Devil is in the details for resource project developers in wake of landmark cumulative treaty rights decision
By Julius Melnitzer | March 23, 2023 An historic agreement between B.C. and the Blueberry River First Nation could spell greater certainty for proponents of development projects on treaty lands throughout the country. “The court recognized that it’s hard to protect historical rights when they are being assessed on a project-by-project, piecemeal basis,” said Martin […]
BARE BONES BRIEFS: LSO panel splits on whether Black Lives Matter criticism is professional misconduct | Firm sues ‘underbilling’ associates | Remote lawyering: longer hours: CLIO survey | LSO suspends paralegal who cost clients $500,000 | CTA: compensation for passenger applies to all others on same flight
By Julius Melnitzer | March 8, 2023 IS AGGRESSIVE CRITICISM OF BLACK LIVES MATTER PROFESSIONAL MISCONDUCT? A Law Society Tribunal has split on whether social media posts criticizing Black Lives Matter, Pride Day and public health mask mandates amounted to professional misconduct. Lisa Simone, who was applying for a paralegal license, admitted the posts were […]
Virtual investigations in the workplace
By Julius Melnitzer | March 7, 2023 As it turns out, it’s not just employees who are working at home these days; so are the people investigating their workplace activities. “Since the pandemic, the vast majority of workplace investigations have been conducted virtually,” said Vanessa Lapointe, who conducts them regularly in the course of her […]
Termination of LTD benefits for Air Canada workers eligible to receive unreduced pension benefits doesn’t amount to age discrimination: court
By Julius Melnitzer | March 6, 2023 The Federal Court has ruled that the termination of long-term disability benefits for employees who become eligible to receive unreduced pension benefits doesn’t amount to age discrimination. The case arose from the terms of a collective bargaining agreement between Air Canada and the Air Canada Pilots Association. The […]
‘We’re starting to see activity again’: Legal dealmakers show measured optimism after slow 2022
Energy sector is high on the perceived opportunity list By Julius Melnitzer | February 6, 2023 Canada’s top M&A lawyers are taking a measured approach to 2023 after a sharp decline in deal count in 2022, when activity pulled back from unsustainable levels reached during the pandemic. “We’re starting to see activity again as people […]
The difficult art of handling clients
By Julius Melnitzer | February 6, 2023 The art of managing one’s clients has befuddled many a lawyer. But Sean Dillman, an enterprising, tech-savvy, ex-general practitioner and co-manager of a law firm has come up with a novel approach: a client prepared for the lawyer experience, he says, will be much easier to manage. To […]