Federal Court decertifies veterans’ class action for delay on pension benefits
December 17, 2020 | By Julius Melnitzer The Federal Court of Appeal has decertified a $100-million class action brought by former members of the Canadian Armed Forces reserves whose retirement benefits were delayed. Read more RELATED ARTICLES Federal Court certifies veterans‘ class action for delay on pension benefits Appeal court upholds ruling in RCMP pension […]
COVID-19 puts courts, integrity of Ontario’s civil jury system on trial
December 15, 2020 | By Julius Melnitzer Citing the uncertainty as to when civil jury trials might resume during the pandemic, motions to strike juries have proliferated. Critics pointed to the extra effort, co-ordination, length and expense jury trials required, as well as the strain on jurors and demanded their elimination. “Since COVID began, judges […]
Is Trudeau’s support for UNDRIP a meaningless ploy?
December 9, 2020 | By Julius Melnitzer The Liberal government’s introduction of legislation implementing the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) is nothing more than fluff: it’s unworkable and gives our Aboriginal neighbours false hope about its potential. Why is it that after 150 years of persecuting our Aboriginal neighbours, we […]
Lawyers insecure about data security: study
Talk about lawyers’ hubris: although 49 percent of legal businesses believe they will experience a data breach in the next five years, almost as many – 46 percent – report they have left confidential documents out in the open. The hubris, disclosed in Shred-it’s 2020 Data Protection Report, has practical consequences: 24 percent of clients […]
Does the Competition Bureau have Canada’s grocers in its sights?
November 30, 2020 | By Julius Melnitzer Canada’s Competition Bureau may be seeking new authority to curb major grocers’ inordinate bargaining power with their suppliers. In a speech to the Canadian Federation of Independent Grocers (CFIG) last Wednesday, Commissioner of Competition Matthew Boswell referenced the current debate over the need for a code of conduct […]
Japan: a black hole for legal advice?
November 17, 2020 | By Julius Melnitzer “Bizarre” is how Steven Maddex, a Canadian lawyer, describes his five years in the legal department at a jewellery company in Kyoto. “Most Japanese business people view lawyers’ roles as perfunctory at best,” says Maddex. “Many of the lawyers are unlicensed, have only a basic understanding of the […]
Divisional Court: “wait-and-see” before striking jury notice during COVID
November 17, 2020 | Julius Melnitzer The Ontario Divisional Court has ruled that a “wait-and-see” approach to striking jury notices due to delays caused by COVID-19 is appropriate in certain cases. The decision in Louis v Poitras was unanimous. “The use of “wait and see” in this way demonstrates the willingness of the court to […]
What to expect from Canada’s new privacy legislation
November 15, 2020 | By Julius Melnitzer The feds are tabling new privacy legislation on Monday. The proposed statutes are the Consumer Privacy Protection Act (CPPA) and the Personal Information and Data Protection Tribunal Act (PIDPTA). Although there’s no concrete information available about the proposed laws’ contents, privacy expert David Young of David Young Law […]
Jones Day & Trump: Thank God for the lawyers
November 13, 2020 | By Julius Melnitzer Full disclosure: I hate Donald Trump. Further full disclosure: Democracy is lucky to have lawyers who will represent the jerk. I was among many who couldn’t believe what I was seeing and hearing in the last four years: disruption, disregard, disrespect, dishonesty, denigration, deflection and denial, all in […]
EU environmentalists score big access to justice win
November 7, 2020 | By Julius Melnitzer The European Commission (EC) has finally moved towards meaningful rights for environmentalists to challenge administrative decisions. In theory, non-governmental organizations(NGOs) have had that right since the European Union (EU) signed the United Nations-backed Aarhus Convention, which came into force in 2001. The Convention now has 47 states as […]