On June 8, 2016, Ontario released its Climate Change Action Plan. The five-year plan outlines the province’s strategy and commitments to address climate change.

The Court of Appeal has affirmed the Law Society’s holding that it is professional misconduct to make allegations of prosecutorial misconduct or that impugn the integrity of opposing counsel, unless the allegations are made in good faith and with a reasonable basis.

Over the course of the next 20 years, nearly 7 million Canadians will retire, a considerable portion with the benefit of a pension plan; some with defined benefit plans, others with annuities purchased with the funds they receive from a defined contribution plan. The sustainability of those plans, however, faces an uncertain future, as exemplified by the bankruptcy or insolvency proceedings concerning Indalex, Nortel and most recently, for the second time, U.S. Steel Canada (previously Stelco).

A landmark treaty was signed on September 22, 2016, by at least fifty First Nations and tribes in Canada and the United States entitled the Treaty Alliance Against Tar Sands Expansion (the “Treaty”). The Treaty is regarded as a shift among Indigenous nations towards a more coordinated approach to oppose pipeline proposals in Canada and the Northern United States.

Two recent cases with implications for contract review and negotiation.

The right to be tried within a reasonable time is a constitutionally protected right under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. The SCC recently set an upper limit of 18 months as the presumed ceiling for a reasonable time to trial.

Jack compares recent approaches to sentencing under the Occupational Health and Safety Act and the Environmental Protection Act.

Paula summarizes the recent Superior Court decision in Dobara Properties Limited et al. v. Arnone et al., 2016 ONSC 3599 in which self-represented plaintiffs were able to recover remediation costs from their former litigation counsel who missed a limitation period to recover same from the plaintiffs' former real estate counsel.