Articles 2020

I am a new member of the OBA Women Lawyers Forum Executive and I am excited to share my first article for the WLF’s article page and Section Insider. I wanted my first contribution to be something positive and inspiring for women lawyers, but a few experiences in my solo tax and estates practice (since launching it in 2019) raise certain persistent issues prevalent in our profession.

An estimated 70 per cent of people experience feeling like an imposter at some point in their lives. While imposter syndrome affects everyone, women and in particular, Black, Indigenous and People of Colour (“BIPOC”) women are uniquely affected by imposter syndrome. 

The Federal Government has recently announced proposed regulations for single-use plastics. From a plastics ban, to recycled content requirements, to extended producer responsibility schemes, this article provides a high-level overview of the proposed measures being contemplated by the Federal Government, and outlines next steps for stakeholders that may be impacted by them.

On Oct. 7, 2020, federal Environment and Climate Change Minister Jonathan Wilkinson announced the federal government would draft regulations to add “plastic manufactured items” to the Schedule 1 list of toxic substances under the Canada Environmental Protection Act (CEPA) by December 2021. This article looks at various aspects of the proposed federal plastics regulatory plan, including potential complications arising from the public and provinces.

There were only two substantive civil decisions release by the Court of Appeal for Ontario this past week. Both related to the enforcement of settlements, one of a debt, the other of a medmal claim.

After decades of uncertainty in the area of class actions and tort law, waiver of tort is dead. In its decision in Atlantic Lottery Corp Inc v Babstock, released on July 24, 2020, the Supreme Court of Canada killed off the concept once and for all. What is waiver of tort, how did it arise in this case, and why its sudden demise?

First published in 2014 by the Charitable Property Program of the Office of the Public Guardian and Trustee, this article has been updated and provides guidance on how to obtain a court order in connection with certain charitable matters.