Articles

The following articles are published by OBA Sections, including the Student Section. Members are encouraged to submit articles.

Editor: Yoann Emian

Today
Today

Employer Cost Relief in the Context of a Worker's Substance Abuse

  • October 16, 2023
  • Cassandra Ma, legal counsel, Bell Canada

This article contains a review of WSIAT Decision No. 339/23 in which an employer sought cost relief (SIEF) for a worker's compensable fatal motor vehicle accident caused by the worker's impaired driving.

Student Forum, Workers' Compensation

Benefit Annual Indexing: Outcome of judicial review in Grisales v. WSIB

  • October 16, 2023
  • Nikki Banwait, Lawyer, Filion Wakely Thorup Angeletti LLP

This article provides a summary of the Divisional Court's decision in Grisales v. WSIB, in which the worker sought court review of the WSIB's method of calculating the consumer price index (CPI) for the purposes of the annual indexation of benefits.

Student Forum, Workers' Compensation

WSIAT Stakeholder Event, September 2023: Highlights and Summary

  • October 16, 2023
  • Teresa A. Gianfelice, Office of the Worker Advisor

This article provides a summary of key information provided at the Workplace Safety and Insurance Appeals Tribunal's stakeholder information event held on September 14, 2023.

Student Forum, Workers' Compensation

Oops, I Blew the Formalities: A summary of cases to date on the Court’s validating powers under s. 21.1 of the SLRA

  • October 13, 2023
  • Krystyne Rusek and Matthew Bradley, Speigel Nichols Fox LLP

Section 21.1 of the Ontario Succession Law Reform Act (“SLRA”) provides a validating power to judges of the Superior Court to remedy situations where testamentary documents fail to meet formalities of execution. In this article, Krystyne Rusek and Matthew Bradley canvas some of the case law to date on the Court’s validating power under s. 21.1.

Student Forum, Trusts and Estates Law

OBA Has Made Submissions For Continuing and Expanding the Law Society of Ontario Certified Specialist Program

  • October 13, 2023
  • Demetre Vasilounis, Fasken Martineau DuMoulin LLP

In May 2022, further to recommendations by the Competence Task Force of the Law Society of Ontario, Convocation voted to wind up its Certified Specialist Program (“CSP”). Following feedback from the profession with respect to its decision, Convocation suspended the CSP windup and instead committed to a consultation with the profession on the issue. Demetre Vasilounis provides an update on the OBA’s submissions in this article.

Student Forum, Trusts and Estates Law

Joint Ownership as a Probate Planning Strategy - The Cautionary Tale of Jackson v Rosenberg

  • October 13, 2023
  • Jennifer Corak, WeirFoulds LLP

Jackson v Rosenberg, a recent decision of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice, reminds us of the complications that can arise when adding an adult as joint tenant on property for probate planning purposes. In this article, Jennifer Corak reviews the Court’s considerations and conclusions.

Student Forum, Trusts and Estates Law

To Use or Not to Use: Navigating Privacy Risks Associated with Generative AI Tools

  • October 13, 2023
  • James G. Kosa, Vipal Jain and Yatin Sidhu, summer student, Weirfoulds LLP

Generative AI tools like ChatGPT, Cohere, and DALL-E2 are popular tools that allow organizations to generate images, text, sounds and creative content based on a prompt. While these tools can provide practical benefits such as improved efficiency and productivity, they raise privacy risks which are important to mitigate.

Privacy Law, Student Forum

Case Update: Google LLC v Canada (Privacy Commissioner)

  • October 13, 2023
  • Govind K Chaturvedi

The Federal Court of Appeal recently upheld the ruling of the Federal Court wherein it was held that the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA) should apply to Google’s search engine results, as they have a commercial interest in it by way of ads and also connecting two players.

Privacy Law, Student Forum

The Expanded Mandatory Disclosure Rules: An In-Depth Discussion

  • October 13, 2023
  • Michael Ding and Ryan Morris, WeirFoulds LLP, Toronto

The expanded mandatory disclosure rules that came into effect on June 22, 2023 capture a broad range of business transactions and impose reporting obligations on taxpayers, advisors, and promoters. Lawyers should review these rules carefully as non-compliance may result in legal and financial consequences for both themselves and their clients.

Student Forum, Taxation Law

Federal Government Enhances GST Rental Rebate

  • October 13, 2023
  • Kassandra Grenier, Randy Schwartz, Caine Chapman, and Sara Baxter, McCarthy Tétrault

To help address a growing shortage of rental housing, the Canadian government announced, on September 14, 2023, an enhancement to the Goods and Services Tax Rental Rebate, commonly referred to as the landlord’s rebate. The enhanced GST Rental Rebate will provide full relief for the 5% GST paid by builders and purchasers of new purpose-built rental housing.

Student Forum, Taxation Law