12 years later – have things changed?
Approximately 12 years ago the Nobel Peace Prize was equally shared between the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and Al Gore “for their efforts to build up and disseminate greater knowledge about man-made climate change, and to lay the foundations for the measures that are needed to counteract such change.” In 2007 the message...
Continue reading the post titled 12 years later – have things changed?Northstar Inc. and the Ministry of the Environment: Are Directors and Officers Responsible for Environmental Remediation?
How much responsibility do Directors and Officers bear for environmental contamination? The answer is not clear from the text of the Environmental Protection Act and currently the Ontario Courts are considering the issue in Baker v Ministry of the Environment. In this blog post, Paula Lombardi looks at the history of this developing issue.It is...
Continue reading the post titled Northstar Inc. and the Ministry of the Environment: Are Directors and Officers Responsible for Environmental Remediation?Beware of standard clauses – the lesson from Walton v. Warren
On January 9, 2020 the British Columbia Supreme Court found in favour of the Purchaser awarding costs against the Seller when an underground storage tank was discovered approximately 2½ years following closing (“Completion Date”). The judge made this finding despite the Purchaser obtaining a UST inspection report prior to closing finding no USTs. In coming...
Continue reading the post titled Beware of standard clauses – the lesson from Walton v. WarrenUnionized Employee Dismissed from Hydro One for Off-Duty Conduct Reinstated to His Former Position
Last summer a significant amount of media attention was focused on employees being terminated for actions that occurred outside of working hours. One of the most notorious cases involved a unionized Hydro One employee who was dismissed for making vulgar and sexist comments to a television news reporter while he was intoxicated at a soccer...
Continue reading the post titled Unionized Employee Dismissed from Hydro One for Off-Duty Conduct Reinstated to His Former PositionIndecent Proposal? Whether and How to Ask Existing Employees to Sign New Employment Contracts
Asking existing employees to sign new employment contracts can be a sensitive topic. Employees will undoubtedly wonder why they are being asked to do so. Many will quite rightly assume that the employer’s main motive for having new contracts be signed is to protect the employer – not the employee. Some will sign without issue, while others will...
Continue reading the post titled Indecent Proposal? Whether and How to Ask Existing Employees to Sign New Employment ContractsCommunication breakdown – Warner v Google LLC
Introduction The British Columbia Supreme Court’s recent decision in Warner v Google LLC (“Warner”)1, a privacy class action related to the collection of data from smartphones, puts the role of the representative plaintiff and the nature of the solicitor-client relationship in the class action context front and centre. Before the Court were two applications –...
Continue reading the post titled Communication breakdown – Warner v Google LLCLaws of attraction: When allowing employee romances may be bad for business (and the employer’s pocketbook!)
Many people spend the majority of their waking hours at work. Close bonds and friendships often develop between coworkers and, at times, romantic or sexual relationships result. So what’s an employer to do when the “laws of attraction” pose risk to the workplace – possibly even clash with the laws of the workplace? Forbid employees...
Continue reading the post titled Laws of attraction: When allowing employee romances may be bad for business (and the employer’s pocketbook!)Litigation Autonomy, Class Actions, and Unexplored Territory
Analyzing the Superior Court’s decision in Brazeau v. Canada (Attorney General), 2021 ONSC 8158 Introduction Ontario’s Class Proceedings Act, 1992 (the “CPA”) divides class actions into different stages, contingent on whether the litigation is focused on collective or individual issues. A progression from one stage to another will have implications for the relationships between litigants, their...
Continue reading the post titled Litigation Autonomy, Class Actions, and Unexplored TerritoryReturn to the office: Struggling with employees unwilling or unable to return
About one year ago, I blogged on various employer considerations for both hybrid and entirely remote work, including location, duration, frequency, home office requirements, legal compliance, etc. See my remote work blog for details. It was already clear at that time that employers were going to face challenges — perhaps even a mutiny — trying...
Continue reading the post titled Return to the office: Struggling with employees unwilling or unable to returnWhat's toxic in that product?
What’s toxic in consumer products? A law we should have Labels on consumer products like cosmetics contain a long list of ingredients, usually in teeny tiny print, in English and in French. Unfortunately, most of us have no idea how to pronounce the multi-syllable ingredients, or why they are in the product, or whether they...
Continue reading the post titled What's toxic in that product?Receive Blog Posts
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