The Securities and Exchange Commission amends its whistleblower program
On September 23, 2020, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) finalized changes to its highly successful whistleblower program (the “SEC Program”)1. Since it began, the SEC Program has paid over $500 million in total rewards to tipsters. Earlier this June, one anonymous individual was handsomely rewarded with nearly $50 million for detailed evidence about...
Continue reading the post titled The Securities and Exchange Commission amends its whistleblower programMandatory Arbitration Provisions in the Class Action Context
Mandatory Arbitration Provisions in the Class Action Context: TELUS Communications Inc. v. Wellman, 2019 SCC 19 On April 4, 2019, the Supreme Court of Canada issued reasons in TELUS Communications Inc. v. Wellman. The Supreme Court’s 5-4 decision provides important guidance on the applicability of arbitration clauses in the class action context, and makes clear...
Continue reading the post titled Mandatory Arbitration Provisions in the Class Action ContextClass actions as clone wars?
Ontario Court rejects notion that class members must be “clones.” Judges on a certification motion do understand that class members are not clones and even if they were clones, judges understand that individual clones may have had different experiences with the defendant. Commonality is not disapproved by finding instances of difference.[1] The Supreme Court of Canada has described the “commonality...
Continue reading the post titled Class actions as clone wars?The rise and fall of Quadriga, a Canadian crypto exchange Ponzi scheme
We may only be a few years away from a Netflix special on the Quadriga collapse. There would be plenty to fill a script in last month’s release of an investigative report from the Ontario Securities Commission, which found that Quadriga was a fraud and Ponzi scheme (the “OSC Report”). The OSC Report is the culmination...
Continue reading the post titled The rise and fall of Quadriga, a Canadian crypto exchange Ponzi schemeIs it time to update the financial statements in your franchise disclosure document?
Financial Statement Requirements for Disclosure Documents Franchise legislation in Canada (currently in the provinces of BC, Alberta, Manitoba, Ontario, New Brunswick and PEI) contains a requirement that franchisors include financial statements for their most recently completed fiscal year. Generally speaking, franchisors may include either: audited financial statements; or review engagement financial statements. Financial statements must...
Continue reading the post titled Is it time to update the financial statements in your franchise disclosure document?Considerations if you want a claim grounded in fraud to survive a debtor’s bankruptcy
Two recent cases, Bank of Montreal v. Mathivannan, 2021 ONSC 2538 (CanLII) and Johansen v Wallgren, 2021 ABCA 234 (CanLII), highlight some procedural pitfalls to avoid when trying to have a claim survive a debtor’s discharge. When a debtor files for bankruptcy, on their discharge they will be released from all provable claims in bankruptcy...
Continue reading the post titled Considerations if you want a claim grounded in fraud to survive a debtor’s bankruptcySpeeding up Certification by Extending Filing Deadlines?
On July 17, 2019, the Law Commission of Ontario (“LCO”) released its final report, Class Actions: Objectives, Experience and Reforms. The LCO report makes 47 recommendations to reform Ontario’s Class Proceeding Act (“CPA”) and related policies. One major theme of the report is that the speed of class actions should be improved significantly. Attention to...
Continue reading the post titled Speeding up Certification by Extending Filing Deadlines?Law Society rule change eases investigations
Ontario’s Law Society has changed the rules of professional conduct to make it easier for lawyers investigating a case to communicate with employees and agents of the other side. Rule 6.03 (9) used to prohibit lawyers from communicating with employees and agents of any organization whose acts or omissions “may expose the corporation or organization...
Continue reading the post titled Law Society rule change eases investigationsCOVID-19 in Ontario: essential places of business
These past four weeks have been turbulent for Ontario businesses, to say the least. On March 17, 2020, Ontario declared a state of emergency in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. By March 23, Premier Ford ordered the closure of all non-essential businesses (the “Order”), and on April 3, the Order was revised to shorten the...
Continue reading the post titled COVID-19 in Ontario: essential places of businessTrue 50% funding for 2015 Blue Box Steward Obligation
Municipal Blue Box programs will receive 50% of their verified costs again for 2015, just as required by section 25(5) of the Ontario Waste Diversion Act.
Continue reading the post titled True 50% funding for 2015 Blue Box Steward ObligationReceive Blog Posts
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