#ThrowbackThursday: Ottawa Electric Street Railway

As many of us eagerly await the new light rail service, we’re throwing it back 126 years today, to June 29, 1891, when the Ottawa Electric Railway Company first opened electric street railway service in Ottawa. The new trams replaced the horse-drawn streetcars that had been used previously. The city operated these new electric trams in a wide network, as can be seen in the map below.

So what happened to them? In the 1940s the company was purchased by the city and became the Ottawa Transportation Commission. By the late 1950s, it had fallen into financial trouble and was plagued with a fleet of aging streetcars. A consultant survey recommended replacing the fleet with diesel buses, and the OTC began removing the streetcar system. The last electric car ran on May 1, 1959, 68 years after they had first been introduced.

 

Credit: Library and Archives Canada/PA-176776

 

Ottawa Street Car System before it was removed, 1948. Source: http://www.nccwatch.org/blunders/sparks.htm

 

Sparks Street, circa 1909. Source: http://www.nccwatch.org/blunders/sparks.htm

 

Resource Spotlight: Law and Law Breaking in Game of Thrones

The new season of Game of Thrones is less than a month away! A couple years ago, Jen (reluctantly) ordered me one of my favourite items in our collection: a short special edition from Lexis on Law and Law Breaking in Game of Thrones. The book contains a series of essays analyzing some of the legal issues brought up in the TV show.

From dispute resolution (trial by combat) to patents (wildfire) to laws of succession, this book is definitely a fun break from your regular reading.

Here are the titles of the essays included:

  • Engagement, authenticity, and resistance : using Game of thrones in teaching law / Mary Heath and Sal Humphreys
  • ‘You will never walk again … but you will fly’ : human augmentation in the known world / Catherine Easton
  • ‘Nothing burns like the cold’ : except for wildfire : how patents could win the game of thrones / Catherine Bond and Stephanie Crosbie
  • And the gods will judge : trial by combat in Game of thrones / John G. Browning and Amanda C. Brown
  • Arbitration by combat / Michael Smith and Raj Shah
  • Exploring imaginative legal history : the legalism of the House Stark in the Game of thrones / Jaakko Husa
  • ‘When you play the game of thrones, you win or you die’ : concepts of justice in George R.R. Martin’s A song of ice and fire / Alyce McGovern, Jenny Wise and Nathan Wise

As a former medieval studies major, I especially enjoyed reading about the history of trials by combat and how they evolved, versus how they are portrayed in the show.

If you need to tide yourself over until the new season, you can find this book on our New Books shelf in the library!

Advanced Search Forms Now Available on Lexis Advance Quicklaw

This is an update to the Lexis Advance Quicklaw database that we are super excited for. If you’re a Quicklaw user, check this out:

Advanced search forms are now available on Lexis Advance Quicklaw. If you like being able to search for cases, legislation, or other materials using highly detailed search forms that allow you to search for documents with specific pieces of information, this is for you.

From the home screen…

 

You will find the quick link to the advanced search forms above and to the right of the search bar. Click on this to get to this screen:

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Upcoming Workshop: Steps to Justice

On July 11 at 1:00 PM, we’re excited to be hosting an hour-long workshop in the CCLA library that looks at the new website “Steps to Justice.” This website has been put together by Community Legal Education Ontario (CLEO), and provides answers to legal questions in a very accessible and plain-language way. The site covers a wide variety of legal topics, and presents information in the form of answers to commonly asked questions.  As an example, here’s a peak at the page for the question “What are my rights if the police approach me and ask questions?”

We’re excited to learn more about this program, and would invite any of our lawyers who are interested to attend as well. The session is free, but please RSVP with us if you plan to attend.

Recently Published Ottawa Decisions

Find below recently published Ottawa decisions, available for free through CanLII.org.

Family Matters

Derakhshan v Narula (2017 ONSC 3738)
motion — security for costs — fees — tabs — printing
Justice L. Sheard

McEachran v Di Tommaso (2017 ONSC 3603)
income — child support — expenses — spouse — gymnastics
Justice T. Engelking

Akimov v Makhnatch (2017 ONSC 3528)
child support — arrears — offer to settle — successful — costs
Justice A. Doyle

Deslauriers v Pommainville (2017 ONSC 3162)
child support — father — income — table amount — expenses
Justice A. Doyle

Djediga c. Bouchebaba (2017 CanLII 34366)
motion — dépens — emploi — gain — voyager
Juge A. Doyle

Casselman v Noonan (2017 ONSC 3415)
unsupervised access — children — sole custody — depression — supervised access
Justice S. Kershman

Bouchard v Poulin (2017 ONSC 3328)
matrimonial home — agreement — contract — settlement — séparation
Justice M. Shelston

Civil Matters

ARPA Canada and Patricia Maloney v R. (2017 ONSC 3285)
provision of abortion services — statistical information — hospitals — records — meaningful
Justice M. Labrosse

Saghbini et al. v Gabbat (2017 ONSC 3607)
children — pre-judgment interest — settlement — behalf of the infant — companionship
Justice S. Corthorn

El-Hawary v Tam (2017 ONSC 3549)
disbursements — costs thrown away — substantial indemnity basis — adjournment — inclusive
Justice L. Ratushny

Whalen v Bismil (2017 ONSC 3540)
treatment — appreciate the reasonably foreseeable consequences — mental disorder — lack of insight — mood stabilizers
Justice S. Corthorn

Kaymar Rehabilitation Inc. v Champlain Community Care Access Center (2017 ONSC 3504)
costs on a substantial indemnity — substantial indemnity basis — exact measure of the actual — settle — amount
Justice J. Parfett

Farley Manufacturing Inc. v Oz Optics Ltd. (2017 ONSC 3321)
inspection — fabric — experts — alleged deficiencies — mediation
Justice R. Ryan Bell

Korolew v Canadian Union of Public Employees (2017 ONSC 3474)
waives — employment — statements — hereinafter collectively referred — photocopied
Justice R. Beaudoin

Cooney Bulk Sales Limited v Teamsters Local Union No. 91 (2017 ONSC 3471)
costs — partial indemnity basis — lengthened — claimed — proportionality
Justice R. Smith

Heyde v Theberge Developments Limited (2017 ONSC 3462)
costs — certification motion — awarded — success — indemnity
Justice R. Smith

Verner (Re) (2017 ONSC 3406)
posting loan — bankruptcy — surplus income — opposing creditor — lender
Justice S. Kershman

Scaffidi-Argentina v Tega Homes Developments Inc. (2017 ONSC 3427)
prejudgment interest — partial indemnity costs — damages — lost rental income — cost of rebuilding
Justice L. Sheard

Divisional Court Decisions from Ottawa Judges

Agboola v Unoh (2017 ONSC 3572)
acquiesced to the child remaining — reconciliation — email — wronged parent — application
Justices T. Lederer, J. Trimble, and L. Sheard

Norris v Norris (2017 ONSC 3515)
motion — vacating — costs — relief — amendment
Justice R. Beaudoin

168774 Ontario Inc. v Registrar of Alcohol and Gaming (2017 ONSC 3579)
evidence — server — alcohol — consumed — sanction
Justices W. Matheson, J. Trimble, and L. Sheard

Free v County of Norfolk et al. (2017 ONSC 3571)
drainage works — owner — factum — adjournment — standing
Justices W. Matheson, J. Trimble, and L. Sheard

New Titles – June 2017

The following list of new books can now be found in the library. Among them are new editions of the much sought-after Sentencing by Clayton C. Ruby et al., and The Law of Contracts by Stephen M. Waddams. These two titles are located in Reserve behind the front desk.

Bennett on Collections, 6th Edition (Carswell)

Canadian Agency Law, 3rd Edition (LexisNexis)

E-Discovery in Canada, 3rd Edition (LexisNexis)

Expert Witnesses in Civil Litigation: A Practical Guide (Irwin Law)

How to Understand Statutes and Regulations, 2nd Edition (Carswell)

Martin’s Related Criminal Statutes, 2017-2018 (Canada Law Book)

Ontario Planning Legislation 2017 (Canada Law Book)

Refugee Law, Second Edition (Irwin Law)

Religious Institutions and the Law in Canada, Fourth Edition (Irwin Law)

Sentencing, 9th Edition (LexisNexis)

The 2017 Annotated Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act (Carswell)

The Court and The Constitution: A 150-Year Retrospective (LexisNexis)

The Law of Contracts, Seventh Edition (Carswell)

WillCheck.ca Launch

Jen and I are very excited to announce a project that has been a long time in coming… WillCheck.ca!

We can’t count the number of phone calls we get from members of the public or lawyers looking to find if a will exists. In other provinces there are different solutions to help with this issue that run by different organizations, but we found that in Ontario we were sorely lacking!

So with the help of a FOLA Legal Innovation Award, we set out to see what we could do. We launched the result, Will Check, at our Solicitors conference a couple weeks ago, and got some great feedback!

So what is Will Check and how will it help? In summary:

  • Will Check is a wills registry to store the location information for wills (not the wills themselves), curated by the CCLA Library.
  • If we get a request for a will, ideally we can look up the lawyer who holds the original of that will. We only provide the contact information of that lawyer, not any information about the will itself.
  • Currently requests and submissions can only be made by members of the LSUC.
  • We are beginning the project focused for those who practice in the East Region.
  • The site features simple forms to fill out, making registering wills quick and easy.
  • Sample release available to get client approval.

We will be continually improving and hopefully expanding based on feedback, and are optimistic that this will become an invaluable resource for solicitors who practice in the area of wills and estates. If you have any comments, we’d love to hear them! Let us know.

#ThrowbackThursday: Pre-Place Bell

I think just about everyone who works downtown is anxiously awaiting the completion of the renovations to Place Bell. It feels like that scaffolding out front has been there forever! When I was doing research for a past Throwback Thursday on Cartier Square, I teased a future post on Place Bell. Today’s Throwback goes pre-never-ending renovations, pre-hot dog vendor out front, pre-“You Can’t Do That On Television” into,  pre-Place Bell entirely!

Would you look at that!? The gas station appears roughly where the Barrister House building is now (the south-west corner of the Elgin/Nepean intersection) and the squat five-storey building sits where Place Bell is now! Here’s a look at it from another angle:

 

These pictures are from the utterly fantastic blog Urbsite, and I highly suggest heading over there to check out this article on Place Bell.

 

Ottawa Blog Roll: May 2017

Please find below links to blog posts or articles authored by the Ottawa legal community in May.

Civil Litigation

Boating Insurance Coverage
– Dan Cunningham, Quinn Thiele Mineault Grodzki LLP

“I Thought I Was OK”—The Invisible Accident Injury
– Frank Van Dyke, Van Dyke Injury Law Blog

Is a 6-Year Delay Too Long for Scheduling a Medical Malpractice Trial?
– Frank Van Dyke, Van Dyke Injury Law Blog

Jurors in Motor Vehicle Accident Trials: Should All Insured Drivers Be Excluded?
– Frank Van Dyke, Van Dyke Injury Law Blog

Is an All-Terrain Vehicle an “Automobile”?
– Frank Van Dyke, Van Dyke Injury Law Blog

Are Long Term Disability Settlements Deductible From Other Awards?
– Andrea Girones, Girones Lawyers

Condominium Law

Countdown to your Next AGM (Under the New Condo Act)
– Rod Escayola, Condo Adviser

Condos Have More Time Before Changes to Insurance Regime
– Rod Escayola, Condo Adviser

Steps Required by Condos to Allow for Electronic Service of Documents on Owners
– Rod Escayola, Condo Adviser

Contract Law

Gym Memberships
– Paul Franco, Mann Lawyers

Corporate Commercial Law

Ontario Scale Up Vouchers Program
– Paul Franco, Mann Lawyers

Not-for-Profit Corporations: It May be Time for You to Transition!
– Maria-Cristina Harris, Mann Lawyers

Private Right Of Action Under Anti-Spam Law
– Maria-Cristina Harris, Mann Lawyers

Thinking Ahead to Ensure Your Business is Sale-Ready
– Megan Wallace, Perley-Robertson, Hill & McDougall LLP

Criminal Law

Milling Around In The World Of Internet Privacy
– Dallas Mack, Mack’s Criminal Law

No One Truly Knows a Nation Until One has been Inside Its Jails
– Michael Spratt, Abergel Goldstein & Partners LLP

Judicial Poetry
– Michael Spratt, Abergel Goldstein & Partners LLP

May 2017 Criminal Law Round-Up
– Anne Marie McElroy, McElroy Law

Digital Privacy And Cell Phone Searches
– Anne Marie McElroy, McElroy Law

April 2017 Criminal Law Round-Up
– Anne Marie McElroy, McElroy Law

Employment & Labour Law

Mo Money Mo Problems (A Review of Termination Pay Obligations for Large Payrolls)
– Sean Bawden, Labour Pains

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Recently Published Ottawa Decisions

Find below recently published Ottawa decisions, available for free through CanLII.org.

Family Matters

Elmoukousi v Marine (2017 ONSC 3033)
father — child — lawyer — legal aid — visits
Justice A. Doyle

Campbell v Lapierre (2017 ONSC 3017)
offer to settle — costs — father — children — parenting
Justice A. Doyle

Baker v Baker (2017 ONSC 3266)
spousal support — income — severance — unequalized pension — representing the mid-range
Justice T. Engelking

Lundy v Lundy (2017 ONSC 3224)
motion — offer to settle — indemnity — costs — estate
Justice L. Sheard

Uriu v Rivadeneyra (2017 ONSC 3180)
costs awarded — payable — motion — outcome — determined
Justice L. Sheard

Morey v Bisson (2017 ONSC 1688)
costs — children — amount — lives — offer
Justice M. Labrosse

Civil Matters

Kuhnle v Fisher (2017 ONSC 3336)
costs — property — easement — occasional — indemnity
Justice T. Ray

Verner (Re) (2017 ONSC 3406)
posting loan — bankruptcy — surplus income — opposing creditor — lender
Justice S. Kershman

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