Author: Jennifer Walker

#ThrowbackThursday: East Region Solicitors Conference 1999

Posted on by Jennifer Walker

I’m impressed to say that for a conference held in November 1999, there doesn’t appear to be have been even one session on Y2K Preparedness at the 1999 Solicitors Conference! That year, the theme was advising the family-owned business, though the agenda held quite a bit more than that! I’m not sure which Trumps Justice Kershman was referring to in his talk (sadly, the paper does not make reference to any Trumps), but I can only imagine it’s our neighbours to the South! The 2019 conference kicks off tomorrow – you can see that agenda here.

Recently Published Ottawa Decisions

Posted on by Jennifer Walker

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

Family Matters

A.L. v. L.L. (2019 ONSC 2628)
costs — access — motion — fees — children
Justice P. MacEachern

Clark v. Fuelling (2019 ONSC 2621)
interest in the property — support — showings — shows her total — rent
Justice C. Aitken

Van Delst v. Hor (2019 ONSC 2569)
survivor benefit — pre-judgment interest — unreduced pension — date of marriage — value
Justice T. Engelking

Jiang v. Parham (2018 ONSC 2706)
father — child support — income — financial — motion
Justice J. Mackinnon

Hum v. Skoll (2019 ONSC 2367)
income — company — family — separation — tab
Justice M. Linhares de Sousa

Continue reading →

Recently Published Ottawa Decisions

Posted on by Jennifer Walker

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

Family Matters

Skinkle v. Skinkle (2019 ONSC 2353)
credit rating — cash surrender value — amount — damages — indemnity
Justice M. Labrosse

Boily v. Eaton (2019 ONSC 2145)
costs — offer — motion — child support — spousal support payable
Justice T. Engelking

MacLeod v. MacLeod (2019 ONSC 2136)
birth certificate — father — marriage contract — spousal support — contempt
Justice J. Audet

Ma.M. v. A.W.M. (2019 ONSC 2128)
father — child — dad — access — matrimonial home
Justice J. Audet

Jiang v. Parham (2019 ONSC 2131)
arrears of child support — security for costs — vol — motion to change — outstanding costs
Justice J. Parfett

Kelly-Rampulla v. Frankson (2019 ONSC 2122)
child — interim access — owes — motion — costs
Justice P. MacEachern

Continue reading →

#ThrowbackThursday: Annual Institute of Family Law 1999

Posted on by Jennifer Walker

Our Annual Institute of Family Law gets underway tomorrow at Château Montebello, and the program looks terrific! For a #TBT this week, we’ve pulled up the agenda for the 1999 conference (which if you can believe it was 20 years ago!).

 

As is always the case with these throwbacks, it’s interesting to see what the topics of the day were, who was a guest speaker and of course, who has gone on to the Bench! This year is a big year for planning committee member (then and now) Hunter Phillips, as he will receive the Hon. Heidi Levenson Polowin Award for Family Law (via video!) at the conference.

 

Recently Published Ottawa Decisions

Posted on by Jennifer Walker

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

Family Matters

Allison v. Senn (2019 ONSC 1956)
access — interim — father — motion — appointment
Justice R. Beaudoin

Pierre v. Pierre (2019 ONSC 832)
child support — income — interim — spousal support — expenses
Justice P. MacEachern

Devaney v. Devaney (2019 ONSC 1942)
questioning — attend — via — videoconferencing — mental health
Justice J. Audet

A.L. v. L.L. (2019 ONSC 1901)
supervised access — access to the children — best interests of the children — motion — provided
Justice P. MacEachern

G.T.G.D. v. M.D. (2019 ONSC 1879)
children — father — access — contempt — best interests
Justice D. Summers

Habimana v. Mukundwa (2019 ONSC 1781)
children — habitual residence — return — family — grave risk
Justice M. Linhares de Sousa

Pace v. Barry (2019 ONSC 1739)
father — undue hardship — children — child support — access
Justice J. Mackinnon

Civil Matters

Truestar Investments Ltd. v. Baer (2019 ONSC 1806)
partial indemnity costs — motion — disbursements — docketed — fees
Justice S. Corthorn

Continue reading →

Upcoming SCC Case: Keatley Surveying Ltd. v. Teranet Inc.

Posted on by Jennifer Walker

There is an interesting case being heard at the Supreme Court of Canada next Friday (March 29), which has a good number of people in the legal community excited. Keatley Surveying Ltd. v. Teranet Inc. is a case on appeal from the Ontario courts to do with the issue of the copyright of land surveys.  Here is the summary of the proceedings to date, as it appears on the Supreme Court website:

The respondent manages the Province of Ontario’s electronic land registry system (the “ELRS”). Documents that were prepared by land surveyors such as drawings, maps, charts and plans (collectively “plans of survey”) are registered in the ELRS. The public can obtain on-line copies of registered plans of survey through the respondent for a fee prescribed by statute, no part of which constitutes fees or royalties paid to the land surveyors who prepared them. The appellant is the representative plaintiff in a certified class action brought on behalf of approximately 350 land surveyors whose plans of survey were scanned and copied into the respondent’s digital database and made available on-line. The appellant claims that the respondent is in breach of copyright by reaping substantial profits at the expense of surveyors. The Ontario Superior Court of Justice dismissed the appellant’s motion for summary judgment, granted the respondent’s motion for summary judgment and dismissed the class action. The court found that as a result of the legislative regime requiring registration or deposit of the plans of survey in the land registry office, ownership in the property of the plans of survey, including copyright, is transferred to the province. They are then “published by or under the direction or control of Her Majesty” pursuant to s. 12 of the Copyright Act. The Ontario Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal, holding that provincial Crown copyright is by virtue of s. 12 of Copyright Act, not the provincial legislation.

As section 12 of the Copyright Act is rarely judicially considered, particularly so at the Supreme Court level, interest in this case has been high. Several groups have successfully attained intervenor status for this case, including the Federation of Law Societies, CanLII, the Canadian Association of Law Libraries (CALL), and the Attorneys General of Canada and three provinces. For those of you with a keen interest in intellectual property and copyright, this is undoubtedly one to watch. (Which of course, you can do, as a webcast!)

Recently Published Ottawa Decisions

Posted on by Jennifer Walker

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

Family Matters

Smith v. Reynolds (2019 ONSC 1508)
soccer — child — interim access — exchanges — daycare
Justice P. MacEachern

Sealey v. Hoyte (2019 ONSC 1537)
child — unsupervised access — motion — supervised — exchanges
Justice P. MacEachern

Laderoute v. Heffernan (2019 ONSC 914)
valuation — report — business — corporate finance — stage of the admissibility test
Justice D. Summers

Civil Matters

Pittuck v. Garwood/Feller Inc. (2019 ONSC 1521)
costs — indemnity — tow truck — offer to settle — lease
Justice R. Smith

Toronto-Dominion Bank v. 1633092 Ontario Ltd. (2019 ONSC 1473)
loan — funding — invoices — duty of care — project
Justice M. O’Bonsawin

1778133 Ontario Inc. v. Laurin Contracting Ltd. (2019 ONSC 1532)
security for costs — assets — non-party to the litigation — impecunious — pay costs
Justice R. Ryan Bell

Medical Council of Canada v. Elmansy (2019 ONSC 1622)
sealing — exam — medical graduates — residency programs — identity
Justice C. Hackland

Recently Published Ottawa Decisions

Posted on by Jennifer Walker

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

Family Matters

Abdulhadi v. Ahmad (2019 ONSC 1447)
equalization — parenting — behaviour — costs — offerc
Justice T. Engelking

Chaulk v. Chaulk (2019 ONSC 1424)
equalization — post-separation debts — net family properties — spouse — unequal division
Justice T. Engelking

Civil Matters

Whelan v. Royal Trust Corporation of Canada (2019 ONSC 1299)
motion — venue — passing of accounts — ex parte — beneficiaries
Justice C. MacLeod

Caron v. Omers Realty Corporation et al. (2019 ONSC 1374)
return to work — mild traumatic brain injury — kitchenette — anxiety — slip
Justice P. Roger

Westeinde (FNP) Inc. v. RE/MAX Core Realty Inc. (2019 ONSC 1394)
strike — leave to amend — motion — drafted — beautifully
Justice C. Aitken

Custom Home Interiors By Obvious Advantage Inc. v. Corriveau (2019 ONSC 1351)
costs — motion — partial indemnity — offer to settle — disbursements
Justice R. Ryan Bell

City of Ottawa v. Suncor Energy Inc. (2019 ONSC 1340)
documents — discovery planning — undertakings given — searchable — examinations for discovery
Justice S. Corthorn

6056628 Canada Inc. v. 2350894 Ontario Inc. (2019 ONSC 1329)
landlord — tenant — minutes of settlement — injunction — lease
Justice H. Williams

Brousseau c. La Cité collégiale et Régime de retraite des collèges d’arts appliqués et de technologie (2019 ONSC 1251)
collèges d arts appliqués — retraite des collèges d arts — collégiale — questions — technologie
Juge M. O’Bonsawin

Capital Solar Power Corporation v. The Ontario Power Authority (2019 ONSC 1137)
solar — applications — renewable energy — pricing — evidence date of submitted application
Justice G. Toscano Roccamo

Sheldon v. Reyna (2019 ONSC 1265)
non-pecuniary general damages — prejudgment interest — lawyers — fees — amount
Justice H. Williams

Hydro Ottawa Limited v. Ontario (Ministry of Labour) (2019 ONCJ 85)
signaller — crew — energized — wire — boom
Justice R. Wadden

Criminal Matters

R. v. Larocque-Laplante (2019 ONSC 1099)
friend — kicks — provocation — air of reality — brawl
Justice C. Aitken

R. vs. Hernandez (2019 ONSC 936)
healing sessions — studio owner — complainants — collusion — touching
Justice C. Hackland

Divisional Court Decisions from Ottawa Judges

ETFO et al. v. Her Majesty the Queen (2019 ONSC 1308)
curriculum — teachers — gender identity — students — elementary
Justics B. Warkentin, C. Hackland, and J. Thorburn

Simcoe Muskoka Child, Youth and Family Services v. L.V. (2019 ONSC 1208)
father — motions — email — pressuring the child — evidence
Justices D.L. Corbett, F. Myers, and L. Sheard

Divisional and Court of Appeal Decisions of Local Interest

Canadian Postmasters and Assistants Association v. Canada Post Corporation (2019 ONSC 1222)
arbitrator — bilingual bonus to part-time indeterminate — bonus to part-time indeterminate employees — payment of a bilingual bonus — collective agreement
Justices K. Swinton, G. Mulligan, and R. Raikes

Ma v. Ottawa (City) (2019 ONCA 142)
spy — posters — motion — unnamed — all-inclusive
Justices C.W. Hourigan, M. Benotto, and G. Huscroft

R. v. Katalayi-Kassende (2019 ONCA 137)
victim — offence — information that could identify — proceedings in respect — broadcast
Justices J. MacPherson, R. Sharpe, and M. Tulloch

R. v. MacKay (2019 ONCA 117)
cocaine — purpose of trafficking — possession — inadmissible anecdotal information — reversed the onus of proof
Justices K. Feldman, D. Paciocco, and B. Zarnett

R. v. Land (2019 ONCA 39)
sword — provocation — air of reality — defence — power of self-control
Justices S. Pepall, D. Paciocco, and A. Harvison Young

Cool Tools: OneNote

Posted on by Jennifer Walker

This post was written by Carmen Baru from the CCLA Technology Committee.

To describe OneNote as a note-taking app is like describing chocolate as a food preparation of cocoa seeds: it is that, but it is so much more. Part of the MS Office suite, OneNote is used to gather information, add comments, organize them, and map past and future steps. At its best, OneNote works like a thought-management tool.


Collecting Information

A OneNote page is a blank canvas with no borders and no pre-set grid. The user clicks anywhere on the page and starts typing, hand-writing, drawing, pasting pictures, or inserting files. Text copied from the internet indicates its source (unless the option is turned off). A file inserted as an attachment can be modified, and the modifications can be saved.


Inserting Audio / Video Recordings

For notes based on an audible event such as a lecture or a discussion, OneNote can record the audio and link it to the typed notes. The user can then listen to the audio corresponding to a certain note entry.

To insert audio/video recordings: in the command ribbon, go to Insert > Recording > Recording audio.

To play back the audio recording linked to a certain note entry: click on the entry, then click the “Play” symbol (a triangle in a circle) that will appear to the left of that entry.


Organizing Information

OneNote reproduces the organizational concept of a binder, with each notebook containing sections or groups of sections, and each section containing pages or subpages. To create a New Section Group, right-click on the empty space next to the section tabs. To create a page, click “+Add Page”. To create a subpage, create it as if it were a page, then click the page tab and drag it to the right.

A OneNote can tag entries (“Home” tab > “Tags”). There are many pre-set tags, and more can be created. For example, an entry indicating a weakness in the file could be highlighted and marked with a suggestive icon:


Revisiting the Notes

OneNote entries are marked with a timestamp and the name of the author. The information can be accessed by right-clicking the entry: the timestamp is at the bottom of the menu that appears after right-clicking the entry.

The feature is useful in collaborative settings, when multiple users address the same material. It is also useful as a reminder of the date, time, and duration of the phone call or meeting corresponding to the notes.

OneNote also helps identifying information with various search functions. It can search:

  • text on the page (CTRL + F) or in one or more notebooks (CTRL + E);
  • text in an image, provided that the OCR tool has been applied. To use the OCR tool, right-click on the image, then click “Make text in image searchable.”
  • text in audio or video recordings. To use this function, the user must first turn on “Audio Search”: File > Options > Audio & Video > Audio Search: tick the checkbox to Enable searching audio and video recordings for words


To Wrap It Up

OneNote can seem daunting, with too many options and an unregulated, anxiety-inducing blank page. But OneNote is a feature-rich tool worth exploring, especially since many of us already have it on our computers, as part of the MS Office suite or as a Windows app. And I believe that, for many, it will be very much like chocolate: once you take the first piece, you will come back for seconds.

Law Society of Ontario Bencher Elections 2019

Posted on by Jennifer Walker

The LSO 2019 Bencher Election season is upon us, and it feels more active and exciting this year than in the past.  A few of our favourite online legal contributors have set up special (and free!) features to cover the election and provide platforms for candidates to share their message, so we thought we’d spotlight those here.

LSO 2019 Bencher Election by Colin Lachance: Our friend and legal technology enthusiast Colin Lachance has set up a website for the 2019 election that aims to consolidate and organize information by and about Bencher candidates so that you, the voters, can make informed decisions. We really like that you can look up specific issues facing the incoming Benchers, and see what your candidates have to say on those topics. To use a completely random and unbiased example, here is what candidates have contributed so far on the topic of funding for courthouse libraries.

Of Counsel: Bencher Series by Sean Robichaud: Bencher candidate Sean Robichaud is taking his podcast “Of Counsel” on a special diversion for the election – the “Bencher Series” of interviews with candidates. The format is simple: candidates get nine minutes and are asked the same questions. You can listen directly in your web browser, or through your podcast app.

Bencher Elections 2019 from Law Times: Law Times has been heavily active this Bencher election season. Many candidates are linking right to their Law Times profile in their promotional materials.

CCLA Bencher Emails: An easy plug for our own service, but worth mentioning! As we have done in the past, the CCLA will be sending three emails to our mailing list at the beginning of April. One email will be for Toronto candidates, one for East Region candidates, and one for people from all the other areas of Ontario. There is no cost to either be on our mailing list (you can do that here), nor for candidates to send this message out. Details on that can be found on our website.