Author: Jennifer Walker

Before and After: Furniture Restoration

Posted on by Jennifer Walker

Last week, we posted about our Reserve collection, which is now housed in a charming barrister bookcase that we had refinished. We had a few other pieces restored at the same time, so I figured that I should write a post about them too!

Chairs Before:

These chairs were at the back of our library before the reno, looking pretty unremarkable.

Chairs After:

Their final destination is unknown, but you can find them now at the front of our space, near the reference desk.

Small Square Table Before:

A few of you may remember this as the small table that used to hold the Library printer, and later (and most importantly) the Library phone charging station.

Small Square Table After:

We had this piece cleaned up, and I have to say I completely love it. I didn’t think much of it before, but it looks really sweet now. As soon as we have some art hanging over it, and maybe a more to-scale plant, I think it could look really cute here at the front of the library.

Our tables are made from ash, and using quarter cuts of wood (which is more wasteful, but gives this beautiful appearance). You can see that below:

Large Work Tables Before:

We have four of these tables (2 longer, 2 shorter), and these probably have had the biggest transformation!

Large Work Tables After:

These beauties were lovingly restored, taking out decades of pen and book scratches, old adhesive velcro strips, and treated with a nice durable top coat. The restorers told me they fixed old repairs that had been made at some point, and cleaned up a significant number of cigarette burns (GASP!). We’re all thrilled with how rich and wonderful these look in the back of the library, especially next to the great purple wall and with these comfortable and stylish new chairs (which also were chosen to actually fit under the skirt on these tables). Our restorers figure our tables to be at least 100 years old – how great do they look?

This isn’t a sponsored post, but since several people have asked, all furniture refinishing was done by AJ Furniture Refinishing here in Ottawa. We’ve been incredibly happy with the results!

CanLII Updates

Posted on by Jennifer Walker

Over the past few months, there has been a flurry of activity at CanLII. It felt like new materials were being added all the time, so now that it’s back to school time (in our hearts, if not in practice!), let’s take a look at the current commentary offerings from CanLII:

Books and Articles:

So many! New books and titles are being added all the time, so check out this link to see the full list.

Reports and Research Papers:

Again, there are lots! This is another new section of CanLII, and there is a whole lot of great content now available. Check out this link for the full list of reports and research papers.

Journals:

  • Alberta Law Review
  • Appeal Appeal: Review of Current Law and Law Reform
  • Canadian Bar Review
  • Canadian Journal of Comparative and Contemporary Law
  • Canadian Journal of Human Rights
  • Canadian Law Library Review
  • Canadian Parliamentary Review
  • Dalhousie Journal of Legal Studies
  • LawNow Magazine
  • Manitoba Law Journal
  • McGill Journal of Dispute Resolution
  • McGill Journal of Law and Health
  • McGill Journal of Sustainable Development Law
  • McGill Law Journal
  • Ottawa Law Review
  • University of New Brunswick Law Journal
  • Western Journal of Legal Studies
  • Windsor Yearbook on Access to Justice

Newsletters:

  • Justice as Healing
  • Long term disability in Ontario
  • Siskinds Class Action Case Review

Finally, if you’re an author and wish to submit material to CanLII, check out the CanLII Authors Program.

 

Post-Library Reno Update: Reserve Books

Posted on by Jennifer Walker

A few people have asked after our old “Reserve” collection – where is it now that we don’t have a row of shelves behind the front desk? The answer: we decided to do away with a large bookshelf wall behind the front desk, and have pared down what we wanted to keep in a Reserve collection. These are the most in-demand texts. All killer, no filler, you might say. As always, books aren’t to leave the courthouse, but if you need the most recent Criminal Code, Family Law Rules, civil practice, small claims guide, or the ever-popular Ontario Courtroom Procedure, stop at the front desk and we can get it for you.

Since we’re only keeping a small number of books in Reserve, this is a great opportunity for us to use our old barrister bookcase, which we had restored over the winter.

Before:

This sweet little shelf sat outside of Rick’s office. The metal mechanisms on the doors were all in terrible condition. Frankly, opening a shelf always felt like a bit of a dare – would this be the opening that broke the metal brackets or glass?! The finish had also turned a bit yellow with age.

After:

How great does it look now? Fun fact: when the refinishers started work, red dye was coming out of the literal woodwork, telling us that this used to be a mahogany colour many years ago. We opted for a more natural wood colour, and couldn’t be happier with how it turned out. You can see our small Reserve collection in here for now. We may opt for something more industrial or modern (in keeping with the space) in the future, but for now we quite love how this looks, and the mix of old and new that it brings to the Library.

Recently Published Ottawa Decisions

Posted on by Jennifer Walker

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

Family Matters

Sanda v. Sanda (2018 ONSC 4142)
equalization — lump sum payment — spousal support — interest in the equity — income
Justice T. Engelking

CAS v. N.N. (2018 ONSC 4849)
children — care — home — taking reasonable steps to ensure — custody
Justice S. Corthorn

Murray v. Choudhary (2018 ONSC 4870)
motion — offer to settle — full indemnity basis — costs — delinquency
Justice S. Corthorn

Murray v. Choudhary (2018 ONSC 2533)
motion — home — recordings — messages — restraining
Justice S. Corthorn

Loach v. Schopf-Loach (2018 ONSC 4878)
letter — possibly shed some light — deceased — paternal — dynamic
Justice T. Engelking

Continue reading →

Research Refresher: Lexis Advance Quicklaw Quantums

Posted on by Jennifer Walker

I was looking for quantums in Quicklaw last week and realized a) it had been a while since I had done so, and b) I wasn’t entirely sure how to access them anymore! If you’ve never used the quantums in Quicklaw, you might be surprised to learn the scope of what these gather. In the library’s subscription to Quicklaw, you can access quantums for:

  • Breach of Contract
  • Child Support
  • Defamation
  • Dependants’ Relief
  • Matrimonial Property
  • Medical Neligence
  • Property-Related Torts
  • Sentencing
  • Spousal Support
  • Wrongful Dismissal
  • Personal Injury

I checked online to see if Lexis had made any tutorials for using this feature, and thankfully they have! Check out the video below, and next time you need to figure out “how much,” consider popping over to the library to see what Quicklaw has for you.

#ThrowbackThursday: Renovations Before and After

Posted on by Jennifer Walker

Visitors to the Library have been raving about our new space, but construction carries on in Phase 2 of our renovations. We haven’t shown too many pictures of the work being done in the Lounge side of the space (simply because we don’t have access to the space like we did to the library), so here are a couple of new before and afters! This side has enormous change happening, and the biggest might be how fresh it feels! So much fresh air and natural light!

Before:

These shots are looking into the library from the Lounge doors. There were cubicle offices along most of the windows, blocking all of the light and views, and lots of bookshelves. Unfortunately, many of the books back here were seldom-used, and aisles became overflow storage.

After:

The lounge will now be extending into this space, and we’ve taken everything off the windows! If you’ve been into the library and seen our massive lights, stay tuned: there will be large, equally impressive lighting going into this space as well. In addition to the nice, new soft seating we’ll have, we’ll also have a long, bar-height counter with stools and power outlets along the windows for a portion of the space (essentially, along the windows where that red work platform is in the first After photo). We expect those seats will be very popular, as the view from this room is pretty great.

Construction of this space is still on schedule, so provided everything continues to go well, we should be ready to welcome you in this fall!

 

Recently Published Ottawa Decisions

Posted on by Jennifer Walker

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

Family Matters

Hawes v. Hawes (2018 ONSC 4718)
parenting time — separation agreement — primary residence — support — fulltime
Justice T. Engelking

CAS v. M.G. (2018 ONSC 4491)
father — charge of the child — child s best interests — treatment — parent
Justice A. Doyle

Ouellette v. Uddin (2018 ONSC 4520)
child — income — date of separation — spousal support — value
Justice M. Shelston

Villeneuve v. Bell (2018 ONSC 4518)
caregiving role — access — child — full-time basis — relationship
Justice M. Labrosse

Naqib v. Sakkal (2018 ONSC 4479)
access — www ourfamilywizard com — children — supervisor — web-based application
Justice M. Labrosse

Van de Hoef v. Lafond (2018 ONSC 4440)
father — child — supervised access — motion — variation
Justice J. Audet

N.H. v. J.H. (2018 ONSC 4436)
father — children — parents — preferences — school
Justice J. Audet

Civil Matters

Syed v. Nirman (2018 ONSC 4741)
nunc pro tunc — two-year limitation period — trustee — corporation — pleading
Justice R. Ryan Bell

Johnson Wisotzki v. PCL Constructors Inc. (2018 ONSC 4685)
intentional infliction of mental suffering — proposed amendments — statute-barred — surveillance — struck
Justice R. Ryan Bell

Merchant v. Mehta (2018 ONSC 3632)
funds — invested — personal loan — interest — cash
Justice C. Hackland

Hannuneh v. Economical Mutual Insurance Company (2018 ONSC 4588)
solicitor-client account — settlement — motion — relief — disbursements
Justice S. Corthorn

Knowmadics v. Cinnamon (2018 ONSC 4451)
cover — software — irreparable harm — website — motion
Justice S. Corthorn

Criminal Matters

R. v. Bullen (2018 ONSC 4633)
cocaine — conspiracy — intercepted communications — trafficking — criminal organization
Justice M. Labrosse

R. c. FJ (2018 ONSC 4587)
bonbon — grands-parents — filles — accusé — témoignage
Juge M. O’Bonsawin

R. v. Conley (2018 ONCJ 511)
expert — re-enactment — bicycle — evidence — truck
Justice D. Berg

R. v. Conley (2018 ONCJ 498)
operating mind — voluntariness — police — cautioned — charged
Justice D. Berg

Court of Appeal Decisions of Local Interest

R. v. Lawrence (2018 ONCA 676)
fine in lieu of forfeiture — restitution — sentencing — pucks — gold
Justices M. Benotto, G. Trotter, and D. Paciocco

R. v. Dell (2018 ONCA 674)
faint hope — period of parole ineligibility — judicial screening — jury — punishment
Justices D. Doherty, H. LaForme, and D. Paciocco

Carby-Samuels II v. Carby-Samuels (2018 ONCA 664)
vexatious — father — strong presumption of judicial impartiality — prohibiting him from instituting — mentally competent adult
Justices A. Hoy, K. van Rensburg, and G. Pardu

Recently Published Ottawa Decisions

Posted on by Jennifer Walker

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

Family Matters

Maan v. Poirier (2018 ONSC 4348)
contempt — behaved unreasonably — hair follicle — motion — costs
Justice D. Summers

Kwan v. Doherty (2018 ONSC 4413)
five-day period — parenting time — father — camp — jiu-jitsu
Justice S. Corthorn

Kucharski v. Daghistani (2018 ONSC 4297)
father — nanny — will — motion — child
Justice A. Doyle

Sawma v. Zeidan (2018 ONSC 4319)
car-related expenses — agreed-to gross income figures — income for child support purposes — business expenses — evidence
Justice H. Williams

Civil Matters

Greenough v. Maple Ridge Media Inc. (2018 ONSC 4429)
costs — radiant floor heating system — pre-judgment interest — remediation — indemnity
Justice S. Gomery

Donleavy v. Ultramar Ltd. (2018 ONSC 4270)
pre-judgment interest — general non-pecuniary damages — crossclaim — subrogated — post-judgment interest
Justice S. Corthorn

Continue reading →

#ThrowbackThursday: Renovations Before and After

Posted on by Jennifer Walker

While our new space is beautiful and a huge upgrade on the old library, I think the number one question is “Is this still a bathroom?” with a jiggling of the handle of the door next to the main entrance. Runner up questions include “Is there a washroom here?” and “Where is the washroom?” Sensing a theme, here’s a before and after (and a work-in-progress) shot for you on the state of our washroom!

Before

These are the rooms everyone is looking for! Immediately to the right when you walked into the library, these trusty washrooms served us all for decades.

After

This door is what you’ll see in that place now! It’s actually a new door (all of the doors in this space were no longer to code, so this one is a bit wider than previously), and it’s not the entrance to a washroom at all. This is our new IT room – the IT room was previously an office that was on a window. What a waste of a window!

Right Now

So to answer the earlier questions about where a bathroom will be, here’s a recent picture from the Phase 2 construction area. The new washroom will be in the lounge, and for the moment is simply a red outline on a brick wall. In the old library set-up, we used to have a rather large room sitting in the middle of our space that had nothing in it but a piece of decommissioned air conditioning equipment. Occasionally an awful smell would come out of the room and the building would open the door to investigate, but other than that the room was pretty well abandoned! We asked for this space to be included in the renovation, and it’s now being turned into a nice, new, clean, and accessible washroom. This picture gives the impression that this is some hobbit-sized door, but it’s definitely not! The ceiling is currently removed in the entire area, so it’s a bit of an optical illusion. When the ceiling is back up, it won’t look quite so pint-sized.

Recently Published Ottawa Decisions

Posted on by Jennifer Walker

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

Family Matters

Nafar-Ross v. Raahemi (2018 ONSC 4112)
costs — motion — child — successful — expectations
Justice P. Roger

Piacenti v. Thomson (2018 ONSC 4108)
access — matrimonial home — school — child support — income
Justice R. Ryan Bell

Pitre v. Lalande (2018 ONSC 3985)
post-judgment interest rate — father — arrears — post-judgment interest rates — accrue as of the date
Justice S. Corthorn

Mancini v. Mancini (2018 ONSC 3970)
income — bad faith — spousal support — motion — billable
Justice M. Shelston

A.Z. v. H. (2018 ONSC 3968)
costs — child support — arrears — equalization — full recovery
Justice T. Engelking

Kruschenske v. Kruschenske (2018 ONSC 3956)
father — children — second weekend — boys — overnight access
Justice P. Kane

Children’s Aid Society of Ottawa v. K.F. (2018 ONSC 3905)
paternal grandparents — children — half-siblings — motion for summary — custody
Justice S. Corthorn

Civil Matters

Leopold Edwin Siberg v. Bruyère Continuing Care Inc. (2018 ONSC 4235)
hospital — injunction — care — video — cameras
Justice C. MacLeod

Continue reading →