Ottawa Blog Roll: August 2018

Posted on by Brenda Lauritzen

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

Civil Litigation

Ontario’s Alarming Spike in Transport Truck Collisions
– Frank Van Dyke, Van Dyke Injury Law Blog

Doing the Right Thing the Wrong Way
– Anthony McGlynn, Perley-Robertson, Hill & McDougall LLP

Condominium Law

Should Condo Owners be Allowed to Inspect Proxy Forms?
– Rodrigue Escayola, Condo Adviser

New Regulations Applicable to Condo Pools
– Jocelyn Duquette, Condo Adviser

2,000 Condominiums Have Yet To File Their Returns With The CAO!
– Melinda Andrews, Davidson Condo Law

Claim by Landlord Against Tenant For Unauthorized Airbnb
– James Davidson, Davidson Condo Law

Corporate Commercial Law

Cannabis Retail is Coming to Ontario
– Mark Asfar, Momentum Business Law

Criminal Law

August 2018 Criminal Law Round-Up
– Anne Marie McElroy, McElroy Law

Employment & Labour Law

HRTO creates new rule for employers regarding citizenship-based recruitment criteria
– Andrew Vey, Vey Willetts LLP

Assessment of Damages in Sexual Assault Cases
– Sean Bawden, Labour Pains

Managing Marijuana at Work
– Alayna Miller, Mann Lawyers

Do You Have to Put Up With “Locker-Room” Talk in the Workplace?
– Karine Dion, Nelligan O’Brien Payne

Denying Employees’ Benefits Based on Age is Discrimination and Unconstitutional
– Karine Dion, Nelligan O’Brien Payne

Family Law

Polyamorous relationships and the best interests of the child
– David Ang & Paul Taylor-Sussex, Nelligan O’Brien Payne

Health Law

Health Canada invites public comments on new post-market reporting regulations
– Ben Pearson & Karl Racine, Gowling WLG

Indigenous Law

Discrimination in Canada’s Prisons: Risk Assessment Tools and Indigenous Prisoners
– Natasha Chettiar & Paul Taylor-Sussex, Nelligan O’Brien Payne

IP & Copyright Law

Standard of Review: The Beginning of the End or the End of the Beginning?
– Howard Knopf, Excess Copyright

Will the Canadian Voltage Reverse Class Action Now Fizzle?
– Howard Knopf, Excess Copyright

More On Mass Copyright Litigation in Canada – Part I
– Howard Knopf, Excess Copyright

Practice Management

Partner succession and law firm ownership
– Jordan Furlong, Law21

Security Law

Canada’s Foreign Intelligence Desert
– Craig Forcese, National Security Law

Trade Law

Possible Canadian Safeguard Action Against Steel Imports: Steel Importers, Distributors Consumers and End-Users Should Take Action
– Gordon LaFortune, Canadian Trade Law Blog

We include highlights of recent posts and articles from Ottawa-area blogs that are of substantive value to the legal community. Did we miss one? Let us know!

Recently Published Ottawa Decisions

Posted on by Jennifer Walker

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

Family Matters

Hormillosa v. Tshiani-Levie (2018 ONSC 5092)
pension — motion — disclosure — attend — set aside
Justice A. Doyle

Itani v. Abdelmoghith (2018 ONSC 5140)
children — school — passports — mid-week visit — parent
Justice M. O’Bonsawin

Miller v. Miller (2018 ONSC 5003)
child support — work full-time — spousal support — full-time hours — income
Justice D. Summers

Hammoud v. Rosolen (2018 ONSC 5102)
school — transporting the children — cross boundary transfer — bear their own costs — residence
Justice P. MacEachern

Continue reading →

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.

New Titles – August 2018

Posted on by Amanda Elliott

This past month we’ve received new editions of some of our most requested books. Among them are Martin’s Annual Criminal Code, Ontario Small Claims Court Practice and the Annotated Ontario Highway Traffic Act. You can see the full list of new books below!

The 2018 Annotated Ontario Highway Traffic Act (Thomson Reuters)

The 2018 Annotated Ontario Provincial Offences Act (Thomson Reuters)

The 2018-2019 Annotated Ontario Personal Property Security Act (Thomson Reuters)

Annual Review of Criminal Law 2017 (Thomson Reuters)

Code criminel annoté 2019 (Thomson Reuters)

Federal Access to Information and Privacy Legislation Annotated 2019 (Thomson Reuters)

Gale on Easements, 20th Ed. (Thomson Reuters)

A Guide to the Youth Criminal Justice Act, 2019 Ed. (LexisNexis)

Halsbury’s Laws of Canada (LexisNexis)

Issues in Criminal Trials and Summary Appeal Law, 2nd Ed. (LexisNexis)

Martin’s Annual Criminal Code, 2019 Ed. (Thomson Reuters)

Martin’s Ontario Criminal Practice, 2019 Ed. (Thomson Reuters)

Ontario Provincial Offences, 2019 Pocket Ed. (Thomson Reuters)

Ontario Small Claims Court Practice 2019 (Thomson Reuters)

A Practical Guide to Public Procurement (LexisNexis)

Principles of Property Law, Seventh Ed. (Thomson Reuters)

Support Rights and Obligations Under Ontario Family Law (Thomson Reuters)

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!

 

Ottawa Blog Roll: July 2018

Posted on by Brenda Lauritzen

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

Condominium Law

New Tribunal Rules on Owners Accessing Condominium Records
– Rod Escayola, Condo Adviser

Should Condo Owners be Able to Get Information About Other Owners?
– Rod Escayola, Condo Adviser

Corporations Must Act Fast When Condo Owners Requisition a Meeting of Owners
– Rod Escayola, Condo Adviser

New Tax on Airbnb Rentals in Ottawa
– Christy Allen, Davidson Houle Allen LLP

Vexatious Litigant Not Precluded From Accessing Condominium Authority Tribunal
– Jessica Weick, Davidson Houle Allen LLP

Dispute Over Flower Box Leads to Expensive Litigation
– Jessica Weick, Davidson Houle Allen LLP

The Effect Of The New Construction Act On Condominiums In Ontario
– David Lu, Davidson Houle Allen LLP

Collecting Chargebacks Will Soon Become More Of A Challenge
– James Davidson, Davidson Houle Allen LLP

Construction Law

Construction Lien Act Amendments, Part 3 – Lien, Holdback, and Trust Rules
– Bryce Dillon & Keith Maclaren, Perley-Robertson, Hill & McDougall LLP/s.r.l.

What you need to know about the new changes to the Construction Lien Act
– David Contant, Nelligan O’Brien Payne

Corporate Commercial Law

Good Faith in Contractual Negotiations and Performance – Civil vs Common Law
– Robert Bissonnette, Mann Lawyers

Criminal Law

Full Disclosure: Setting The (Fictional) Record Straight
– Anne Marie McElroy, McElroy Law

July 2018 Criminal Law Round-Up
– Anne Marie McElroy, McElroy Law

AG Mulroney’s Big Debut is a Throwback Fail
– Michael Spratt, Abergel Goldstein & Partners LLP

On Gun Violence, Jim Watson and John Tory Shoot from the Lip
– Michael Spratt, Abergel Goldstein & Partners LLP

Employment & Labour Law

Receipt of LTD Evidence of Frustration
– Sean Bawden, Labour Pains

The Right to Purreavement Leave in Ontario
– Sean Bawden, Labour Pains

Family Caregiver Leave in Ontario
– Sean Bawden, Labour Pains

Putting on the Brakes: Ontario courts are limiting the scope of post-dismissal mitigatory earnings
– Andrew Vey, Vey Willetts LLP

Ontario Court Creates New Protection for Complainants of Workplace Sexual Harassment
– Andrew Vey, Vey Willetts LLP

Family Law

Can an embryo be treated as “property”?
– Erin Lepine & Paul Taylor-Sussex, Nelligan O’Brien Payne

When will a court order “double dipping”?
– Daniel Duyvelshoff, Fresh Legal

Food & Beverage Law

Bait and switch? Incorporation by reference of front of pack labelling symbols
– Lewis Retik, Gowling WLG

Eat your cannabis and have it too: Edibles will present unique regulatory challenges
– Laura E. Gomez & Megan Martins, Gowling WLG

IP & Copyright Law

Tough break? KitKat and the fight over those four fingers
– Wing Yan & Paul Taylor-Sussex, Nelligan O’Brien Payne

Some Notes About Recent Developments at the Copyright Board of Canada
– Howard Knopf, Excess Copyright

Nice Classification in the Age of Globalization
– Kimberley Baillie, Gowling WLG

Land surveys: who owns the copyright?
– Paul Taylor-Sussex, Bryan Thaw, & Wing Yan, Nelligan O’Brien Payne

Food Delivery Apps – Good for Business?
– Paul Taylor-Sussex, Nelligan O’Brien Payne

Practice Management

The cause of, and solution to
– Jordan Furlong, Law21

Hope vs. experience in California
– Jordan Furlong, Law21

Who really owns your law firm?
– Jordan Furlong, Law21

Security Law

“9/11esque” Tweets and the Saudi Spat
– Craig Forcese, National Security Law

Oh, What Tangled Webs the CSIS Act Weaves: The Federal Court’s Latest Decision on CSIS’s Foreign Intelligence Mandate
– Craig Forcese, National Security Law

Threading the Needle: Structural Reform & Canada’s Intelligence-to-Evidence Dilemma
– Craig Forcese, National Security Law

Supreme Court

2018: The SCC mid-year review – How’s it going so far?
– D. Lynne Watt, Gowling WLG

Trade Law

Negotiation, Not Litigation is the Way to NAFTA Modernization
– Gordon LaFortune, Canadian Trade Law Blog

We include highlights of recent posts and articles from Ottawa-area blogs that are of substantive value to the legal community. Did we miss one? Let us know!