Business
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May 09, 2024
IRCC’s inadequate online access for clients seeking immigration info ‘untenable’: federal watchdog
The years-long failure of the Department of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) to create a functional system to digitally communicate with would-be immigrants has pushed tens of thousands of IRCC clients (and their lawyers) to try to track the progress of their immigration applications via the access-to-information portals of the federal immigration department and the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA), says federal Information Commissioner Caroline Maynard, who called the status quo and resulting deluge of access to information requests “simply untenable.”
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May 08, 2024
Federal workers’ unions file legal challenges, complaints against three-day on-site work mandate
Unions representing 270,000 federal public service workers have filed a series of legal challenges in opposition to the government’s new mandate requiring its workers to report to the office three days per week, according to a release by the Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC).
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May 08, 2024
Canada, B.C. celebrate NAFTA panel’s decision of softwood lumber duties
Ottawa and British Columbia are hailing a decision by a North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) panel that U.S. duties on Canadian softwood lumber are inconsistent with U.S. law.
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May 08, 2024
Licence lockdown: Status quo orders in cannabis proceedings
The spate of cannabis insolvencies over the past several years has seen a number of developments in Canadian insolvency law. One of the more recent developments is the increasing number of regulatory “status quo” provisions being sought and obtained by debtors.
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May 08, 2024
Nunavut agrees to $8M settlement of class action for school sexual abuse victims
Nunavut has agreed to an $8 million settlement of a class action brought on behalf of individuals who suffered sexual abuse at schools in Resolute Bay or Clyde River and those who were abused by a teacher who has been convicted of sex offences.
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May 08, 2024
Toronto-based lawyer joins International Association of Defense Counsel
Byron Shaw, a lawyer at McCarthy Tétrault LLP Toronto, has joined the International Association of Defense Counsel (IADC).
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May 08, 2024
Appeal court affirms trial court’s procedural discretion under streamlined trial criteria
The B.C. Court of Appeal has upheld the dismissal of an application to convert a shareholder oppression petition into to an action, finding that while the decision was based on a framework that has since been superseded, the trial court would have broad discretion on appropriate procedures under the updated framework.
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May 08, 2024
Navigating international trademark registrations and symbol usage
As companies extend their reach globally, safeguarding intellectual property assumes heightened importance. The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) provides a streamlined avenue for trademark registrations through the Madrid Protocol (an international agreement), commonly recognized as the “international trademark registration system.”
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May 08, 2024
Law Society of Ontario sidesteps 100 years of common law rights | Joseph Chiummiento
On April 25, 2024, the directors of the largest legal regulator in North America surrendered over 100 years of well-earned common law rights to information. It is hard to see in this scenario how curtailing a director’s right to information serves the public interest.
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May 07, 2024
Federal Court fishery decision a significant victory for Inuit land claims sovereignty
In a significant victory for Inuit, the Federal Court has quashed a government decision to reissue fishing licences to one of Canada’s largest seafood processors in waters off Nunavut that are covered by the Nunavut Land Claims Agreement.