Natural Resources
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March 01, 2024
Canada, other G7 nations slap more sanctions on Russian diamonds
Canada is joining its G7 partners in imposing additional import restrictions on Russian diamonds under the Special Economic Measures (Russia) Regulations.
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March 01, 2024
Reports on harassment, specialization, helpline released for Ontario Convocation
Almost all of the Law Society of Ontario’s most recent Convocation was held behind closed doors, but several reports were published detailing numbers around harassment complaints against lawyers, members becoming certified specialists and those making use of the regulator’s practice helpline.
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March 01, 2024
Define ‘tough judge’ | Norman Douglas
There are many countries in the world with tough judges. Perhaps these countries have a lower crime rate — we don’t know, because what goes on in their criminal courts is kept secret.
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February 29, 2024
Canada implements new visa requirements on travellers from Mexico
Citing a recent “spike” in unsuccessful asylum claims made in Canada by Mexican citizens and the need to preserve “the integrity of our immigration system,” the federal government is starting to require visitor visas for Mexicans who do not hold valid U.S. non-immigrant visas or who have not held a Canadian visa in the past 10 years and are travelling by air on a Mexican passport.
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February 28, 2024
Pre-merger notification threshold to stay the same at $93 million for 2024, says Competition Bureau
The $93-million transaction-value threshold for requiring businesses to give Ottawa advance notice of a proposed merger will stay the same in 2024, the federal Competition Bureau says.
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February 27, 2024
White and Montour: Generic Aboriginal right to pursue economic development | Stephanie Axmann
This is part three of a series of articles regarding the 2023 landmark decision of the Quebec Superior Court (QCSC) in R. c. White et Montour 2023 QCCS 4154, released Nov.1, 2023. (Read parts one and two.) This article explores the significance of the court’s findings of a generic Aboriginal right to pursue economic development.
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February 27, 2024
Online harms bill would create new hate crimes, duties for social media, stiff fines, imprisonment
The federal government’s proposed Online Harms Act was welcomed by several advocacy groups who rated it a substantial improvement over Ottawa’s proposed blueprint three years ago; however red flags were raised, including questions around new hate crime provisions and penalties; whether the definitions of the targeted online harms are appropriately tailored; and whether a proposed new online regulator’s broad discretionary powers have adequate safeguards.
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February 27, 2024
SCC rejects leave to appeal application regarding Competition Tribunal divestiture order
The Supreme Court of Canada has dismissed an application for leave to appeal a Competition Tribunal decision where the Competition Bureau successfully challenged the merger of two major rival suppliers of oilfield waste services.
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February 27, 2024
Preparing now for AI in your sphere | Connie L. Braun and Juliana Saxberg
There is a growing corpus of commentary and advice to Canadian entities recommending how to responsibly manage the risk presented by artificial intelligence (AI). For smaller entities that do not have the resources or operational capacity to institute an AI governance committee, the prospect of following this advice can seem daunting. Existing tech governance frameworks and guidelines have already proven inadequate to corral the risk pervasive in AI applications. For those not already aware, these risks contain bias and security vulnerabilities, along with seemingly no means to prevent human misuse of AI tools or poisoning of data.
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February 26, 2024
Ford slammed by bar for politicizing judge appointments; JPs threaten suit over pay review delays
Ontario’s Progressive Conservative government is garnering sharp criticism from the legal community for further politicizing an appointment process that four years ago was lauded as the “the gold standard for the appointment of an independent and qualified judiciary,” free from partisan considerations.