In-House Counsel
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April 25, 2024
World Day for Health & Safety at Work: Prioritizing safety in the workplace
Every year on April 28, World Day for Health & Safety at Work is observed — a global campaign aimed at promoting the prevention of occupational accidents and diseases. This day serves as an important reminder of creating a safe work environment to reduce the risk of work-related injuries and fatalities.
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April 24, 2024
Barriers to a legally binding, global treaty on plastic pollution are mounting, say lawyers
Achieving a global, legally binding treaty to draw down pervasive plastic pollution is becoming increasingly difficult as successive and more “bloated” drafts of the agreement are negotiated, says a lawyer with Ecojustice Canada.
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April 24, 2024
Demystifying the share purchase process
When it comes to acquiring or selling a business, there are two primary paths: a share purchase or an asset purchase. This article aims to shed light on and provide a high-level overview of the share purchase process.
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April 23, 2024
B.C. puts health-care cost recovery bill on hold, will convene online safety action table
The B.C. government has put the brakes on controversial health-care cost recovery legislation it introduced to great fanfare last month, announcing plans to convene a round table with social media giants to take action on online harms.
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April 23, 2024
B.C. Court of Appeal upholds order referring ad price-fixing dispute against Google to arbitration
The B.C. Court of Appeal has upheld a lower court decision favouring arbitration of a proposed class action against internet giant Google over allegations that it engaged in anti-competitive practices to artificially maintain the price of Google search ads above competitive market rates.
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April 23, 2024
IMPLIED DUTIES OF EMPLOYEE — Compliance with employer policy
Application by Butu for judicial review of the Social Security Tribunal ("SST") Appeal Division's ("SST-AD") refusal to grant leave to appeal the General Division's ("SST-GD") decision to uphold the Canada Employment Insurance Commission's ("Commission") refusal of her employment insurance ("EI") benefits. Butu was employed by the Toronto Public Library ("TPL").
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April 23, 2024
When your letter of credit is ‘on demand’
Other than cash, a standby letter of credit (LoC) is generally considered the most liquid form of performance security. Accordingly, one would assume that where a party who delivered an LoC has breached the applicable contract, drawing down on the LoC should be as simple as the other counterparty walking down to the bank and asking for the cash, right? It might not be so simple anymore. This issue was addressed in Pacific Atlantic Pipeline Construction v. Coastal Gaslink Pipeline Ltd., 2023 ABKB 736.
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April 23, 2024
AI, protecting yourself from bad actors | Connie L. Braun and Juliana Saxberg
While it is true that many people believe that laws and regulations are enacted only to limit us, laws and regulations are actually in place to guide us about how to conduct ourselves properly in life and business. Common standards and shared values, consideration of others and responsible behaviour all contribute to a society that functions well. Some people will use tools, intended for good, in harmful ways — ways that disregard laws and regulations. The same applies to the use of AI, with individuals finding ways to impersonate, cheat, manipulate and deceive — anything you can think of to exploit others.
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April 23, 2024
Federal budget fails to address immigration shortcomings | Sergio R. Karas
Last week, Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland unveiled Canada’s 2024 Budget, which proposes a whopping $52.9 billion in federal spending. Of particular concern are the $743.5 million over five years, along with an ongoing $159.5 million, earmarked for Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC), the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) and the Immigration and Refugee Board (IRB) to tackle challenges within the backlogged refugee system. While this is an area of concern, the budget is unclear on how these significant expenditures will be utilized to resolve many pressing issues in those departments.
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April 22, 2024
SCC’s spring session features weighty constitutional & admin law appeals but case volume is light
Constitutional and administrative law cases dominate at the Supreme Court of Canada this spring, with the handful of appeals to be heard involving class actions, standard of review, the honour of the Crown and the right to vote.