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Canadian courts

  • Image: "Anti-cyber bullying fix - meet the troll" by FixersUK is licensed under CC BY-ND 2.0
It is our neighbors to the South who have the reputation for being litigious. Here in Canada, we regard ourselves as more friendly. More reasonable. More able to resolve disputes without necessarily resorting to full litigation. Is the COVID-19 pandemic moving us...

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  • Image: "Bee keeper" by Oregon Department of Agriculture is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0
Few people wish for their case to make ground breaking law. Few desire fame through a court decision.  I was reminded recently of a tragic example of a famous Canadian case. Up to the late 1970s, women who claimed a beneficial share of...

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  • Image: Banana peeled by richard_north. This image was marked with a CC BY 2.0 license.
My son recently came home with a joke, “What did the banana say to the judge?” First, let’s look at a 2015 Supreme Court of Canada constructive dismissal decision. In Potter v. New Brunswick Legal Aid Services Commission, the Supreme Court...

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  • Image: "hornby st" by Beach650 is licensed under CC BY-NC 2.0
Lately, there is a dichotomy within B.C.’s justice system. As a result of concerns over COVID-19, B.C. courts have largely shut down, allowing only “urgent and essential matters” to proceed. This is a topic unto itself. Though efforts are certainly being made...

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  • Image: "uber" by stockcatalog is licensed under CC BY 2.0 ; https://www.flickr.com/photos/stockcatalog/40834812504/in/photostream/
The Supreme Court of Canada recently released a decision that considered whether a clause in Uber’s contracts is legally valid. Mr. David Heller, an Uber driver, challenged a provision in Uber’s contract. To become an Uber driver, Mr. Heller had to accept,...

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  • Photo: courtesy of creative commons, Cemetery 011
“Moot” is commonly used to mean “hypothetical.”  Whether a case is legally "moot" or not is a narrower question than common usage may suggest.  It is a question which may, depending on the case, require some analysis. The framework for determining whether...

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  • Photo: "response" is licensed under CC0 1.0
Liquor and cannabis stores remain open.   The list of essential services seems to be about a mile long. Amid all the concern about coronavirus, covid-19, even dollar stores are open. Lawyers are considered an “essential service.”  By definition, this includes the judiciary. Why,...

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