Just in time for Halloween. A zombie deed is a document which is signed during a property owner’s lifetime but registered on title after the owner dies. In modern legal terminology, this should be referred to by the less catchy name of “zombie acknowledgment and direction”. In a relatively recent…
Canada will soon mark the second anniversary of the legalization of recreational cannabis. In this video for the USLAW Network virtual conference, Kelly Santini’s Jennifer Therrien shares some of the lessons learned about the impact of legal cannabis on insurers in Canada and how US and and international insurers can…
Recently, the Ontario Government amended Ontario Regulation 364/20 under the Reopening Ontario (A Response to COVID-19) Act, 2020. Among other things, the amendments require businesses and organizations to comply with any advice, recommendations and instructions issued by the Ministry of Health on screening for COVID-19, including the use of a…
Congratulations to Pat Santini on his recent appointment as Chair of the American College of Trial Lawyers, Ontario Province Committee. The American College of Trial Lawyers is an invitation only fellowship of exceptional trial lawyers of diverse backgrounds from the United States and Canada. The College, and its Provincial Committees,…
On September 3, 2020, the Ontario government announced further amendments to extend the maximum periods of temporary layoffs to January 2, 2021, before they could be deemed to be terminations under the Employment Standards Act, 2000. As you were likely already aware, September 4th was the date on which employers…
On July 24, 2020, Ontario revoked the emergency order that suspended the temporary lay off clock and deemed employees to be on infectious disease emergency leave (see Ontario Regulation 228/20). This means that for employees who saw wages or hours reduced due to the pandemic, the regular rules for temporary…
A recent Ontario Court of Appeal decision illustrates the importance of carefully scrutinizing all provisions in an employment agreement to ensure that they comply with the Employment Standards Act, 2000 (the ESA) as a whole. In Waksdale v. Swegon North America Inc., 2020 ONCA 391, the Ontario Court of Appeal…
With much of Ontario continuing to reopen, many organizations have begun considering their mitigation strategies to protect both the organization and its employees from liability arising from the transmission of COVID-19. One common mitigation strategy at the forefront is the use of waivers of liability. Interestingly, many jurisdictions have begun…
