Business
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June 28, 2024
SCC settles confusion in tax disputes about jurisdictional boundaries of Federal and Tax Courts
In judgments that clarify the jurisdictional boundaries between the Federal Court and the Tax Court in tax disputes, the Supreme Court of Canada has rejected separate appeals by two Canadian companies who challenged how their taxes were assessed by the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA).
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June 28, 2024
Ontario sets 2025 rent increase cap at statutory upper limit of 2.5 per cent
Ontario has set the annual rent increase guideline for 2025 at 2.5 per cent, the upper limit for inflation-based annual rent hikes applicable to most housing units in Ontario, according to a release. The guideline does not apply to housing units first occupied after November 2018 or vacant residential units.
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June 28, 2024
CRTC seeks comments on exempting Google from mandatory bargaining under Online News Act
The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) has launched a public consultation with respect to Google’s application for an exemption from a mandatory bargaining process to compensate news organizations for distributing their content, according to a release.
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June 28, 2024
Cross-appeal denied in insurance coverage case related to $3.4M class action settlement
The Ontario Court of Appeal has denied a cross-appeal concerning an insurer’s funding agreement with a health-care company to pay a class action settlement for a privacy-breaching cyberattack.
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June 28, 2024
Appeal court finds insurer not liable to cover legal costs of fraudsters, citing misrepresentation
The Ontario Court of Appeal has ruled that two individuals facing lawsuits concerning an alleged Ponzi scheme operated through certain companies were not entitled to insurance coverage for their legal defence due to a material misrepresentation in their applications for coverage.
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June 28, 2024
Veteran Toronto lawyer starts term as LSO treasurer
The Law Society of Ontario’s (LSO) new treasurer praised his predecessor, spoke of past accomplishments and talked about “ceremony, fellowship and policy.” The LSO’s June 28 Convocation featured remarks by newly elected treasurer Peter Wardle, a Toronto-based commercial litigation and professional liability lawyer who will serve in the role for the 2024-25 term.
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June 28, 2024
Strategic merger of Hillenbrand Kozicki and MLT Aikins announced
Commercial real estate firm Hillenbrand Kozicki LLP and MLT Aikins LLP, which focuses on serving clients in Western Canada, recently announced a merger that will take effect on Sept. 1, 2024, a press release announced.
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June 28, 2024
The homeliest pooch from Coos Bay to Petaluma | Marcel Strigberger
Mirror, mirror on the wall, who’s the ugliest of them all? Wild Thang of course … the eight-year-old Pekingese from Coos Bay, Ore. This poor pooch won first prize at the annual world’s ugliest dog contest at the Sonoma-Marin Fair in Petaluma, Calif. His owner notes that she entered the guy five times, during which he scored second place three times before recently winning the biggy. For Wild Thang, five was the charm.
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June 28, 2024
Designing the impossible: A perfect Request to Admit Rule
The recent decision in Khan v. Law Society of Ontario, [2024] O.J. No. 276 has sparked renewed interest by regulators of professions in whether the “request to admit” process can have the effect of streamlining discipline hearings. The Divisional Court upheld a discipline finding based, in large part, on deemed admissions by the lawyer facing discipline who had refused to make admission on the facts contained in a 484-paragraph request to admit that included 310 documents. The discipline hearing panel ruled the facts in the request to admit were deemed to be admitted because the lawyer had failed to properly engage with the process. In essence, the lawyer had responded with a blanket denial (based on legal arguments) without responding specifically to the assertions of fact or the authenticity of the individual documents.
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June 28, 2024
Ontario Updates: New Fines for ESA contraventions, Working for Workers Five Act proposed
On May 6, 2024, the Ontario Government introduced Bill 190, the Working for Workers Five Act, 2024, which, if passed, will provide new protections for workers, the key details of which are summarized below. On May 16, 2024, Bill 190 was carried on second reading and was referred to the Ontario Government’s Standing Committee on Finance and Economic Affairs. The Ontario Government has also filed Ontario Regulation 189/24, amending Ontario Regulation 289/01 (Penalties and Reciprocal Enforcement) under the Ontario Employment Standards Act, 2000 (ESA), which increases fines for multiple contraventions of the ESA, as detailed below.