In-House Counsel
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July 26, 2024
Federal Court of Appeal deals another blow to cities’ efforts to derail huge CN container facility
The Federal Court of Appeal has dismissed an appeal challenging the approval of the location for railway lines related to a contentious Canadian National Railway Company (CN) logistics hub proposed to be set up in Milton, Ont.
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July 26, 2024
Supreme Court refuses leave to appeal $1.7M CBC defamation decision
The Supreme Court of Canada has effectively affirmed a Manitoba Court of Appeal decision last year that rejected a $1.7 million defamation award against the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. (CBC).
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July 26, 2024
Who’s liable when AI chatbot tells customer to phone a scammer?
Use of AI chatbots as an alternative to traditional customer support has dramatically increased over the last few years. Their appeal is understandable in that these artificial intelligence programs are able to provide rapid and coherent answers to client questions thereby cost-effectively reducing a company’s need for human customer support staff. However, and despite their widespread adoption, owner liability for false or misleading statements made by a chatbot remains uncharted territory.
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July 25, 2024
Burying termination provision in a confidentiality clause voids executive employment contract
Executive employment contracts, particularly for C-suite executives of organizations, can be lengthy and complex. A well-drafted, thorough contract may deal with a great number of different matters, including compensation, performance expectations, post-employment obligations, termination and others, which may not always interact.
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July 25, 2024
Court of Appeal upholds insurer liability for fire damage, rejecting coverage exclusion amendments
The Ontario Court of Appeal has upheld a finding that an insurer was liable to pay for losses caused by a fire in a vacant building as it was estopped from relying on a vacancy exclusion or policy amendments that excluded losses due to malicious acts.
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July 25, 2024
$500M Loblaw price-fixing settlement is Canada’s largest antitrust payout, say law firms
In what the law firms involved are calling the largest antitrust settlement in Canadian history, Loblaw Companies Ltd. and George Weston Ltd. have agreed to pay $404 million to settle a long-running class action lawsuit over the companies’ involvement in a bread price-fixing scheme that stretched from 2001 to 2015.
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July 25, 2024
‘Hey Siri, how can I use AI in my legal practice?’
Whether we realize it or not, artificial intelligence (AI) has the ability to make our lives easier every day. The seamless integration of AI into our personal and professional lives became apparent with the rise of ChatGPT generating emails, speeches and various other documents from simple instructions and the click of a button.
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July 25, 2024
Ottawa ordered to disclose memos about CUAET immigration program targeted by Charter challenge
A novel Charter challenge — which contends that Ottawa’s expansive Canada-Ukraine Authorization for Emergency Travel (CUAET) policy for war-affected Ukrainians unfairly discriminated against Taliban-targeted Afghans who face stricter immigration requirements — is proceeding to next steps after the Federal Court rejected a bid by the federal attorney general to avoid disclosing information that sheds light on what went into devising the generous immigration policy for Ukrainians.
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July 25, 2024
An overview of Canada’s new Digital Services Tax Act
On June 20, 2024, Bill C-59 received royal assent, establishing Canada’s new Digital Services Tax Act (DST Act). However, it was stipulated, through Bill C-59, that the Act would only come into force on a date determined by order of the Governor in Council.
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July 25, 2024
Legal status of Tibetans migrants in Canadian refugee law
Tibetans living in exile in India, Nepal and Bhutan often call themselves stateless refugees since they lost their country following China’s invasion of Tibet in the 1950s, and they still cannot return to their Tibetan homeland due to the lack of freedom and human rights and the ongoing persecution and cultural genocide by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) in the Tibetan plateau of the Himalayas. Their lack of freedom and risk of harm, including persecution in the form of detention, torture and even death or disappearance, is reported yearly by Freedom House, Amnesty International, the U.S. International Committee on Religious Freedom and other non-Tibetan organizations. Many of these Tibetans have come to Canada seeking refugee protection.