Real Estate
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December 19, 2024
Observers concerned about use of notwithstanding clause to protect Ontario trespass, drug use law
Ontario legislators will soon be grappling with recently introduced legislation to toughen trespass laws and tackle public drug use as part of its efforts to deal with homeless encampments in the province, but legal observers are raising questions about its constitutionality — and whether the provincial government will take steps to override the Charter to ensure it stays in place.
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December 19, 2024
‘Lessons to be learned’ from report on University of Alberta campus protest, legal expert says
An independent review by a retired judge is calling the University of Alberta’s decision to call in police to remove pro-Palestinian protesters from its campus earlier this year reasonable, while also noting the school did an “about-face” after it promised earlier not to dismantle the protest encampment as long as it was peaceful.
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December 17, 2024
$6 million settlement reached in Alberta REIT class action
A proposed settlement of $6 million has been reached to resolve the class action lawsuit over investments in Alberta-based Northwynd Real Estate Investment Trust alleging improper transfers.
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December 17, 2024
New sanctions target Venezuela’s top judge and justice officials complicit in ‘fraudulent’ election
Venezuela's top judge, a prosecutor and two other judges are among five Venezuelan justice officials targeted by Canadian sanctions for what Ottawa says was their undermining of democracy and participating in “the fraudulent declaration of Nicolás Maduro as the winner” of Venezuela’s presidential election last July.
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December 17, 2024
Leave to appeal allowed for electricity costs decision not subject to judicial review
The Ontario Court of Appeal has allowed leave to appeal a decision concerning costs relating to electricity for a new development, noting that it would be important for public economic interest to determine whether the electricity regulator is subject to judicial review on the matter.
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December 17, 2024
Vavilov at five | Sara Blake
Five years ago, on Dec. 19, 2019, the Supreme Court of Canada, in Canada (Minister of Citizenship and Immigration) v. Vavilov, 2019 SCC 65, re-set the standard of review for questions of statutory interpretation. In that case, and two others decided in the same week, the court demonstrated how the new standard of review is to be applied.
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December 16, 2024
Federal fiscal update after Freeland’s shock departure features tax, legal changes of note to bar
Boosting the number of judges in Ontario’s Unified Family Court and Court of Appeal, making “bail and sentencing laws stricter,” and new civil remedies — and criminal penalties of up to $1 million for corporations — under the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act, were among the new measures proposed in the 2024 fall fiscal update by the minority Liberal government after Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland stunned Ottawa by resigning from the Cabinet a few hours earlier.
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December 16, 2024
Alberta Court of Appeal upholds default judgment in mortgage action, affirms property sale
The Alberta Court of Appeal has upheld a default judgment in a mortgage enforcement action and affirmed a third-party property sale, finding that the mortgagor did not have a reasonable prospect of successfully defending the action.
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December 16, 2024
Class action certified against Airbnb for alleged breach of consumer protection laws
The British Columbia Supreme Court has certified a class action against short-term rentals giant Airbnb alleging breach of provincial consumer laws, claiming it is not licensed to provide real estate or travel agent services, nor can it transfer funds between customer and host.
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December 13, 2024
Estate planning using options to purchase and right of first refusal
In the realm of estate litigation, the interpretation of will clauses that include options to purchase and rights of first refusal seems to be coming up more and more frequently. Recent cases like Cambareri v. Sorrenti, 2023 ONSC 4918, and Zboya v. Hicks, 2024 ABKB 525, to name a few, indicate that there is growing interest in will drafting and estate planning that includes options to purchase estate property, or alternatively, gives beneficiaries a right of first refusal to purchase such property.