A recent Ontario Superior Court of Justice decision reminds employers that they cannot mess around with minimum statutory rights when terminating someone’s position. In Teljeur v. Aurora Hotel Group, 56-year-old John Teljeur was dismissed without cause after more than three years in a senior management role. Unknown to his employer, he surreptitiously recorded the discussion when […]
ESA rights cannot be used as bargaining chips Read More »
By LegalMatters Staff • The Canadian Femicide Observatory for Justice and Accountability recently released a report detailing the violent deaths of women and girls between 2018 and 2022 in Canada. According to the organization, 850 females were killed in the past five years, or one every 48 hours. Additionally, between 2019 and 2022 there was
Canada does not need a new criminal charge of femicide Read More »
By Tony Poland, LegalMatters Staff • With Law Society of Ontario (LSO) bencher voting quickly coming to a close, the Toronto Lawyers Association (TLA) is reminding its members, and all lawyers in the province, of the importance of making their voices heard at the ballot box. “Historically, voter turnout has been low during bencher elections
TLA encourages all lawyers to cast a ballot in bencher elections Read More »
By Paul Russell, LegalMatters Staff • A growing number of Canadians are discovering the health benefits and lower commuting costs associated with cycling, says Ontario personal injury lawyer Joshua Goldberg. “The biggest downside is the risk of an accident,” says Goldberg, principal of Joshua Goldberg Law. “Unlike motor vehicles, bicycles offer no protection to the rider, so
Cycling has many benefits but it also comes with risk Read More »
By LegalMatters Staff • Two important principles are at the root of our country’s judicial system. The first is that the burden of proof in any criminal trial is entirely on the Crown, meaning that the accused does not have to prove they are innocent. The second is that the Crown attorney has to establish
Supreme Court ruling reinforces some legal fundamentals Read More »
By Tony Poland, LegalMatters Staff • Parental alienation can cause long-lasting or even permanent damage to family relationships and is easily misunderstood, says Toronto family lawyer A. Julia P. Tremain. “There is an abundance of social study research on parental alienation syndrome but there is also a huge debate about whether it actually exists,” says Tremain,
Parental alienation ‘a complicated issue’ with no easy answers Read More »
By LegalMatters Staff • Living with an abusive partner can be fraught with danger and deciding to leave the relationship can be difficult if someone believes their safety is in jeopardy. The World Health Organization reports that intimate partner violence (IPV) is one of the most common forms of violence against women. All genders, ages,
Your safety is important when leaving an abusive relationship Read More »
By Tony Poland, LegalMatters Staff • There is no “one-size-fits-all approach” to drafting employment agreements, which is why employers should seek legal advice to ensure they are complying with the law while protecting their interests, says Ontario employment lawyer Nadia Zaman. “You need a contract that is customized to not only the employee’s role and
Employment contracts must be ‘tailored’ to the workplace Read More »
By LegalMatters Staff • Messages sent on social media platforms are playing an increasingly large role in sexual assault cases, says Ottawa criminal lawyer Céline Dostaler. “In about 80 per cent of the cases I defend, electronic correspondence is part of the evidence. Sometimes it supports the complainant and other times it reinforces the accused’s
Social media messages can be important in sexual assault cases Read More »
By Tony Poland, LegalMatters Staff • A recent court of appeal ruling should give employers the impetus to review the employment contracts of long-standing staff, says Toronto employment lawyer Ellen Low. In Celestini v. Shoplogix Inc., the Ontario Court of Appeal (ONCA) found that an employee was not bound by the terms of the termination clause in his
Employers need to pay heed to court of appeal decision Read More »
