Category: Law Blogs

Bill 118 Amends The Occupier’s Liability Act In Ontario.  We are in the midst of a global pandemic that is disrupting everyone’s lives. Quietly and without a lot of public discussion or debate, the Ontario Government recently passed Bill 118. The Bill is an amendment to the Occupier’s Liability Act which now prohibits a person who suffers a personal injury caused by snow or ice from making a claim against an occupier or an independent contractor employed by the occupier unless, within 60 days after the occurrence of the injury,

Auto insurance in Ontario is big business. The law requires that every vehicle have auto insurance and this creates a readymade market for insurance companies. In 2017 and 2018 auto insurance companies in Ontario made pre-tax profits estimated at $2.3 billion. That is a lot of money. When an industry is making that much money from a government regulated and mandated business, there must be transparency to hold the private, multi-national insurance companies accountable. Stricter government-imposed requirements for transparency from auto insurers is needed.  Currently, there is no requirement

Authored by Ruth Roberts When someone is charged with a criminal offence, one of the first things they want to know is: When will this be over? The answer to that question is complicated, and depends on a number of factors. But the short (and probably unwelcome) answer is: not for some time. Before anything significant can be done on a case, the evidence (known as disclosure), needs to be received and reviewed by the accused. If the accused has a lawyer,

Author: Kris Bonn We live in a society where insurance is ubiquitous, we must have insurance if we drive a car, if we own a home, we almost always have home insurance, we buy life insurance and long-term disability insurance to protect our families and, if we travel, we buy travel insurance. We buy insurance to protect us when bad things happen. Unfortunately, often when we need the insurance, claims are denied because the insurance company does a post-event investigation

Author: Scott Raycroft-Wright You may know that a young person who is charged with a criminal offence in Canada is treated differently than an adult who is charged with that offence. There are, however, many myths and misconceptions about how Canada’s criminal justice system handles young people. In this post, I will address some of the ways in which young people differ from adults in the criminal justice system.  What is a “young person”? For the purposes of the criminal

Author: Kris Bonn Long-term disability benefits. We buy coverage to protect us and our families when we become injured or sick and cannot work. They are “peace of mind” contracts. This past week there were two legal decisions of note in long-term disability cases. One is a reminder for all claimants to not sit back, when benefits are terminated, and rely on your insurer to do what is right. If the insurer denies or terminates your benefits, you need to