Mounting Barriers for Tenant-Claimants Seeking Hearings

Any person may find themselves in litigation over a landlord-tenant dispute. For an average individual, who does not work with lawyers, a lease agreement gone sour, a failure to do repairs in a building, or a refusal to make an apartment habitable by the lease-date, or an unexpected eviction notice can bring someone who never […]

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Is Self-Defence a Crime?

If you meet the requirements of self-defence, then it is not necessarily a crime. However, the criteria for self-defence can be a complicated area of the law to navigate, leaving many people to wonder if, having defended themselves physically or with a weapon, they will be charged with a crime. There are laws in place

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Unpacking The Evidence

Good lawyers have to understand what they’re looking at in context. We achieved a withdrawal of criminal charges by unpacking the significance of the evidence against our client, and it meant the opposite of what the police suggested. An undercover police officer tried to entice our client into committing criminal offences by posing as a

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Acquittal Won: No one can be convicted without proof beyond a reasonable doubt

We are glad to have won our client an acquittal on the basis of a pillar of Canada’s criminal judicial system: the Crown must prove that the accused is guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. No matter what the crime or what the potential sentence, nothing short of this standard will do to deprive a person of

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Cannabis Legalization and First Time Users

Will cannabis legalization increase the number of first-time drug-impaired driving offenders? Health Canada’s second annual survey of cannabis users showed 60 per cent of respondents know consuming marijuana affects a person’s driving ability. In 2017’s survey, only 50 per cent of respondents admitted consuming marijuana affected the user’s ability to drive. Despite this, the 2018 Health Canada survey

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Civility in the Court Room: Digging into the Groia decisions

Civility in the legal profession. Some think of it as a nod to archaic forms that uphold classist underpinnings of the profession. Some think of it as the best thing about Canadian lawyers, their respect for one another and the court. Some think of it as a state body limiting the lawyer’s free expression and

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Your rights as a teacher facing professional misconduct charges

You may be looking back and wondering where your summer went. Whether you took a class, attended a workshop, or just spent the summer resting and preparing, the new school year came too soon. Your job as a teacher is a challenge, to say the least. Dealing with ever-increasing standards can place a lot of

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Addressing Sexual Harassment In the Entertainment Industry

On June 13th, 2018, the Ontario Bar Association (OBA) Entertainment, Media & Communication Law section, in collaboration with the Labour & Employment Law section, held a panel , addressing sexual harassment in the entertainment industry. Chaired by Roselyn Kelada-Sedra of Sabsay Lawyers and moderated by Alexi Wood of St. Lawrence Barristers LLP, the event featured

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Why companies, not people, own the copyright to films

You are a novice screenwriter. A production company options your first script to produce the film. After the production company produces the film, will you own any portion of the copyright in the film, or will the production company own the copyright in the film in its entirety? What is copyright? The Copyright Act, section 3(1) says

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