10 Certain Steps to Better Municipal Council Meetings
There are good ways to govern, and not so good ways. Here are 10 steps that, if followed, will produce better outcomes for Municipal Council and Committee meetings.
National COVID-19 App Available in Nova Scotia; Potential for Public...
Nova Scotia recently became the eighth province to onboard the federal government’s COVID-19 exposure notification application. Public health officials believe that if it is widely used across Canada, COVID Alert has the potential to provide an efficient way of tracing the virus. However, the introduction of this tracking technology into the national COVID-19 response presents new privacy issues for Canadians to consider.
Nova Scotia restructuring facilitates economic growth, better services.
Conventional wisdom holds that municipal consolidations facilitate economic growth and provide better services in a larger municipal unit. After the recent experience in Nova Scotia, we believe this to be true, but also recognize that securing the benefits will take both hard work and objective measurement.
Professional Regulation in the Era of Social Media: Strom v...
The long-awaited decision of the Saskatchewan Court of Appeal in Strom v Saskatchewan Registered Nurses’ Association, 2020 SKCA 112, was recently released. The decision considers when and if members of a professional association can be sanctioned by their professional association for comments made on social media, as well as whether a professional association can infringe on a member’s Charter-protected freedom of speech in sanctioning members for off-duty conduct.
Dismissed Employee gets his $1 Million Bonus and we get...
Is an employee entitled to incentive compensation as part of their “reasonable notice” damages when terminated from employment? That is often the $1 million (or even $10,000) question. Background It is well established at common law that an employee who is terminated without cause is entitled to be provided with reasonable advance notice and, failing […]
The Supreme Court of Canada’s Decision on Historical Child Support...
In the Supreme Court of Canada’s most recent family law decision, Michel v. Graydon, 2020 SCC 24, the Court settles a long-standing question about whether child support can be recalculated retroactively once a child has reached adulthood. The short answer is that child support is the right of the child and, with that fundamental tenant […]
Employer’s Challenges and Obligations during the COVID-19 Outbreak
“With the combination of serious public health and economic impacts caused by COVID-19, employers are finding themselves facing unprecedented challenges”. The article Employer’s Challenges and Obligations during the COVID-19 Outbreak, written by Halifax Partner Geoff Breen & Halifax Associate Drew Ritchie, was published in the Spring 2020 edition of the Canadian Bar Association’s Nova Voce. Click here to read the full […]
The Potential High Cost of a Small Claims Action
The recent decision of Justice Fred Ferguson, Mercure v Kaat Auto Sales, 2020 NBQB 39 (CanLII), (“Mercure v Kaat Auto Sales”) is another reminder to parties to think carefully before filing a Small Claims action in New Brunswick. Background In New Brunswick, a litigant can commence a Small Claim so long as the monetary amounts […]
Laying it All Out: Why Layoff Clauses Should be Included...
In times of financial uncertainty, employers seeking to cut costs may quickly turn to temporary layoffs. From the employer’s point of view, layoffs offer an opportunity to press “pause” on its obligations to employees in the short-term while still maintaining the employment relationship in the long-term. Failing to handle layoffs properly, however, may leave the […]
The Supreme Court of Canada Ends the Debate – Waiver...
On July 24, 2020, the Supreme Court of Canada released its decision in Atlantic Lottery Corp. Inc. v. Babstock, 2020 SCC 19. The Court allowed the appeals, and struck the plaintiffs’ claims on the basis that they disclosed no reasonable cause of action. Background Atlantic Lottery Corporation (“ALC”), which is constituted by the four […]