Background After suffering injuries in a motor vehicle accident, the plaintiff was placed off work and provided with loss of income benefits under Section B of her policy through Aviva. The plaintiff received these benefits for 104 weeks. She was subsequently cleared to return to work and did so for the following 13 months, before […]
Twelve years after the Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment introduced a Canada-Wide Action Plan for Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR), it’s time for Nova Scotia to consider shifting the burden of waste management from municipalities to producers. In a traditional waste management system, municipalities are responsible for operating waste collection and management. With EPR […]
A 10 year review of appeals of municipal planning decisions before the Nova Scotia Utility and Review Board (UARB) shows that the UARB rarely overturns decisions of municipal councils and even more rarely if the appeal has been launched by interested citizens. Appeals by developers have been marginally more successful. But it would be wrong […]
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.
2019 brought several notable cases impacting employment and labour law. We have put together a brief summary of 10 Canadian decisions we believe employers should be aware of as we head into 2020. 1. Ruston v Keddco MFG (2011) Ltd, 2019 ONCA 125 Ontario Court of Appeal provides an important lesson that overly aggressive tactics […]
This article was first published in Municipal World, Canada’s municipal magazine. NS Restructuring Offers New Model for Consolidation Nova Scotia’s first municipal consolidation in over 20 years is gaining attention as, potentially, a new model for consolidating two already stable and viable municipalities that are convinced they can achieve even more by coming together. The […]
The termination of a long-term employee without cause can result in a significant liability for an employer. Employers can reduce their liability by having a signed employment contract that limits the amount of notice, or pay in lieu, an employee is entitled to in the event of a termination without cause. However, a signed employment […]
As a result of the Cannabis Act, cannabis was legalized on October 17, 2018. Prior to that, cannabis was regulated under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act. There was, however, a legal exemption for the medical use of cannabis. Despite the recent legalization of cannabis, a framework for access to cannabis for medical purposes still exists, but under new regulations passed under the authority of the Cannabis Act.
A recent Nova Scotia Supreme Court case, Gale v Purcell, 2018 NSSC 319, demonstrates how the credibility of a plaintiff can play a central role in assessing causation in a motor vehicle accident. Background On September 19, 2006, the Plaintiff, Angela Marie Gale (“Gale”) sustained injuries in a motor vehicle accident (“2006 MVA”). On March […]
In Rankin (Rankin’s Garage and Sales) v. J.J., 2018 SCC 19, the Supreme Court of Canada clarified how it will interpret existing duties of care, in the context of a personal injury arising from the theft of a vehicle stored at a commercial garage, and the evidentiary requirements for establishing novel duties of care.