Banking, Bankruptcy & Insolvency
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March 12, 2024
Whistleblower programs gaining ground in Canada’s corporate sector, say researchers
They’ve been lionized — and sometimes villainized. But corporate whistleblowers in Canada are gradually gaining greater protection as more companies introduce in-house informant programs to reduce the risk of wrongdoing, say researchers in the field.
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March 07, 2024
Alberta Court of Appeal upholds denial of interim injunction on standby letter of credit
The Alberta Court of Appeal has upheld the denial of an application for an interim injunction restraining a party from drawing on a standby letter of credit pending arbitration related to the termination of an infrastructure construction project.
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March 05, 2024
Federal lawyers ratify new collective agreement gains that achieve ‘comparable’ pay to Ontario Crowns
Members of the union representing more than 3,300 federal government lawyers and Crowns voted overwhelmingly to ratify a “hard won” new collective agreement, featuring pay increases of 12.5 per cent (13.14 per cent compounded) over four years — and making the pay rates for federal Crowns “comparable” to those of their Ontario counterparts, who are the highest paid public-sector lawyers in Canada, says the Association of Justice Counsel (AJC).
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March 05, 2024
Court rejects claims against directors, shareholders in case of unpaid construction fees
The Supreme Court of British Columbia has allowed an application dismissing a plaintiff’s claims against directors, investors and shareholders in a B.C. construction project in a case where the plaintiff sought $8.4 million in damages for unpaid work.
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March 04, 2024
Canada sanctions six Russians ‘involved’ in Alexei Navalny’s ‘ill treatment and death’ in prison
Canada has announced dealings bans, including asset freezes, and entry bans against six Russians for their roles in “gross and systematic human rights violations;” the list includes “senior officials or high-ranking employees in Russia’s prosecution, judicial and penitentiary services who were involved in the ill-treatment and death” last month in an Arctic prison of Alexei Navalny, Russia’s most prominent opposition leader and outspoken critic of Russian president Vladimir Putin’s kleptocratic regime.
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March 01, 2024
Reports on harassment, specialization, helpline released for Ontario Convocation
Almost all of the Law Society of Ontario’s most recent Convocation was held behind closed doors, but several reports were published detailing numbers around harassment complaints against lawyers, members becoming certified specialists and those making use of the regulator’s practice helpline.
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February 28, 2024
Pre-merger notification threshold to stay the same at $93 million for 2024, says Competition Bureau
The $93-million transaction-value threshold for requiring businesses to give Ottawa advance notice of a proposed merger will stay the same in 2024, the federal Competition Bureau says.
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February 28, 2024
Federal government facing lawsuit over 2022 invocation of Emergencies Act
The federal government is facing a lawsuit over its use of the Emergencies Act to deal with the protests which disrupted Ottawa and numerous border crossings as part of the Freedom Convoy in early 2022, a move which comes hot on the heels of a Federal Court of Canada ruling which said the government acted unreasonably and illegally when it invoked the Act.
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February 27, 2024
Online harms bill would create new hate crimes, duties for social media, stiff fines, imprisonment
The federal government’s proposed Online Harms Act was welcomed by several advocacy groups who rated it a substantial improvement over Ottawa’s proposed blueprint three years ago; however red flags were raised, including questions around new hate crime provisions and penalties; whether the definitions of the targeted online harms are appropriately tailored; and whether a proposed new online regulator’s broad discretionary powers have adequate safeguards.
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February 26, 2024
Ford slammed by bar for politicizing judge appointments; JPs threaten suit over pay review delays
Ontario’s Progressive Conservative government is garnering sharp criticism from the legal community for further politicizing an appointment process that four years ago was lauded as the “the gold standard for the appointment of an independent and qualified judiciary,” free from partisan considerations.