It is trite to say, but we are in an unprecedented time for everyone right now in Canada. For everyone’s safety, businesses are closed and we have been instructed to stay inside and not come within 6 feet of our neighbours. We are seeing big changes in our everyday lives.  Both the federal and provincial governments are being required to respond very quickly to rapidly changing circumstances. One such response that affects a vast number of Canadians is the changes to the laws that govern employers and employees.

You arrive at work just like you have every other day for the last ten years. You sit down at your desk and fire up your computer, ready for another super-productive day. Before you get yourself logged in, the boss calls and asks you to come over to her office. You arrive, and seated beside her is the Human Resources director.

They have that certain look on their faces that leads you to think, “Well, this isn’t good.”

Two stories in the news this week offer an illuminating juxtaposition of auto insurance in Ontario. They show that the system is out of balance for the benefit of insurance companies and at the expense of Ontario citizens.

An important long-term disability case out of B.C. clarifies when a disabled worker will be entitled to disability benefits and answers a number of difficult questions. In the case of Tanious v. Empire Life, 2016 BCSC 110, Justice Brown ruled that just because Ms. Tanious continued to work with her disability, does not mean that she is not entitled to long-term disability benefits. The key issue is the person’s medical condition. As Justice Brown states in his judgment, “…it is the Plaintiff’s medical condition, not whether they are working at the time, which determines to what extent the claimant is disabled.”.

Hockey is ubiquitous in Canada and sacred to many Canadians. Adult recreational leagues are in every community of every size. I have played hockey since I was five years old and only stopped a couple of years ago when I was forty-three due the time constraints of being a lawyer and having a young family. But what happens if you are injured in a recreational hockey game due to the conduct of another player, can you sue for your injuries? The short answer is yes. But the devil is in the details. Justice Sally Gomery recently reviewed the law on sporting injuries in the case of Casterton v. MacIsaac, 2020 ONSC 190 (CanLII).

As a civil litigator it is occasionally my duty to advise potential clients that, while they may have had a viable legal claim at some point in the past, because they waited to contact a lawyer and take action, they are no longer able to bring their claim.

This article written by Kris Bonn originally appeared on the Lawyers Daily on Monday, July 29, 2019.

Over the past 10 years, adverse costs insurance has become more prevalent in Ontario, particularly in the field of personal injury law. For those not familiar with adverse costs insurance, it provides insurance if a party’s legal action fails and the party is ordered to pay costs to the other side of the litigation. Adverse costs insurance is commonly referred to as “after the event insurance” (ATE).

Insurance companies know how to make money. If you haven’t seen Rick Mercer’s take on insurance companies, it is a funny spoof that is starting to be the reality. Our current Ford Conservative Government has introduced a Bill to amend the Occupiers’ Liability Act that clearly puts profits over safety.