International Law

Spring is on its way

Posted on February 02, 2008
After yesterday's snow storm, there is some good weather news. The majority of the groundhogs has predicted an early spring. The first to make this prediction was Shubenacadie Sam of Nove Scotia.National Post Reports:Canada's first rodent of winter predictions, Shubenacadie Sam, emerged from his pen Saturday at 7 a...

Snow Storm Hits G.T.A

Posted on February 01, 2008
All those on vacation picked a good week to leave the Province. As all of you waking up in Ontario know, it?s nasty outside, really really nasty.The OPP are encouraging drivers to stay off the roads due to slippery road conditions and near zero visibility...

Corruption Charges thrown out on Charter Grounds

Posted on February 01, 2008
National Post Reports:A judge has thrown out corruption charges against six Toronto police officers, citing the 10-year delay in bringing their case to trial and sharply rebuking Crown prosecutors for what he called "the glacial progress of this prosecution...

Lawyer Fined for Conduct Unbecoming while Student Member of the Law Society

Posted on February 01, 2008
In 2005, the Osgoode tribunal found a former student, Shane Smith, guilty of academic dishonesty for selling papers to another student while a law student, and a student-at-law. Following the decision from the Osgoode Tribunal, the Law Society of Upper Canada commenced an investigation into the conduct of Smith while a student member of the Law Society, and has recently fined the now-lawyer for conduct unbecoming...

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University of Manitoba Disciplines Students for Facbook Bullying

Posted on February 01, 2008
CBC news reports:Nearly three dozen students at the University of Manitoba have been disciplined for a cyber-bullying incident last year on the social networking website Facebook.University spokesman John Danakis says 34 students have been disciplined for taking part in a Facebook group designed to bully a fellow student in 2007...

Complaints Launched Against Ontario Judge Insisting HIV Positive Witness Wear Mask

Posted on February 01, 2008
Several groups including the HIV & AIDS Legal Clinic and the HIV/AIDS Legal Network have launched complaints to the Ontario Judicial Counsel respecting the conduct of Justice Jon-Jo Douglas of the Ontario Court of Justice during a criminal hearing he presided over in Barrie in November 2007...

Legal Aid Ontario's Most Difficult Case

Posted on January 31, 2008
The Defence for the terror suspects arrested in summer of 2006 for various terrorism charges is expected to cost the Province of Ontario more than $8 million dollars. With more than 14 accused involved, Legal Aid Ontario has described it as the "most difficult case to manage to date"...

Toronto Police Solve Crime and Educate Youth Using Facebook and You-Tube

Posted on January 30, 2008
Toronto Police officers are using the social networking site Facebook and video sharing site you- tube to solicit tips on unsolved and ongoing crimes as well as to educate youth about crime prevention.Posting videos on you-tube that request information from the public to assist in crime solving allows officers to reach a wide audience in a variety of languages with minimal cost...

Edwards Drops Out of Presidential Race

Posted on January 30, 2008
CNN.com reports:Former Sen. John Edwards dropped out of the race for the Democratic presidential nomination on Wednesday."It is time for me to step aside so that history can blaze its path," Edwards said in New Orleans, LouisianaWith his wife, Elizabeth, and children at his side, Edwards said he couldn't predict "who will take the final steps to 1600 Pennsylvania Ave...

Black Focus School a Realty

Posted on January 30, 2008
Canada's first black focussed school is set to open in Toronto in fall 2009.680 News Reports:Following an emotional public debate on the issue Tuesday night, Toronto District School Board trustees voted in favour of creating a black-focused public school: a school with a curriculum and teaching environment focused on black history and culture...

3.75 % Increase in Property Taxes for Toronto Homeowners

Posted on January 29, 2008
According to a CBC News Report, Toronto Mayor David Miller has proposed a 3.75 per cent residential property tax increase this year in his "Balanced Budget" introduced yesterday.For sure living in Toronto is becoming expensive with increased property taxes, new land transfer tax coming into effect on February 1st 2008, vehicle registration tax and a new garbage fee...

Supreme Court of Canada to Hear Blood Transfusion Case

Posted on January 29, 2008
The Supreme Court of Canada might soon provide some guidance with reference to the ongoing battle between religious freedom and the best interest of the child.The Manitoba case of Director of Child and Family Services v. A.C. involved a 14-year old girl who suffered from Crohn?s disease rendering her in immediate need of a blood transfusion...

Kennedys Endorse Obama

Posted on January 28, 2008
Fresh off a big win in the South Carolina primary, Barack Obama has another reason to celebrate. In a New York Times editorial over the weekend, Caroline Kennedy endorsed Barack Obama for President for reasons that are "patriotic, political and personal, and the three are intertwined"...

Signatures Required on all Ontario Lottery Tickets

Posted on January 28, 2008
The Canadian Press reports:Starting today, retailers are not allowed to validate Ontario lottery tickets unless customers sign them on the front.Players are also asked to sign the back of Instant Win tickets until a new signature box is added to the front in the coming months...

Hostage Drama in Pakistan ends quickly

Posted on January 28, 2008
According to a BBC Report the 250 schoolchildren and teachers taken hostage by a group of armed men earlier on Monday in North Western Pakistan have been released unharmed.- Shashi K. Raina, Toronto Visit our Toronto Law Firm website: www.wiselaw.net EMPLOYMENT LAW ? CIVIL LITIGATION ? WILLS AND ESTATES ? FAMILY LAW & DIVORCE

A Parabola is a Mathematical Curve and not a Biblical Story ? Federal Court Confirms

Posted on January 27, 2008
In a decision released on January 7, 2008, Mr. Justice Leonard Mandamin of the Federal Court of Canada set aside the order of an Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada (IRB) adjudicator denying the refugee claim of a Chinese woman, Pin Xian Xin. Ms. Xin entered Canada illegally and made a refugee claim, saying she feared persecution in China because of her membership in an underground church and for breaching China's one-child policy...

Quotable

Posted on January 26, 2008
From a comment by Laura S. at Volokh:Yes. Israel takes a lot of flak for keeping the border with Gaza closed. Ergo, one might reasonably ask why Egypt gets away with keeping its border closed too. Especially in light of the fact that the residents of Gaza have a history of making war against Israel but not Egypt...

Oregon Appeal: Wishes of Boy, 12, Relevant In Circumcision Decision

Posted on January 26, 2008
Can a custodial father unilaterally decide to have a twelve year-old boy circumcised, over the objection of the child's non-custodial mother?The Oregon Supreme Court addressed this question in James Boldt v. Lia Boldt, a family law proceeding that has attracted considerable attention from the national press and interest groups...

Workplace Bullying

Posted on January 26, 2008
Michael Fitzgibbon has a very comprehensive article on the law relating to Workplace Bullying and Harassment in the current edition of the Canadian Bar Association's Addendum. - Garry J. Wise, Toronto Visit our Toronto Law Firm website: www.wiselaw.net EMPLOYMENT LAW ? CIVIL LITIGATION ? WILLS AND ESTATES ? FAMILY LAW & DIVORCE

A Joke

Posted on January 26, 2008
From Cathy:The cop got out of his car and the kid who was stopped for speeding rolled down his window. ?I?ve been waiting for you all day,? the cop said. The kid replied, ?Yeah, well I got here as fast as I could.? When the cop finally stopped laughing, he sent the kid on his way without a ticket...

Frank Zappa and the Conservative Censors

Posted on January 26, 2008
True conservatives believe deeply in free speech. They abhor any law that purports to restrict it. They ? America's First Amendment.We know this because, of late, they keep telling us - particularly when Canada's Human Rights Commissions are in the news...

Ontario Court of Appeal in Hague Convention Motion: Return Child to Florida

Posted on January 25, 2008
Last week the Ontario Court of Appeal ruled that a father taking 8 months to file an application under the Hague Convention for the return of his child to the United States does not constitute his consent to permitting the child to remain outside the Country with his mother...

Ontario Freeze on Property Tax Assessment Lifted

Posted on January 25, 2008
In 2006, Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty placed a freeze on property tax assessments in the Province that is now being lifted.CTV. News reports:Homeowners are going to be "shocked" when they learn how much their property assessment has soared, Ontario's Opposition Leader John Tory said Thursday...

Blawg Bits

Posted on January 24, 2008
Quick links to some of the top stories law blogs are following today:Bush Renominates Author of Interrogation Memos as Assistant Attorney General from Law.com - NewswireMost Recent Annual Report on Use of Electronic Surveillance in Canada from SlawPatti Tomasson v...

SCC Denies Leave to Appeal Adoptive Mom's EI Parental Benefit Denial

Posted on January 24, 2008
The Supreme Court of Canada today refused adoptive mother Patti Tomasson's application for leave to appeal the denial of her claim for EI Parental Benefits. Eugene Meehan reports:CHARTER: EQUALITY; MATERNITY AND PARENTAL BENEFITSUnder the federal Employment Insurance Act , a biological mother can combine 15 weeks of maternity benefits with 35 weeks of parental benefits, allowing her to spend a total 50 weeks with her newborn child, while adoptive parents are limited to 35 weeks of parental benefits...

?Wrongful Life? versus ?No Life? - Court of Appeal overturns Wrongful Life Decision

Posted on January 23, 2008
In a decision released on January 7th 2008 the Ontario Court of Appeal has ruled that a doctor owed no duty of care to future children not to cause them harm in prescribing a fertility medicine to their mother. The brief facts of the case giving rise to the law suit and the appeal are that the Respondent, Carolyn Bovingdon, consulted the Appellant, Dr...

Fletcher In, Lawyers Out

Posted on January 23, 2008
With yesterday's firing of Toronto Maple Leaf General Manager John Ferguson Jr., and Cliff Fletcher's return to the club as Interim General Manager, the Leaf franchise has indeed begun a new era. In fact, for the first time since 1997, when the Toronto Maple Leafs appointed Ken Dryden as President and General Manager, the club has handed hockey control of the organization to a non-lawyer...

Dan Savage Visits South Carolina Republicans

Posted on January 21, 2008
From Bill Maher's Real Time:- Garry J. Wise, Toronto Visit our Toronto Law Firm website: www.wiselaw.net EMPLOYMENT LAW ? CIVIL LITIGATION ? WILLS AND ESTATES ? FAMILY LAW & DIVORCE

'Supremacists' March on Jena on MLK Day

Posted on January 21, 2008
Raw Story:Jena, Louisana, which became a byword for racial tension when six black high school students were charged with beating a white schoolmate after a series of incidents that began when a noose was hunt from a tree at the school, is set to be the scene of fresh confrontations...

Adam Dodek's 2007 Supreme Court of Canada Review

Posted on January 21, 2008
Law Times has Osgoode visiting scholar Adam Dodeck's brief wrap-up of the Court's major constitutional decisions of 2007. - Garry J. Wise, Toronto Visit our Toronto Law Firm website: www.wiselaw.net EMPLOYMENT LAW ? CIVIL LITIGATION ? WILLS AND ESTATES ? FAMILY LAW & DIVORCE

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