Good News For Good Samaritans
February 3, 2026 By Brian Babcock Why are we posting an article about a criminal law case when criminal law is one of the few areas of practice we do not feature on behalf of our clients? Simply because criminal law can affect all of us, so keeping up with important developments is important. The […]
Sometimes You Can Get an Adjournment
January 6, 2026 By Brian Babcock We have written before about the difficulties created if you need, or simply want, an adjournment of a hearing. Adjournments are not automatic, and when a matter is set for an actual hearing, courts and tribunals understandably want to make good use of the time. Opposing parties also have […]
Adjournment and the Duty to Accommodate
December 2, 2025 By Brian Babcock The decision whether or not to adjourn a hearing before a court or tribunal is discretionary. This does not mean that there are no limits on how that discretion is exercised. If the judge or adjudicator fails to follow established principles, a new hearing may be ordered. The duty […]
Employment Disputes: Tribunal or Litigation?
January 28, 2025 By Brian Babcock You might think that courts have wrestled with the question of whether a dispute must be submitted to arbitration or may proceed to litigation often enough that there would no longer be doubts. Kolacz v. Labourers International Union of North America Local 837 shows that judges still must wrestle […]
Why To Respond To A Human Rights Complaint
January 23, 2025 By Brian Babcock If you are named as a respondent to a human rights complaint, in order to dispute the claim, you must file a reply and participate in the process. The complaint will not simply go away. Despite this, some people imitate ostriches and stick their heads in the sand. This […]
Judicial Review is Only for Decisions “Of A Public Character”
November 19, 2024 By Nick Melchiorre We have discussed judicial review in other articles. In 2020, we explained that it is “a process by which courts supervise decisions of administrative bodies”. In 2024, we clarified that private contracts of government bodies are not reviewable, based upon a decision of the Divisional Court, the entry-level court […]
Jurisdiction and Human Rights: An Ontario Update
July 2, 2024 By Brian Babcock We have posted two articles about how the Horrocks case at the Supreme Court of Canada decided that in Manitoba, grievance arbitrators had sole jurisdiction over human rights complaints in a union environment, displacing the human rights tribunals. In the second article, we discussed how an Ontario tribunal had […]
Judicial Review of Government Contracts
March 21, 2024 By Nick Melchiorre Judicial review is like an express lane towards a court decision – it is only available to review administrative decisions of governmental bodies. occasionally clogged by a twelve-car pileup, but more efficient than the typical Superior Court collector lane pace. Also like an express lane, it only works to […]
Time Limits and Judicial Review
February 13, 2024 By Mark Mikulasik Beware the time limit to apply for judicial review of an administrative decision. The Judicial Review Procedures Act provides that “an application for judicial review shall be made no later than 30 days after the date the decision or matter for which judicial review is being sought was made […]
Appealing With Leave
January 18, 2024 By Mark Mikulasik An order of the Ontario Land Tribunal may be appealed to Divisional Court, on a question of law only, and only with leave of the court. THE ISSUES 2541005 Ontario Ltd. v. Oro-Medonte (Township), et al., looks at two important issues: When is it premature to seek leave? What […]