We Don’t Need Tough Judges; We Need Independent Judges

A condensed version of this article was published in the Hamilton Spectator on March 9, 2024. Help! There’s a bull in the china shop. Doug Ford, whose government appoints our provincial judges, is thrashing around dangerously in the halls of justice and the damage could be catastrophic. He now has his political minions picking our judges and he is boasting that: “I am not going to appoint some NDP or some Liberal” and “so every single appointment...

Employee rights and mandatory vaccine policies

Looking for legal advice about vaccine requirements in the workplace? We’ve put together this guide for Ontario employees and employers to address some common questions about workplace vaccine mandates. Still have questions after reading through?  Arrange a consultation with one of our employment lawyers to get personalized advice for your particular situation. Has your employer enacted a mandatory vaccine policy that you’re unsure about...

Let the legal gunfight proceed

This article originally appeared in the Hamilton Spectator on July 8, 2021. America's largest gunmaker has been given a rude awakening by Ontario's Superior Court of Justice. In a recently released landmark ruling, Superior Court Justice Paul Perell shot down an attempt by U.S. gun giant Smith & Wesson Corp. to have a Canadian class action lawsuit against it thrown out. The judge ruled that the lawsuit can go forward on the basis that the comp...

Estate Trustee compensation – put it in your will!

The administration of a deceased person’s estate is the responsibility of the Estate Trustee. The Estate Trustee is entitled to be compensated for their work, but the question is: how much? The first place to look to answer this question is the appointing instrument – the Will. Any formula for compensation in the Will takes precedence. But if there are no compensation instructions in the Will, you have to look to the legislation. In Ontario, the...

Big changes to wills and estates in Ontario

2021 has seen some big changes in wills and estates law in Ontario. Here's what you need to know: What does your spouse get when you die without a will? If a person dies after March 1st, 2021 without a will (i.e. intestate), the "spousal preferential share" has been increased from $200,000 to $350,000. This implies that the deceased's spouse gets the first $350,000 of the estate before dividing the remainder with the deceased’s children.This is p...

COVID-19 layoff found to be constructive dismissal

There has been a question burning in the minds of members of the employment bar for over a year now. Many employers have reduced their employees' hours - or laid them off entirely - and have cited the COVID-19 pandemic as the cause. Before the pandemic, except in some cases where an employee's contract specifically allowed for such changes, these employer actions would have amounted to unambiguous breaches of the employment contract by the employer ...

LTD insurance cut off: how to qualify as “disabled”

Looking for legal advice about an LTD denial? Request a free callback from one of our LTD lawyers "Totally Disabled."   "Own Occupation." "Any Occupation."   "Internal appeal." What does it all mean and what should you do when you're faced with a claim denial or when your LTD benefits get cut off? Longterm disability (LTD) protection is supposed to be there for you when you need it. If you have to stop working because of physical or psycholog...

April COVID-19 Update

HOW TO REACH US ⚖️ New client? Need to speak to a lawyer? Please fill out our contact form or email us at contact@nolanlaw.ca and one of our lawyers will get back to you shortly. 👤 Need to reach a member of our team? Please email the person you need to reach directly. 📞 Phone Phones and voicemail are being monitored, but we recommend that you contact us via email rather than phone at this time. 🤝 Meetings Whe...

I’ve been fired. Does my employer have to give me a reason?

It can sometimes be hard to accept, but, with few exceptions, the answer to this question is usually no: employers do not have to provide employees with a reason for firing them. It is a natural instinct for employees, having just suffered the devastating news of losing their job, to focus on the "why." "But I just had great performance review!" "But they replaced me with someone more junior!" Unfortunately, these sentiments - which seek to point ...