One year after Canada legalized cannabis for recreational use, this panel will discuss the implications in the workplace, society, and to our country overall. The panel will explore all angles of post-legalization and feature experts from workplace saf...

Join lawyers from Field Law's Insurance Practice Group for a free seminar on topics including: Do insurers have to provide advances to Plaintiffs and if so, how much? Why have the rules changed? Are there any benefits to providing advances? Wha...

Private companies have seen much newsworthy tax reform in recent years. Changes to the tax rules on investment income earned by Canadian-controlled private corporations (CCPCs) result in various pitfalls where there is more than $50,000 of investment i...

The Alberta government introduced Bill 21: Ensuring Fiscal Sustainability Act, 2019 on October 28, 2019. This bill proposes several legislative changes that will impact labour and employment relations in the Province and which raise various considerati...

On October 28, 2019 the Alberta government introduced two bills (Bills 20 and 21) which propose several legislative changes that will impact post-secondary institutions in the Province, as well as their students. The legislation has various aspects wor...

The hashtag “MeToo” went viral in October of 2017. In the two years since then, the movement has had a significant impact on society. It’s had a weighty effect on professional regulators as well. What changes have we seen so far and w...

The recent case of Calgary (City) v Canadian Union of Public Employees Local 37, 2019 ABCA 388 from the Alberta Court of Appeal marks an important decision on sexual misconduct in the workplace.   The City of Calgary (the “City”) ...

An electronic contract, executed electronically, including a liability exclusion form, was held to be effective to bar a defendant’s liability for a sports accident.  Quilichini v. Wilson’s Greenhouse & Garden Centre Ltd. and Velo...

A contractor (as the Named Insured) hired by a developer (added as an Additional Insured) but only with respect to “liability arising out of the operations of the Named Insured”. The Ontario Superior Court held that the contractor was not c...

The Alberta Queen’s Bench analyzed the application of solicitor-client and litigation privilege in separate, but related tort and insurance actions and confirmed that both the insureds and the insurer are clients of insurer-appointed counsel in t...

The Ontario Court of Appeal held that commencing a lawsuit to enforce an insurance claim becomes “appropriate” as soon as it is legally possible under the policy to do so and not a later date when the insurer denies the claim. Nasr Hospita...

Where a visitor on a City of Calgary pedway was assaulted and beaten, the occupier City was held not to owe a duty of care to prevent all crime but, rather, had a duty to maintain an adequate security system in place to detect and respond to crimes wit...

The statutory benefit for bereavement payable to a parent or parents under the Fatal Accidents Act is not available to a parent who is at fault for the death of their child.  Bomford v Bomford, 2019 ABQB 529, per Schlosser, Master  Fact...

Brian Vail discusses Bill 17, the Disclosure to Protect Again Domestic Violence (Clare's Law) Act and the implications on society with respect to the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

In June 2019, we reported on the Ontario Court of Appeal’s decision in College of Optometrists of Ontario v Essilor Group Inc, where a company, primarily located in British Columbia, sold eyeglasses and contact lenses over the internet ...

The insurance issues surrounding liability for personal injury are always changing. Join lawyers from Field Law's Insurance Practice Group for a free seminar on topics including: Do insurers have to provide advances to Plaintiffs and if so...

As most people are no doubt aware, Monday, October 21 is Election Day, and federal law requires employers across Canada to provide employees with paid time off to vote (unless an employee has already exercised the right to vote by casting an advance ba...

Business succession is a principal and critical component of personal succession for owners of closely held businesses. This is a long-term, complex process that must be managed with a structured approach. Presented by Rob Worthington and J.R. Mac...

Almost 5 million Canadians reported using Cannabis in the second quarter of 2019. For those Canadians, partaking in Canada’s legal cannabis market is about to become much sweeter… Update The Federal Government’s Cannabis Ac...

Professional regulatory organizations are responsible for assessing applications for professional licensing and applying registration requirements in a fair and transparent way. This task is made increasingly difficult by the evolving regulatory and le...

Field Law is pleased to announce that 34 of our lawyers are recognized in their respective practice areas in the 14th edition of The Best Lawyers™ in Canada. Recognition in Best Lawyers™ is based on peer reviews of leading lawyers and ...

Join Field Law in Edmonton and Calgary and learn tips and tricks to assist with the implementation and enforcement of three workplace policies Employers should have in place in today’s market.We will explore how changes in legislation and culture...

Private companies have seen much newsworthy tax reform in recent years. Changes to the tax rules on investment income earned by Canadian-controlled private corporations (CCPCs) result in various pitfalls where there is more than $50,000 of investment i...

In Belanger v Western Ventilation Products Ltd, 2019 ABQB 571, a Master of the Alberta Court of Queen’s Bench found that an employee who became disabled after his notice of termination was not entitled to wrongful dismissal damages because the em...

Field Law is pleased to be listed in the Chambers Canada 2020 guide with three firm rankings and three lawyers ranked. Our firm rankings are: Highly Regarded, Corporate/Commercial Department in Alberta, Band 3 Recognized Practitioner, Employ...

As we previously reported, on June 19, 2019, the United Conservative Party introduced Bill 11 - Fair Registration Practices Act in the Alberta Legislature. Bill 11 received Royal Assent on June 28, 2019, and will come into force on proclamation.Jo...

The distinction between employees, independent contractors, and dependent contractors is a well-established part of Canadian employment law. But where to draw the line between independent contractors and dependent contractors in any given circumstance ...

EDMONTON (July 31, 2019) – Field Law, a western and northern regional business law firm, is pleased to announce the Northern Alberta winners of its Community Fund Program (the Program). Field Law awarded one grand prize and five additional awards...

The Alberta Court of Appeal has recently confirmed that the limitation period under the Alberta Limitations Act applicable to a statutory claim for damages under the Personal Information Protection Act (PIPA) does not begin to run until a Commissioner&...

The British Columbia Court of Appeal held that a plaintiff can establish liability in an occupiers’ liability case by circumstantial evidence when he/she cannot remember how he/she slipped and fell. Goddard v Bayside Property Services Ltd, ...

The Ontario Court of Appeal held that an auto insurer cannot void a policy for any material misrepresentation, including as to ownership. An insurer wishing to get out of an auto policy for misrepresentation must terminate the policy on notice, which d...

An insurer is not required to pay a third party contractor after having previously paid their insured. The third party contractor’s claim against an insurer for environmental clean-up costs owed to the contractor by the bankrupt insured was dismi...

Where a Section B insurer insists that the insured submit to a medical examination under the policy, the insured is obligated to attend the examination and submit to the protocols of that examiner or face discontinuance of benefits. The insured is not ...

The Contributory Negligence Act of Saskatchewan only provides for apportioning damages among co-tort-feasors in instances of negligence, and does not enable negligent defendants to seek contribution and indemnity from defendants liable for intentional ...

The premium that a plaintiff pays for plaintiff adverse costs insurance may be a taxable disbursement in the litigation.Stewart et al. v. Wood et al., 2019 ONSC 3931, per Tausendfreund, J. FACTS + ISSUES The parties settled a personal injury a...

After the Plaintiff was assaulted by her domestic partner while living with him in his parents’ home and he published a pornographic video of her on the internet, he was found liable for the tort of publication of private facts and, together with...

If an employee is fired for just cause are they entitled to their performance bonus for the months worked in that year? Most employers probably expect that the answer is no. However, in Master Schulz’s recent decision in Grainger v. Pentagon Farm...