Law News

No fines issued under Ontario’s new long-term care law

19/05/2025despair

No one has been fined in Ontario so far under a new law that can require patients to pay a daily $400 penalty if they refuse to move from a hospital to a long-term care home not of their choosing, the province and its hospitals say.

But families and advocates argue the threat posed by the law is pushing patients into nursing homes they wouldn’t otherwise choose.

The law, which went into effect in September, can move discharged patients into nursing homes they did not consent to. Patients in southern Ontario can be moved to homes up to 70 kilometers

Resignation of an executor.

16/05/2025despair

At times an executor was appointed by a testator in their will and the executor was ill equipped or unwilling to act as executor. In these circumstances, it is necessary for an executor to formally renounce their role as executor.

Quite often executors are confused if they can resign as an executor of a Will or how to go about it.

Renouncing an execution is a formal legal process and involves lodging documents with the Supreme Court of Victoria (or relevant court in other states) after the death of the testator. The documents should be drafted by a lawyer and

Do ‘Stand Your Ground’ laws apply?

14/05/2025despair

Correction: Andrew Lester is 84 years old. An earlier version of this article contained incorrect information.

An 84-year-old white man was charged with armed assault Monday days after shooting a Black teenager whose family members said went to the wrong house.

Two days after 16-year-old Ralph Yarl was shot in Kansas City, Missouri, Kaylin Gillis, 20, was shot and killed by a homeowner in upstate New York while in a car that mistakenly turned into the wrong driveway.

The shootings by homeowners probably will renew debates about the nation’s patchwork of “stand your ground” laws, which govern the use of

When to Hire a Personal Injury Lawyer vs. Settling Alone

09/05/202509/05/2025despair

Accidents are unpredictable. One moment you’re going about your day, and the next, you’re dealing with pain, insurance calls, and overwhelming paperwork. In times like these, one question comes up often: Should I hire a personal injury lawyer or try to settle this myself?

Let’s break it down in a way that makes sense.

When Settling Alone Might Make Sense

If your injury is minor, like a small bruise or scratch, and medical costs are low, you might be able to handle things on your own. Maybe the insurance company is responsive, and they’re offering a fair amount to cover …

Pembroke council delays reconsidering contract with mayor’s law firm

07/05/2025despair

City councillors in Pembroke, Ont., voted Tuesday night to delay reconsidering its decades-old contract with the city’s solicitor — a lawyer at Sheppard & Gervais, the law firm the mayor currently works at.

The relationship between Mayor Ron Gervais, the firm, and city solicitor Robert Sheppard has been under scrutiny after some residents raised questions about perceived and possible conflicts of interest in recent media coverage.

Gervais has been an elected official on the council for more than a decade, and served as deputy mayor before becoming mayor last November. The city has been paying Sheppard & Gervais for legal

MANDEL: Is the Ontario law society too ‘woke’? Election battle begins

04/05/2025despair

Woke is the word and it’s being used to demarcate the bitter lines drawn in the battle for governing control of the Law Society of Ontario.

Lawyers across the province begin voting Wednesday to elect 40 lawyers and five paralegal directors who will serve four years at the helm of the self-regulating profession. The FullStop slate of candidates has declared the LSO has “lost its way” and must be stopped from ttreating members with discipline for “colouring outside the lines of approved groupthink.”

In a column for the Financial Postfor example, noted

Mississauga votes to allow legal retail cannabis stores – Toronto

03/05/2025despair

Ontario’s legal cannabis market is poised to grow significantly larger, with the province’s largest city that had banned retail pot stores voting Wednesday to opt in.

Mississauga, Ont., was one of dozens of municipalities to bar retail cannabis stores from their communities when legalization came into effect in 2018. But, four and a half years later, a city report highlighted that Mississauga residents are “disproportionately” served by the illegal market in the absence of legal stores.

City council voted Wednesday 8-4 to opt in.

Mayor Bonnie Crombie also spoke in favour, saying she had supported opting out in 2018, hoping

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When Settling Alone Might Make Sense

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