How will Ontario’s increase in small claims court limits affect access to justice?

October 31st, 2019 by Claudia Pedrero

This article was first published on rabble.ca

As of January 1, 2020, Ontario will increase the value of claims that can be brought before the province’s small claims court. Soon, the maximum claim that can be filed will increase from $25,000 to $35,000.

Small claims court is a branch of the Superior Court of Justice that hears civil disputes. If a person has a claim that exceeds the maximum limit for small claims court, they need to pursue the case through the Superior Court of Justice or go through small claims court and limit the amount of the claim.

Ontario’s intent is to make it “faster, easier, and more affordable to settle claims,” while trying to alleviate some of the backlog at the provincial Superior Court of Justice, which the province notes is one of the busiest courts in Canada.

Continue reading “How will Ontario’s increase in small claims court limits affect access to justice?”

Meet Karly Wilson – our articling student

October 30th, 2019 by Iler Campbell

Karly Wilson

By now, many of our clients will have had the opportunity to work with our articling student, Karly Wilson. Karly started with us in July and her articling term runs until May next year. Readers of our blog may also recognize her name as the author of our August article on prison reform. We’ll let Karly introduce herself in her own words:

I’ve always wanted to help people, and my ability to do so with just an English degree was a bit limited, so I went to law school.

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Video: “Cannabis legalization and policy implementation: what’s next?”

October 18th, 2019 by Iler Campbell

A recording of lawyer Michael Hackl’s presentation on cannabis and housing is now online. You can download a copy of the slideshow here. Workshop description below:

It has now been about a year since recreational cannabis was legalized. Some of the questions and concerns raised by housing providers leading up to that change were hard to answer as there was not yet any guidance from courts or tribunals as to how they would deal with such situations. While there are still issues that have not yet been tested before a court or tribunal, we do know more than we did a year ago. This session discusses some of the developments that have taken place since the legalization of cannabis, how some housing providers are dealing with questions, and what the past year of legalized cannabis means for housing providers moving forward.

Client Profile: Toronto Outdoor Picture Show

October 16th, 2019 by Iler Campbell

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Toronto Outdoor Picture Show (TOPS) is a Toronto‑based not-for profit that was originally founded in 2011 with its signature project, Christie Pits Film Festival (CPFF), a summer-long festival of free outdoor film screenings in the natural amphitheatre of Toronto’s Christie Pits Park.

CPFF is now Toronto’s largest public outdoor film festival and the epitome of magical summer evenings for many local residents. In 2015, the organization officially incorporated and adopted TOPS as its umbrella name. Since then, it has since expanded its programming and offers a summer‑long season across other areas of the city – from North York to Fort York, Toronto’s east side to Etobicoke – and has reached an audience of over 60,000 people over its 9-summer history. Each summer, the organization programs a combination of popular and critically-acclaimed feature films alongside local and Canadian short and feature films that celebrate excellent homegrown talent. Continue reading “Client Profile: Toronto Outdoor Picture Show”

Free Webinar Oct 16 | Legal Cannabis and Housing: what have we learned after 1 year?

October 7th, 2019 by Iler Campbell

Legal Cannabis and Housing: what have we learned after 1 year?

UPDATE: video and slides from this workshop are now online. See our post here.

It has now been about a year since recreational cannabis was legalized. Some of the questions and concerns raised by housing providers leading up to that change were hard to answer as there was not yet any guidance from courts or tribunals as to how they would deal with such situations. While there are still issues that have not yet been tested before a court or tribunal, we do know more than we did a year ago. Join Iler Campbell lawyer, Michael Hackl on October 16th at 12:30 to discuss some of the developments that have taken place since the legalization of cannabis, how some housing providers are dealing with questions, and what the past year of legalized cannabis means for housing providers moving forward.

How to attend

You can attend this workshop as an interactive webinar or in person in our office.

Additionally you can sign up to receive a copy of the presentation and a recording of the webinar after the event.

Register here.

Fall Event Roundup

October 1st, 2019 by Iler Campbell

While the warm weather makes it hard to believe we’re into fall, we are certainly into the full swing of fall activity.

In September, we were pleased to attend two 25th anniversary parties for housing co‑ops – one in Whitby and another in Pickering. So great to see co‑ops do what they do best – celebrate strong, inclusive community.

In late September, we also delivered an IC Education workshop for housing co‑ops. We were delighted to have Alterna Savings and Credit Union  sponsor the event, allowing co‑ops to attend for free. Thanks to the Central Ontario Co‑operative Housing Federation (COCHF) for co‑organising this with us. Although it was held at a co‑op in Waterloo and many attendees were from COCHF co‑ops, we were delighted to have people attend from Sudbury, North Bay, Toronto, Peel Region and the Niagara Peninsula. If you have ideas about in‑person training and have the space to accommodate it, please be in touch. If we can find a way to deliver training in a way that is cost‑effective for you, we will.

ONPHA has its annual conference, themed “Owning our Future”, on Nov 1‑3 in Toronto. Iler Campbell lawyers are honoured to be on the program a few times: on Friday, Nov 1, Safia Lakhani will help housing providers understand their current obligations to their employees; and Celia Chandler will be part of a panel discussing medical assistance in death and how that relates to housing. On Saturday, Nov 2, Michael Hackl will pair up with another housing lawyer to discuss cannabis in housing; and Celia will return to the conference to offer thoughts on Building Successful Tenancies and Strong Communities with two community mediators.

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