Saturday’s edition of the Toronto Star features an op-ed penned by Brian and Garfield Mahood. In it they write of Canadian charities under attack for turning a spotlight onto the Harper government’s policies or for advocating for public policy change. CRA audits of charitable status, they write, are creating a culture of self-censorship that is inhibiting many NGOs from working effectively.
‘Whose body is this?’: The right to die with dignity revisited
January 29th, 2015 by Lauren BlumasOver the holiday season a story out of Winnipeg grabbed the attention of the Canadian public. The story went something like this: an elderly woman fell in the home she shared with her middle‑aged son. She was injured in the fall and left unable to get up under her own power. Her son, apparently carrying out the wishes of his mother, did not call for emergency assistance and did not move her to bed. Instead, the 62‑year-old covered his mother with a blanket where she lay and provided her with food and water until she passed away several weeks later.
Landlord and Tenant Board panel aims to define legal relationships between indirect housing providers, landlords and tenants
January 27th, 2015 by Celia ChandlerThousands of Ontarians live in affordable housing units provided to them by non-profit organizations but which are owned by private sector landlords. The nature of the legal relationship between these three parties is unsettled: a few cases have addressed it but there has been no consistency in the decisions. In large measure, the parties have worked around the lack of clarity in the law without the assistance of the Landlord and Tenant Board (the LTB). The nature of the relationship, however, has come to a head in a couple of cases now before the LTB, both involving Toronto based providers of supportive housing to tenants with mental health disabilities.
The Stronger Workplaces for a Stronger Economy Act: Meeting your obligations as an employer in 2015
January 14th, 2015 by Safia LakhaniThe Stronger Workplaces for a Stronger Economy Act was passed by the Ontario legislature in November 2014. The Act amends five statutes relating to employment and labour relations, and introduces new obligations for employers in 2015.
Below is a brief summary of amendments to existing legislation under the Act. It is important that employers are familiar with their obligations as these changes come into effect.
Taking the fight for housing rights to court
December 18th, 2014 by Safia LakhaniEarlier this year, we considered the Ontario Superior Court’s decision on the landmark Charter application regarding housing rights in Tanudjaja et al. v. the Attorney General (Canada) (“Tanudjaja”). The applicants, four individuals in precarious housing situations, requested the Superior Court make a declaration that the federal and provincial governments had violated their rights under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms: specifically, the right to life, liberty and security (Section 7), and the right to the equal protection and equal benefit from the law (Section 15), by failing to implement a national and provincial housing strategy.
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