On Monday, November 26, 2012, Toronto Mayor Rob Ford was ordered out of office in 14 days after Justice Charles Hackland ruled that Ford broke the Municipal Conflict of Interest Act in a council vote in February 2011. This would…
Category: Litigation Blog
Blog on civil litigation, tax and immigration litigation.
Administration bond: What is it and how to dispense with it
By Jeff Jiehui Li Pursuant to s. 35 of the Estates Act, an administration bond is generally required before a court can appoint a person to be the trustee of an estate. The bond is not required in certain situations,…
Fraud Alert – Do not disclose your information over phone calls
A client of mine had this recent experience. She buys and sells a number of homes, and one day she received a phone call from a 1-855 number. The caller claimed to be an investigation agent of the Canadian Revenue…
New Practice Direction: Electronic Filing Required for Civil Appeals to the Divisional Court
The Law Office of Jeff Li learned that, effective November 2, 2012, most civil appeals to the Divisional Court will require filing of materials in electronic format, in addition to the filing of paper documents currently required. This is in…
What to do if my home purchase cannot be closed?
When a home buyer enters into an Agreement of purchase and sale, the closing is expected in the near future. Yet not every purchase transaction will be closed as planned, which will inevitably lead to frustration and distress on the…
Wrongful dismissal, constructive dismissal and their remedies
What is a wrongful dismissal? The question looks simple, but is not. Most people would take its meaning by letters, and think the term simply means being dismissed wrongfully. But in Canada (as in most other countries) where freedom to…
Statements in wrongful dismissal/ESA claims cannot form basis of defamation action
It often happens: in an Employment Standards complaint, the employer and the employee give negative comments about each other, which may well be considered defamatory in nature. After the employment standards issue was resolved, can a party sue the other…
Tax evasion: What is it and how to defend (II)
(Continued) Generally successful defences There are a number of defences that a taxpayer may use and may be successful against a charge of wilful tax evasion. The most used among these is the lack of required intention (mens rea). If…
Tax evasion: What is it and how to defend (I)
A taxpayer may receive a letter from the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) informing that they have commenced a criminal investigation against him/her. Most of the criminal investigations relate to tax evasion, which involves an illegal breach of specific statutory duties…
Would-be immigrants poised to hear about application backlog
[Toronto Star Reports] Dong Wang has waited almost six years for his immigration dream to be fulfilled. This week, he and 900 other applicants will find out from a Canadian court if their long wait has been in vain. The…