Welcome to Open Bar, where we will include case reviews, legislative updates and other legal musings we hope will be of interest to local governments and First Nations.
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Say it Clearly!
February 2010
The Supreme Court of Canada has reversed the finding on the applicability of a liability exclusion clause, where the issue at stake was the fairness of the RFP process. An important caution for local governments - read the fuller review for details. Read More »
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I’ll Take the High Road
February 2010
In the political arena, defamatory statements and insuations may be defended by elected officials by careful use of their qualified privilege. Read More »
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Walled In
January 2010
Courts have traditionally shown deference to local government decisions, and this deference can include the interpretation of building inspectors with respect to permit requirements. Read More »
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In the Works
January 2010
Case law has expanded the non-conforming use protection of the Local Government Act to create an "irrevocable commitment to use" category of grandfathering. Read further for the court's most recent comment on this protection. Read More »
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Put It Down or Pull Over
January 2010
On January 1, 2010 the law changed to prohibit the use of hand-held cellular phones/PDAs while driving. Read more to learn how you can protect your local government from liability due to employee non-compliance. Read More »
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Tripped Up
November 2009
This recent case highlights the significance of the policy defence in local government liability cases, where so long as the policy is reasonable, the local government may be immune from liability in negligence. Read More »
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Calculated Risk: Accepting Bids That Don’t Add Up
October 2009
Accepting corrections to bids after closing may breach an owner's duties to bidders. This is especially the case where the correction to pricing leads to a new low bidder. See this review of the Ontario court's decision in Maystar General Contractors Inc. v. Corporation of the Town of Newmarket. Read More »
The content on this website is not intended to be legal advice, may have changed, or may be inapplicable to your situation. Please consult a lawyer for advice.