Last week on the OTLA blog, we posted about how to keep your home safe for holiday visitors. This week, we’ll take a more in-depth look not only at the obligations that apply to homeowners, but also those which extend to commercial property owners. The obligations of a property owner are outlined in the Occupiers Liability Act (“the Act”). An “occupier” is defined as “a person in physical …
OTLA has published a submission to the Law Society of Upper Canada in response to the discussion of Alternative Business Structures. You can find it here. Should non-lawyers be allowed to own law firms in Ontario? This is a question that the Law Society of Upper Canada (“LSUC”) is currently grappling with. The LSUC, which regulates the provision of legal services in Ontario, is considering …
With Bill 15, introduced in July 2014, the government has brought forward amendments that were initially introduced earlier this year. OTLA welcomes the new legislation which would bring forward Justice Douglas Cunningham’s much-needed reforms to the auto insurance dispute resolution system. While we welcome the majority of the recommendations, there are two outstanding issues that we ask MPPs to address through amendments at committee: ensuring …
Many people in Ontario are unaware that they can be held liable for an accident even if they were not in the vehicle at the time. As the owner of a motor vehicle in Ontario, you may be liable for the negligent actions of another person who is in possession of and operates your vehicle. This is called vicarious liability. Section 192 (2) of the …
The Summer is over, the kids are back at school and the days are getting colder again. Northern Ontario has seen its first cold nights already. We are moving back to winter temperatures, snow,ice and salt on the roads. This is the time that larger wildlife like deer and moose venture onto the roads to lick salt off the asphalt. It is also the time …
This month, the Insurance Bureau of Canada (IBC) released the Ontario Health Claims Database (HCDB) Standard Report. The Report analyzes data collected through the Health Claims for Auto Insurance (HCAI) system. Since February 2011, HCAI has been the mandatory system that Ontario health care facilities are required to use when submitting auto insurance claim forms to insurance companies. The insurers respond to the claims through …
