In a world already exhausted by the unrelenting pandemic, the holiday season offers the promise of a reprieve for some. Unfortunately, the holiday season is also a time when cyber criminals are particularly active as most people try to unplug and take some well-deserved breaks from work.
Having endured over a year now of government-imposed restrictions on personal liberty to curb the case count of covid, the general population is now able to better understand the implications of confinement. This blog will begin by exploring the historical reasoning behind solitary confinement, its effectiveness and psychological impact, and circle back to the current state of Covid-19 and what it entails for inmates who have already been deprived of many rights.
Insurers Can Deny Coverage After a Claim Is Accepted, SCC Rules November 24, 2021 – “The Supreme Court of Canada recently clarified that an insurer with no prior knowledge of a policy breach may later deny coverage once the breach has been discovered.”
Pitblado wins at the Supreme Court November 29, 2021 – “The Supreme Court rules that an employment discrimination dispute involving a unionized worker should be settled by a labour arbitrator appointed under the collective agreement, not by a human rights adjudicator.”
Misgendering Employees Can Result In Damages Against Employers November 23, 2021 – “Two recent decisions of Human Rights Tribunals in Ontario (EN v Gallagher’s Bar and Lounge, 2021 HRTO 240) and British Columbia (Nelson v Goodberry Restaurant Group Ltd. dba Buono Osteria and others, 2021 BCHRT 137) highlight the importance of employers respecting the preferred pronouns of their employees, and the potential consequences should an employer fail to show such respect.”
How Can You Contest A Blood Alcohol Test? October 14, 2021 “For years, police had to have a reasonable suspicion that a driver was under the influence before they could mandate them to take a breathalyzer test. What amounted to reasonable suspicion was variable. An officer might pull someone over if they saw them leave a bar and start driving, if their driving was erratic, or for any other number of reasons. In Manitoba, this is no longer the case: officers can administer mandatory breathalyzer tests without reasonable suspicion. That complicates one of the more common defences against DUIs.”
How Does Sandbagging Work in M&A Deals? October 7, 2021 “While both the federal and provincial governments have encouraged private sector employers to impose vaccination policies, it is not mandatory at this time. Employers are responsible for determining the appropriate balance in their workplace between health and safety considerations and the human rights and privacy interests of their employees.”
Critiquing Predictive Policing – Mikal Sokolowski “…predictive policing is considered a divisive controversial policing method, even considering the purported benefits that it offers. Although predictive policing has not been fully adopted in Canada, it has seen rapid adoption in the United States over the last ten years, which is understandable considering the benefits that predictive policing potentially offers. These benefits include predicting when, where, and who will be involved in crimes based on empirical data. Moreover, the reduction in crime rates once predictive policing has been implemented are staggering. However, there are several concerns with the adoption of predictive policing, including that it is generally operated by third parties. This reality means the police may not understand how to properly interpret the data and the data may not be subject to public scrutiny.”
Copyright Tariffs Are Not Mandatory, Says Supreme Court of Canada Aug 16 “Copyright users will welcome this decision while copyright collectives may find that it complicates copyright enforcement. Since board-approved tariffs are not mandatory for non-licensees, copyright collectives might need to rethink their strategy. Going forward, copyright collectives may require creators to assign or provide exclusive licenses to their works or, it may lead to creators dealing with users and pursuing infringement directly. The SCC’s decision also offered guidance on how courts could analyze fair dealing in the context of educational institutions.”
Healthy Hire MB Program: Applications Open, Eligibility Expanded July 30 “On June 24, 2021, the Province of Manitoba announced the Healthy Hire Manitoba Program (the “Program”), a new wage subsidy program that will reimburse local employers outside of the public sector who hire or rehire vaccinated employees.”
Canadian Tax Acts Across the Nation Adapt to Online Transactions July 6 “The extension of Manitoba’s sales tax proposes to be in force as of December 1, 2021, making it the last province to target online sellers with provincial sales taxes. The proposed changes suggest that Manitoba believes it will collect over $8 million per year by extending provincial sales taxes to streaming services, online marketplaces and online accommodation platforms.”
The Right to Disconnect July 21 “The Canadian Government has noticed the lines have been blurred between being “at work” and “not at work”. Consequently, it has established the Right to Disconnect Advisory Committee, which began in October 2020 to hold a series of meetings with stakeholders, including the Canadian public, in order to obtain further information surrounding the right to disconnect and consider the logistics of such legislation.”
The Overcriminalization of COVID-19 – Sarah Sharp “COVID-19 poses a serious risk of being misunderstood in the way HIV was when it was first discovered. Information on COVID-19 changes almost daily and new information is constantly being uncovered. As of right now, there are a ton of unknowns about the virus, which means that the justice system risks over-criminalizing COVID-19 due to a lack of knowledge of the realistic risks involved. The justice system should be careful to consider what medical evidence is available, and also be flexible to acknowledge and apply any new scientific discoveries about COVID-19.”
The Manitoba Law Library would like to acknowledge with gratitude that we are situated on Treaty One Territory, the traditional lands of the Anishinaabe, Cree and Dakota peoples, and the homeland of the Métis Nation.
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