Ontario to Have Employees Trained for Pot Stores Next Year Kathleen Wynne announced that 150 stores will sell marijuana once it is legalized and the LCBO will oversee the operation of all stores. The LCBO has the expertise for the regulation and distribution of alcohol, so in order for the government to save some costs and know that the initiative is properly dealt with, the LCBO is the best choice. They will oversee the introduction of legalized marijuana. This will allow for a smooth transition. Many critics have said that the LCBO will not have properly trained and educated employees working within these locations, however, president of the Ontario Public Service Employee Union, Warren “Smokey” Thomas, addressed this concern earlier this week. He says, “we’ll be ready for it, don’t worry about that,” because his members will be well trained by experts available from the medical marijuana industry that will pass on knowledge of distribution, sales, and product quality control and expects experienced workers from soon-to-be-outlawed private operations to apply for such jobs, and highlighted the benefit of higher union wages as the main attraction. There are opposing views to the time frame and question of educated employees and the training they will receive with dispensary supporters stating that as dispensary technicians they “determine experience, tolerance, and recommend the appropriate product to ensure they have a good experience,” and believe ha the level of attention they provide, will not be given. They consider the level of attention that is presently given by the LCBO in their liquor stores, and the transition they want to have, cannot happen overnight. While Greg Engel, CEO of a licensed producer of medical cannabis said the government is realistic with their goal, and that staff that will be able to advise clients of the effects, duration, and recommends something that is right for the experience they are looking for is critical. Of the first wave of the 150 stores, the first 40 to be opened will require 200 new members and could grow to 1,000 or more once all of the stores are up and running. “This article is intended to inform and entertain. Its content does not constitute legal advice and should not be relied upon by readers as such. If you require legal assistance, please see a lawyer. Each case is unique and a lawyer with good training and sound judgment can provide you with advice tailored to your specific situation and needs.” By Fauzan SiddiquiBlog, Cannabis LawSeptember 13, 2017July 5, 2023
Man Arrested for Disrupting Filming in Riverdale HBO has been filming a movie featuring Michael B. Jordan and Scarborough-born YouTube star Lilly Singh, however a frustrated neighbour of 450 Pape Avenue took matters into his own hands, resulting in his arrest on Monday Afternoon. HBO was filming Fahrenheit 451, when they were disrupted by Nick Shcherban who set up two speakers and an amplifier in his backyard, and pointed it in the direction of 450 Pape Ave. He was charged with mischief – interfere with property, public mischief, criminal harassment and causing a disturbance. He will have his bail hearing today. Not only did the film crew have an issue with his loud music on Monday, but residents also called authorities and issued noise complaints against him, which prompted a visit from police to discuss the complaint, later resulting in him being escorted into a police car – while the film crew watched. The city confirmed that the film company did engage with the community to get support and approval for the late night filming that took place, and to ensure the public that all filming will be limited to the property and inside the residence. The mansion located at Pape and Riverdale has previously been used for the movie It and CTV show Orphan Black. If you require representation for criminal offences, please contact our Criminal Lawyer David Schell, or call Devry Smith Frank LLP at 416-449-1400 today. By: Nicolas Di Nardo “This article is intended to inform and entertain. Its content does not constitute legal advice and should not be relied upon by readers as such. If you require legal assistance, please see a lawyer. Each case is unique and a lawyer with good training and sound judgment can provide you with advice tailored to your specific situation and needs.” By Fauzan SiddiquiBlog, Criminal LawSeptember 13, 2017June 18, 2020
CBSA Arrests 2, Recovers 273kg of Cocaine in Sailboat at Nova Scotia Harbour Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) officers found approximately 273kg of cocaine on board a 29 foot boat, calling it “unusual” that such a small vessel had that much of a load. This is not the first seizure that the CBSA has seen in Nova Scotia, and it won’t be the last. The second most significant seizure they found was 200kg of hashish that was found hidden in a chocolate bar shipment in May. They record between “130 and 159 drug seizures every year.” The CBSA has arrested two men in connection with this bust, and they are: Jacques John Grenier, boat owner, charged with: Possession of cocaine for the purpose of trafficking Conspiracy to import cocaine Importing cocaine and Luc Chevrefils, charged with: Possession of cocaine for the purpose of trafficking Conspiracy to import cocaine The CBSA had prior knowledge of the boat’s arrival. They found the bricks hidden in a sealed bed frame, which had brand new screws holding it together. Dominic Mallette, the agency’s acting director said “[their] officers are trained to look in those areas…if the vessel is 20 years old and the screws are brand new, that means somebody’s been there recently.” If you require representation for criminal offences, please contact our Criminal Lawyer David Schell, or call Devry Smith Frank LLP at 416-449-1400 today. By: Nicolas Di Nardo “This article is intended to inform and entertain. Its content does not constitute legal advice and should not be relied upon by readers as such. If you require legal assistance, please see a lawyer. Each case is unique and a lawyer with good training and sound judgment can provide you with advice tailored to your specific situation and needs.” By Fauzan SiddiquiBlog, Criminal LawSeptember 12, 2017June 18, 2020
Ontario Legislature Returns From Summer Break – Labour & Marijuana to be Main Focus Queen’s Park resumes today after summer break, with much to keep them busy this fall. They will focus on the labour law changes and marijuana legalization which is set for July of next year. In addition to these two major topics, they are also resuming in the midst of two Liberal trials, one of which is the Election Act bribery trial where Kathleen Wynne has been called as a witness. The Election Act bribery charges stem from a 2015 by-election and mischief and the breach of trust trial related to the cancellation of two gas plants before the 2011 election. The labour bill and the introduction of increased minimum wage by 2019, equal pay for part-time workers, more vacation days and personal emergency leave will go through a second reading before the second round of committee hearings. Business groups are against the increase, saying that it is “too much o absorb that quickly,” and they continue to press for amendments to the bill. Second on the docket is the legalization of marijuana and the control of the sale of it, after the announcement that the LCBO will operate all 150 stores that will open in the next couple of years. This fall will be busy for our government, as there are other policies that will be discussed aside from the labour law changes and legalization of pot, such as: Long-term energy plan Police oversight legislation Legislation to create new northern ridings Updated Police Services Act Ticket sales and resale legislation Legislation to create safe zones around abortion clinics As updates become available to the developments in Queen’s Park please check back to our blog for more information on these stories. Devry Smith Frank LLP is a full service law firm that has a very experienced group of lawyers within our employee and labour law groups. If you are in need of representation, please contact one of our lawyers today or call us directly at 416-449-1400. “This article is intended to inform and entertain. Its content does not constitute legal advice and should not be relied upon by readers as such. If you require legal assistance, please see a lawyer. Each case is unique and a lawyer with good training and sound judgment can provide you with advice tailored to your specific situation and needs.” By Fauzan SiddiquiBlog, Labour LawSeptember 11, 2017June 18, 2020
LCBO to run Marijuana Stores When marijuana is legal next year, you won’t be able to get it from those so-called “dispensaries” that have been popping up around the GTA. Why? You may ask, Kathleen Wynne is looking to restrict the sale of recreational marijuana to LCBO-run stores only. Approximately 150 LCBO-run stores will be selling, and these stores will be standalone cannabis outlets. The main reason for Wynne’s approach is to “ensure that there will only be one legal retail distributor for recreational cannabis in Ontario, and alcohol and cannabis are not sold alongside each other.” The LCBO will oversee all retail sales and online services. Staff have been trained to keep underage drinkers from buying alcohol and has a tightly controlled distribution channel, so why wouldn’t that work for marijuana too? By regulating the distribution and sale of marijuana, the government is hoping to also tackle some issues that extend from the legalization, such as impaired driving and road safety. Seeing as it is likely people will opt to drive while under the influence, the province will introduce heftier fines and new testing machines that will determine if someone has decided to smoke up and drive. The second benefit of the government regulating and overseeing the sale of marijuana is that it assists the police and municipalities in the fight to close down illegal weed “dispensaries”, which they have been trying to do for some time – some of which are supplied by or operated by organized crime gangs. The LCBO will only be getting its product from the medical producers licenced by Health Canada in an effort to close scores with them. Announced today, the prices will be kept competitive with the black market, 40 stores and online sales will be active on July 1, 2018, and 80 by 2019, up to 150 in 2020. For more on the plan that was unveiled today, please see this link to the Toronto Sun article. “This article is intended to inform and entertain. Its content does not constitute legal advice and should not be relied upon by readers as such. If you require legal assistance, please see a lawyer. Each case is unique and a lawyer with good training and sound judgment can provide you with advice tailored to your specific situation and needs.” By Fauzan SiddiquiBlog, Cannabis LawSeptember 11, 2017June 18, 2020
Midrise Condo Battle may go to Mediation with OMB High-profile residents of the Annex have brought their fight against a proposed midrise condo development to the Toronto & East York community council, which agreed Wednesday to have the city’s lawyer ask for mediation at the Ontario Municipal Board – a move they will consider next month – which is most likely to go forward. In our previous article, we mention the outrage residents had against the proposed development at 321 Davenport, with complaints from residents such as Margaret Atwood and Galen Weston Jr., both calling the development a “brutal and arrogant assault on [their] community.” Not to mention, the issues they have with privacy, as balconies may provide potential residents the ability to peer into their backyards at any time. There was little mention of any other issues in the previous post that was published, however, another concern has been made public after many residents of Toronto lashed out on social media, calling the likes of Atwood and Weston Jr. NIMBYs, which they intended to respond to. They have taken a stance, stating that they are not against the development, but that they have concerns surrounding the initial proposal of the development and the impact it will have on the environment, citing a concern such as the preservation of mature trees in the area. The proposal is said to develop “luxury” style homes within a condo building sitting 8-storeys high, with 16 large condos. City staff are in support of this development, as it is going to take the place of a 2-storey commercial building. Through mediation, developer Robert Cooper is hopeful that this will be resolved, as they are “willing to work cooperatively with the neighbours” to achieve a proper final proposal that provides “new midrise housing opportunities and appropriate intensification within an urban neighbourhood.” Atwood’s lawyer, Michael Melling too believes “[the] concerns can be resolved.” If you are in need of a planning and development lawyer or real estate lawyer, please contact our Planning and Development lawyers or Real Estate lawyers today. If you have any other questions, you can contact our office directly at (416) 449-1400. By: Nicolas Di Nardo “This article is intended to inform and entertain. Its content does not constitute legal advice and should not be relied upon by readers as such. If you require legal assistance, please see a lawyer. Each case is unique and a lawyer with good training and sound judgment can provide you with advice tailored to your specific situation and needs.” By Fauzan SiddiquiBlog, Planning and Development Law, Real EstateSeptember 7, 2017June 18, 2020
Brazil’s Former Presidents accused of Forming a Criminal Organization Former President of Brazil Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, Dilma Rousseff and other staff part of their Workers’ Party have been accused of forming a criminal organization. Charges were filed on Tuesday as part of an investigation into a scheme to inflate state contracts to pay kickbacks and bribes to politicians. The corruption probe has netted dozens of executives and senior politicians. An accusation against Rousseff includes: Suspicion of breaking budgetary rules by shifting money around to cover short-term deficits, ultimately landing her on an impeachment trial Some accusations against Luiz include: Multi-billion dollar bribery scheme revolving around the state-run oil company, Petrobras Obstruction charges on suspicion that he tried to pay a former Petrobras executive to stop him from giving information to authorities Silva, his successor and allies are accused of orchestrating the receipt of around $480 million in bribes. Silva alone faces several charges and has already been sentenced to 9 ½ years in another case, which he is appealing. For more information see: LA Times If you require representation for criminal offences, please contact our Criminal Lawyer David Schell, or call Devry Smith Frank LLP at 416-449-1400 today. By: Nicolas Di Nardo “This article is intended to inform and entertain. Its content does not constitute legal advice and should not be relied upon by readers as such. If you require legal assistance, please see a lawyer. Each case is unique and a lawyer with good training and sound judgment can provide you with advice tailored to your specific situation and needs.” By Fauzan SiddiquiBlog, Criminal LawSeptember 7, 2017June 18, 2020
Toronto Housing Market Update: August 2017 Home sales slowed down through August so much that there was a 34.8 per cent drop in sales compared to last year. This marks the fourth month in a row where sales and home prices have dropped. July’s average price was sitting at $746,033 while August had an average price of $732,292. Since the introduction of the 16 measures in April, the current average price has seen a significant drop. April’s average price was almost $1 million. Not to mention, the number of new listings was the lowest recorded for August since 2010, and down 6.7 per cent from last year. If you are currently searching for a property or have a plan to purchase property in the near future, contact our Real Estate Group with any questions or concerns you may have. Browse our Real Estate lawyers page and contact them directly, or, call our office at 416-449-1400 for more information. By: Nicolas Di Nardo “This article is intended to inform and entertain. Its content does not constitute legal advice and should not be relied upon by readers as such. If you require legal assistance, please see a lawyer. Each case is unique and a lawyer with good training and sound judgment can provide you with advice tailored to your specific situation and needs.” By Fauzan SiddiquiBlog, Real EstateSeptember 6, 2017June 18, 2020
Insurance Adjusters in U.S. look to save time by using Drones to assess Damage Travelers Insurance in the U.S. is responding to the hurricane in Texas by training their adjusters to become certified drone pilots. Travelers Insurance had 65 certified pilots as of Friday among the 600 employees that are deployed to the Houston area. Overall, they have 300 employees that are certified drone operators, and are looking to get that number to 600 by early 2018. Other companies such as State Farm and Allstate have drones, but State Farm has decided to not use its drone fleet in Houston, just yet. Allstate has contracted a third-party drone operator to do hundreds of inspections a day in Houston. By using drones, insurance companies can save time and protect their adjusters from potentially unsafe areas, not to mention being able to get “the customer back on their feet more quickly, paying them more quickly so they can get their damages repaired as quickly as possible,” says vice-president of claims for Travelers, Jim Wucherpfennig. Since the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) eased some restrictions last year, insurance companies have increased their fleets. Drones have become very inexpensive and as a result, most major insurers now have a fleet – “the benefits were evident in the response to Hurricane Matthew last October,” according to Jim Whittle, chief claims counsel for the American Insurance Association. If you are unable to enter an area due to restrictions or nature, you can fly your drone and get access to the property for an assessment. For Travelers, they do not expect their drone fleet to take the place of human adjusters, as the claims specialists will almost always do an on-the-ground inspection to get a proper final estimate. The drones allow for a head start. For one Travelers employee Laura Shell, a catastrophe claims specialist, she believes that by using a drone it will allow her “to get a look into areas that aren’t easily accessible and onto roofs,” to do her job quickly. In situations like Hurricane Harvey and Matthew it has become evident that the benefits drones provide are far reaching, not only for the insurance companies and adjusters, but also the insured, who are in desperate need of support in order to get their lives back on track after such devastation. At Devry Smith Frank LLP we have experienced lawyers in all areas of law. If you are looking for a lawyer or have general questions, please feel free to contact one of our lawyers today, or call us directly at 416-449-1400. By: Nicolas Di Nardo “This article is intended to inform and entertain. Its content does not constitute legal advice and should not be relied upon by readers as such. If you require legal assistance, please see a lawyer. Each case is unique and a lawyer with good training and sound judgment can provide you with advice tailored to your specific situation and needs.” By Fauzan SiddiquiBlog, Insurance DefenceSeptember 5, 2017June 18, 2020
Service Dog Not Allowed in Elementary School Ontario’s Human Rights Tribunal has recently ruled that a 9-year-old boy with autism does not have the right to bring his service dog with him to class. This ruling marks the first legal disposition of a dispute between parents and their regional school board that began back in 2014. Their son has a certified service dog, and they wanted him to have the animal in the classroom. The parents argued that the dog was essential to their son’s education as the dog is able to control their son’s outbursts and prevents them from happening, enabling their son to suffer less distractions in the classroom. The school board, Waterloo Catholic, has rejected this argument and refused to permit the dog in the classroom. At the hearing, the school board suggested that the child was performing fine without the service animal and that its presence would not address the issues that the child was experiencing in the classroom. This is not the first time the Waterloo Catholic School Board has been challenged on its policy with respect to service dogs. In April of 2016 it was reported that a nine year old boy was prohibited from having his service animal accompany him to school. The School Board has not commented on why it has implemented a policy that restricts service dogs from coming into the classroom. The decision as to whether service dogs have the right to enter the classroom is determined by each individual school board’s own policy. Under the Guide Dog Act, guide dogs which are certified have the same rights and responsibilities as a person without a dog. This means they are allowed access where the general public is allowed access. However, while schools certainly deliver a public service, under the Education Act, schools are not considered public spaces; they lock their doors when school is in session. This means that school boards are not required under the Guide Dog Act to permit guide dogs on school property. Instead, parents look to the Human Rights Code to have the legality of the school board policy on service dogs determined. Under the Code, the school board is required to accommodate disabilities to the point of undue hardship. What constitutes accommodation to the point of undue hardship depends on the particularities of the situation, with the Code prescribing three considerations when assessing whether an accommodation would cause undue hardship: cost, outside sources of funding and health and safety requirements. No other considerations can be properly considered. To claim the undue hardship defence the organization responsible for making the accommodation has the onus of proof. The nature of the evidence required to prove undue hardship must be objective, real, direct, and if cost is a factor, quantifiable. What this means is that, as recipient of a successful ruling, the school board was able to demonstrate that its legal duty to accommodate students with disabilities does not extend to requiring the school to permit service dogs in the classroom. However, given the individuality of determinations from the Tribunal, it is still open for other situations regarding service dogs in elementary schools to receive an alternate ruling, permitting service dogs in the classroom. Devry Smith Frank LLP is a full service law firm with experienced lawyers in the areas of Education law and Human Rights litigation. If you require representation for either of these areas, please contact the education law group and human rights group today. If you require representation for any other matter, you may contact our lawyers or call our office directly at 416-449-1400 today. By: Samantha Hamilton, Student-at-Law “This article is intended to inform and entertain. Its content does not constitute legal advice and should not be relied upon by readers as such. If you require legal assistance, please see a lawyer. Each case is unique and a lawyer with good training and sound judgment can provide you with advice tailored to your specific situation and needs.” By Fauzan SiddiquiBlog, Education Law, Human Rights LawSeptember 5, 2017June 18, 2020