Monthly Archives: October 2008

“No Pet” Provisions – Practical Considerations

Posted in: "All, Administrative Law by Admin | No Comments Tuesday, October 14, 2008

Q: I have recently moved to Ontario. I am renting an apartment and am thinking about getting a dog soon. Do I have to tell my landlord ?

A: Since “no pet” provisions are now considered void and unenforceable, legally you don’t have an obligation to consult with your landlord about adopting one.

However, there are certain things you need to consider before adopting a pet that will live in your apartment.

The landlord is entitled to bring an application to terminate your tenancy for cause if you:

  • unreasonably interfere with others’ enjoyment of the property;
  • cause damages to the building;
  • impair others’ safety; or
  • commit an illegal act.

Here is a sample list of things that your pet can get you in trouble with your landlord under the law:

  1. Your pet causes severe allergies to your neighbours.
  2. Your pet barks/meows/sings and creates excessive noise.
  3. Your pet is aggressive toward other people and animals
  4. Your pet bites or injures someone.
  5. Your pet damages the property, for instance, breaking window screens, digging holes, chewing on wood railings.
  6. Your pet is an illegal species or breed in Ontario, such as a pitbull.
  7. You have more pets than is allowed under the municipal by-law.
  8. Your pet is not licensed.
  9. You do not clean up after your pet in common areas.
  10. Your pet is infested with pests, including fleas.
  11. Your pet produces excessive odour.
  12. …

The list goes on.

Adopting a pet comes with responsibilities. You need to exercise caution in controlling and caring for your pet so both of you can have a place that you can call “home.”

Finally, when you’re getting a pet, please consider adopting a homeless one from your local shelter. There are many wonderful animals looking for a new home. You can search for local animals available for adoption in Canada or the U.S. through petfinder.com.

I am a proud supporter of petfinder.com.



Puppy Adoption

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It’s Thanksgiving – Retail Closings

Posted in: "All, Administrative Law by Admin | No Comments Monday, October 13, 2008

Today is Thanksgiving! To celebrate this special occasion, a bunch of Asian friends and I are going to have Korean barbeque for lunch!  Walking down Bloor St., most of the shops are closed for the occasion, while only a handful remain open for business. What’s that about?

Under the Retail Business Holidays Act retail stores in Ontario, except those exempted under the legislation, must close on the eight holidays specified.

These holidays include:

  1. New Year’s Day
  2. Good Friday
  3. Victoria Day
  4. Canada Day
  5. Labour Day
  6. Thanksgiving Day
  7. Christmas Day
  8. Easter Sunday

Looking through the list, you’ll find that some of the holidays are civil in nature, such as New Year’s Day, Canada Day and Labour Day, while others contain strong religious connotations, like Good Friday, Easter Sunday, and Christmas.

Given that Canada is a secular country and that people enjoy freedom of religion under the Constitution, are the mandatory retail closing constitutional?

This issue has been litigated before the Courts.

When the Constitution 1982 first came into force, a retail store challenged the mandatory retail closing provisions in the Lord’s Day Act, the legislation that mandated retail stores to be closed on Sundays and other Christian holidays at the time. The Lord’s Day Act was found to be unconstitutional because it compelled observance of Christian holidays.

The government quickly re-named the Lord’s Day Act as the Retail Business Holidays Act, and re-enacted substantially similar provisions that mandate retail stores to be closed on Sundays and other holidays.

The retail stores challenged the new law again. However, the second time around, the courts found a valid secular purpose to the mandatory closing of the stores, in that it provided a common day of pause among retail workers. The retail stores’ challenge was dismissed.

The Retail Business Holidays Act has since been revised and no longer compels retail stores to be closed on Sundays in Ontario. However, Thanksgiving Day remains a mandatory holiday for all applicable retail workers.

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Rats in Chinatown vs. Civil Liberties

Posted in: "All by Admin | No Comments Friday, October 10, 2008


Rat at Happy Seven Restaurant (Torontoist Video) from Torontoist on Vimeo.
Courtesy of www.BlogTO.com, used for news summary reporting purposes read more…

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What’s Your True Color?

Posted in: "All, Business Development by Admin | No Comments Tuesday, October 7, 2008

Yesterday I had the pleasure of attending a personality analysis workshop held by Dr. Fred Leafgren of Personality Resources International.

Dr. Leafgren utilized a colour-coded system to separate people’s personalities into one of the four groups:

  • Action-oriented, who are hands-on and seek immediate results;
  • Relationship-oriented, who value not only the results but also the process of obtaining them;
  • Logic-oriented, who thirst for knowledge and likes to think things through before acting upon them;
  • Organized, who seek a structured environment and likes to be prepared before starting a new task.

We were asked to answer a set of questionnaires on different scenarios. Whichever category you score the highest on is your primary “colour.” Of course, life isn’t black-and-white. (Rather, it’s red, blue, green and gold.) Therefore, the top two categories are taken into account.

Dr. Leafgren indicated that these traits are universal, as he has done workshops all over the world. Apparently, women typically score higher in the relationship-oriented category, and men in the action-oriented category.

Not surprisingly, my high score fell into the logic-oriented category. (This is, after all, how I make a living!) Logic-oriented individuals often have the following characteristics:

  • stay cool in crisis
  • enjoy learning
  • collect information before action
  • seek the reasons behind answers
  • negotiate well with others

On the other hand, the logic-oriented can sometimes be misunderstood as:

  • cold-blooded
  • overly analytical
  • impractical
  • unable to relate to others

I truly enjoyed Dr. Leafgren’s presentation. By gaining insight into myself, I’m confident that I can  relate better to others from now on, and be better at my job as a lawyer.

Are you curious about what your true colour might be?

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‘Tis the Season for Networking

Posted in: "All, Business Development by Admin | No Comments Thursday, October 2, 2008

Today I attended the “Business Building After Hours” hosted by the Toronto Board of Trade at the WEGZ wine bar. I met several very interesting individuals – ranging from an integrated marketing specialist, to a virtual assistant, a payment-processing provider. The attendees came from all walks of life.

Most individuals who attend networking events are looking for potential customers; some are more aggressive than others. However, I attend these events simply to meet new people and establish casual contacts.

I once took a course in Organizational Behaviour. Apparently, one’s “social capital” (the value of your total social contacts, both professional and personal) depends on the number of “weak links” (casual contacts) one has, and not the number of “strong links” (close contacts).

Therefore, networking events are incredible opportunities to bolster your social capital. I collect people’s business cards and file them; you never know if you or someone close to you would one day need an integrated marketing specialist, or a virtual assistant, or a payment processor.

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Contingency Fees – What Are They?

Posted in: "All, Administrative Law, Family Law by Admin | No Comments Wednesday, October 1, 2008

Most of you have seen ads by law firms saying, “You don’t pay unless we win!” In law, this kind of arrangement is called a “contingency fee,” meaning the legal fees payable are contingent on the success of the case.

Traditionally, the courts have frowned upon contingency arrangements because it is thought that they encouraged frivolous litigation. Also, some in the profession believed that lawyers cannot remain objective once they have a stake in the case. Until recently, these arrangements remained illegal in Ontario.

However, a new school of thought emerged after World War II. These scholars thought contingency fee arrangements would provide access to justice for those without money. They also believed that principles of economics would help weed out frivolous claims, as lawyers would become more careful in selecting cases when they are retained on contingency fees. A few American states legalized contingency fee arrangements in the second-half of the 20th century, and the practice slowly spread throughout North America.

Although contingency fee arrangements are legal in Ontario, they are nonetheless subject to restrictions. According to the Rules of Professional Conducts for lawyers, contingency fee arrangements are not allowed in family law or criminal law cases.

Contingency fees are also expressly prohibited under certain laws. For example, they are not allowed before the Landlord and Tenant Board under the Residential Tenancies Act 2006.

Contingency fees are generally calculated as a percentage of the settlement or judgment amount. The lawyer must make sure that the percentage is fair under the circumstances. In Ontario, the amount ranges from 15% to 35% plus disbursements (out-of-pocket expenses). Some firms charge the disbursements regardless of whether the case is successful or not; others absorb the costs if the case is unsuccessful.

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