Gardening on Vacant Land –Verdant History, Volatile Endeavor

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Comment: Gardening on vacant land in Calgary – Part I

On the Victoria Day long-weekend in 2012, Donna Clarke and some volunteers planted potatoes on a vacant lot next door to her home in Scarboro on 17th Avenue S.W.  The fence was painted in bright colours and painted tires were used as planters.  The lots were owned by Scarboro Projects Ltd., an affiliate of Vancouver mortgage firm who had foreclosed on a number of adjacent properties in 2009.  Three of the buildings had been ordered demolished by the City of Calgary in 2011 as part of a crackdown on derelict properties.

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Face-ing the Charter’s Application on University Campuses

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Case considered: Pridgen v University of Calgary, 2012 ABCA 139

Linda McKay Panos recently posted an ABlawg comment on R v Whatcott, 2012 ABQB 231, where Justice Paul Jeffrey held that the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms applied to the actions of the University of Calgary when it was enforcing trespass legislation against a non-student distributing anti-gay leaflets on campus (see University Campus is not Charter-Free). The Court of Appeal – or more accurately one member of the Court of Appeal – came to the same conclusion in the case of Pridgen v University of Calgary, 2012 ABCA 139, albeit in different circumstances. Shaun Fluker has already commented on the administrative law aspects of Pridgen (see The need to explain yourself before imposing discipline under the law); I will deal with the Court’s assessment of whether the Charter applies to the University in the context of student discipline proceedings.

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Lawyers regulating lawyers (redux)?

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Matter considered: Law Society of Upper Canada Complaint, Case No. 2012-105128

Introduction

On November 3, 2011 I wrote a blog on the Law Society of British Columbia’s decision to discipline Gerry Laarakker for unethical conduct (here). Laarakker had written rude things about (and to) a lawyer, M, who had sent a demand letter to Laarakker’s client. The demand letter claimed recovery of $521.97 on the basis that Laarakker’s client’s daughter had shoplifted from M’s client. In my earlier blog I suggested that directing regulatory attention at Laarakker’s incivility was a poor use of the Law Society’s regulatory resources. My argument was that lawyers who send demand letters without a legal basis for the claim made in the letter, and with no intention to pursue the claim in court, act unethically. Law societies do not, however, appear to discipline lawyers for sending improper demand letters. The only real sanction for those lawyers is social shaming and shunning. Disciplining lawyers who are uncivil in response to arguably unethical conduct takes away the only sanction on that behaviour, and may encourage it. Such discipline is, for that reason, problematic.

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When is a registered joint tenancy not a joint tenancy and not even co-ownership?

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Cases Considered: Lutz v Lutz, 2012 ABQB 300; Lemoine v Smashnuk, 2008 ABQB 193

On a statutory application to terminate co-ownership under Part 3 of the Law of Property Act, RSA 2000, c L-7, can a court conclude that there was no co-ownership?

Lucas Lutz wanted to buy a house but did not qualify for a mortgage. Lucas’ brother, Eric, agreed to help. The deal was structured so that title to the house was transferred to Lucas Lutz and Eric Lutz as joint tenants. Two mortgages used in financing the purchase were granted by both Lucas and Eric; one was paid off but the other still secured an outstanding balance of approximately $90,000. Lucas made all of the subsequent mortgage payments. Lucas and Eric both lived in the house and paid utilities, but Eric moved out after 7 years, in 2006. Up until 2006, Eric also made payments to Lucas that Lucas characterized as rent and Eric characterized as contributions to the mortgage payments. There was no written agreement between Lucas and Eric.

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Alberta Court of Appeal Addresses Constitutionality of Personal Information Protection Act

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Decision considered: Union Food and Commercial Workers, Local 401 v Alberta, 2012 ABCA 130

This is an appeal of a privacy case that was the subject of an earlier blog: See here. The employees of Palace Casino in West Edmonton Mall were on strike and both the United Food and Commercial Workers, Local 401 (“Union”), and the employer photographed and videotaped the picket line. People who crossed the picket line and those who walked in and out of the casino were also photographed or taped. The Union posted a sign stating: “by crossing the picket line you are providing your consent for your image to be posted at www.CasinoScabs.ca.” The employer’s Vice-President complained to the Privacy Commissioner that his photo was displayed on a poster at the picket site. Two other complainants who crossed the picket line said that they had been photographed or videotaped, although they never saw any images. The Office of the Privacy Commissioner’s (“OIPC”) Adjudicator accepted that it was a long-standing historical practice for Unions and employers to photograph and videotape at picket line sites.

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