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insights / Property and Commerce

What Is Commercial Litigation? Leading Corporate Litigation Lawyer Answers

Corporate Litigation Lawyer Answers Your Questions on Commercial Litigation Every year thousands of corporate litigation cases are commenced in Canada. Corporate litigation cases can be complex, involving business entities that can be opaque and require a nuanced legal approach. To that effect, our experienced corporate litigation lawyer is here to answer all your corporate litigation […]

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Ontario Expropriation Lawyer: Is Expropriation Legal and Other Expropriation FAQs

“Expropriation” (known as “eminent domain” in some non-Canadian jurisdictions), occurs where a public authority or government acquires private property for some public project or public purpose. For example, land is often expropriated for transit-related projects (light rail transit, bus rapid transit, vehicular roadway widenings, bike lane projects, etc.), to build new schools, to facilitate underground […]

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Contacted About a Tieback and Crane Swing Agreement? What To Do!

Development projects are moving forward across the Greater Toronto Area (even with the recent market turmoil and increased interest rates), and developers are commonly seeking crane swing and tieback licence rights, amongst other possible requests, from neighbouring property owners. This is particularly common in downtown cores where large scale projects such as condominium buildings are […]

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I Have Been Contacted About an Expropriation: What Do I Do?

Landowners across Ontario are contacted regularly by property acquisition agents of government agencies such as municipalities or the Ministry of Transportation, when all or a portion of their land is required for a public project (such as road widening, light rail transit, etc.). Sometimes property acquisition specialists are employed by the authority or are sub-contracted […]

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Land Development Lawyer Explains the More Homes Built Faster Act, 2022

Ontario’s Provincial government has proposed the new More Homes Built Faster Act, 2022 to address the shortage of housing through measures that would make development of certain projects easier and more affordable. If passed in its current form, the proposed Act would amend various pieces of development-related legislation including the Planning Act, Development Charges Act, […]

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A Critical Development in Canadian Expropriation Law: Canada Supreme Court on “Constructive” Expropriations

The Supreme Court of Canada (“SCC”) released a bombshell decision in October 2022 that expands on the idea of “constructive” or de facto expropriations and provides great commentary. The decision addresses both expropriation and land use planning elements of property law – rarely a focus of the Supreme Court. The decision arose from a property […]

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Crane Swing and Tieback Easement Agreements – Explained

Large scale development projects, such as condominium projects, are popping up allover the Greater Toronto Area. Developers will often contact neighbouring propertyowners to negotiate crane swing and tieback easement agreements in exchange forcompensation. These easement agreements allow the developer to access the neighbouring property’sair space (for crane swing operation) or underground area (for installation of […]

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Expropriations Lawyer on Hamilton LRT Project: What to Know about the Pending Property Acquisitions

Read time: 3 minutes The Hamilton Light Rail Transit project (the “LRT Project”) is a multi-billion-dollar project that has been the subject of significant controversy. The LRT Project involves the creation of a 14km transit line between McMaster University and the Eastgate Square shopping mall. It was cancelled in 2019 due to insufficient funding, then […]

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Land Development Lawyer Explains Ontario Planning Act Amendments

February 3, 2022 Some long overdue changes have recently been paid to Ontario’s Planning Act. Thesechanges should reduce red tape, expedite land division processes for the benefit of thepublic, and clarify certain processes to ensure consistency across Ontario. The provinceestimates that the amendments could result in a combined annual saving of over $6.8million for landowners, […]

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Common Problems in Real Estate Transactions Discussed by Ontario Real Estate Lawyer

Read Time: 5 minutes Investing in property is often an individual’s largest investment. The process of viewing properties, making an offer and moving into a new home can be exciting. However, like any legal contract, there are some risks involved and problems that can arise. Here are a few potential problems that can arise in […]

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Employment Law and the Corporate Veil: How Far Does It Reach & Does It Protect Employees?

Read time: 3-5 minutes One of the more appealing aspects of a corporate business structure is that it has a distinct legal identity from its shareholders, directors and officers. This means that a corporation can sue, be sued, enter into contracts or acquire a loan. It also protects the shareholders, directors and officers from personal […]

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Municipal Development Law Firm Explains Due Diligence and Application Tips

Read time: 5 minutes Development is a broad term that encompasses projects that result in a change of land use, the construction of or addition to a building(s), or to the creation of a parcel of land. It can be a long and sometimes frustrating experience to see a development project come to fruition. Development […]

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Ontario Shareholder Agreement Lawyer on Unanimous Shareholder Agreements

Read time: 5-6 minutes Closely-held corporations tend to be premised on relationships between a group of friends, colleagues, or family, and are often more informal in terms of business organization. As such, there is less likely to be separation of roles between managers and investors. In a small corporation an individual may be a shareholder […]

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Ontario Construction Lawyer: Construction Liens – What Is Lienable?

Read time: 4-5 minutes Construction liens are a means by which contractors, subcontractors or any person who supplied materials or services to a construction project may secure payment if payment is not forthcoming via the construction pyramid. The Construction Act (the “Act”) states that “a person who supplies services or materials to an improvement for […]

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Expropriation Lawyer: Understanding the Building Transit Faster Act

Read time: 5-6 minutes The Ontario government introduced Bill 171, An Act to enact the Building Transit Faster Act and make other related amendments to other Acts (Act), on February 18, 2020 for its first reading in the Ontario legislature. The Act is an attempt to remove roadblocks in the planning, design and construction process […]

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Real Estate Lawyer Discusses Agreements of Purchase and Sale

Read time: 5-6 minutes An Agreement of Purchase and Sale (“ APS ”) is a legally binding contract that is used in real estate transactions. While many people are familiar with what this document is, many people do not take the time to fully read and understand all of the clauses and conditions before they […]

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Commercial Leases & COVID-19

Read time: 2-3 minutes Given this unprecedented situation, commercial landlords and tenants should review their lease documents to determine their rights and obligations. Force Majeure or Unavoidable Delay Clause Force majeure or ‘unavoidable delay’ clauses in commercial leases address events beyond a party’s control, such as a natural disaster, that prevent a party from performing […]

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COVID-19: Impacts on Civil Litigation, New Build Real Estate Transactions and Construction Contracts

Read time: 2-3 minutes The news is full of updates regarding the COVID-19 pandemic and the situation is constantly evolving. Here are some current impacts that the pandemic is having on civil litigation matters, new build real estate transactions and execution of construction or other contracts.  Civil Litigation Court Suspension On March 15, 2020 the […]

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Understanding Ontario Municipal Planning Appeals – Bill 108 & The Ford Amendments from Land Development Lawyers

Read time: 5 minutes On June 6, 2019, Bill 108, the More Homes, More Choices Act received Royal Assent. The Bill, introduced by the Ford government, amends thirteen different statutes that impact municipalities and land use planning processes, including changes to the Planning Act and appeals process. This will change, amongst other things, how planning […]

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Toronto Construction Lawyer: New Ontario Construction Act – Amendments in Review

Read time: 4-5 minutes The new Construction Act introduced major changes in two general tranches:  Changes generally relating to “lien modernization” and transition rules (in force July 1, 2018) Changes relating to prompt payment and adjudication (in force October 1, 2019)  The new Construction Act is dramatically different than the former Construction Lien Act, although […]

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