Reference Questions & Answers Database

LiRN would like to build a knowledge database of research questions & answers for the network. This is your chance to share with your colleagues if you have had a unique or interesting reference question and how you were able to answer it efficiently. Or if you have a Q&A that is something that is frequently encountered and you wish to save your colleagues time & effort. Please suggest tags for your questions so that it will help users as this reference database grows.

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Reference Questions & Answers 

Books of Authority

I am looking for the list of criminal and other cases that need not be filed in Books of Authority/Caselaw in the Superior Court because they are so frequently referred to and relied on in court.

Ontario Courts

Criminal Code

Criminal Code Sections – Historical Versions

Example Question & Reply:    I don’t have a 1981 or 1982 criminal code, but you can see that changes in the sexual offences section of the criminal code didn’t happen until 1981-83 (and came into force on Jan 4, 1983).  The Revised Statutes of Canada in 1985 show the full revision of the Criminal Code that incorporates the changes from 1972 to 1983 and the sexual offences section is re-numbered. Searching for the following criminal code sections as worded during the following timeframes: s.149(1) CC between 1 June 1976- 31 Dec 1982, 146(1) between 1 June 1976- 31 Dec 1982, 156 between 1 January 1977- 31 Dec 1981, 156 between 16 March 1979-31 Dec 1981, 149 between 1 June 197 to 31 Dec 1979, 146(1) between 1 June 1977 to 31 Dec 1979 Reply:

  • Revised Statutes of Canada 1970 – criminal code sections
  • Martins Annual Criminal Code 1980 – sections 146-156
  • Martins Annual Criminal Code 1983 – sections 146-156
  • Contributed by Helen Heerema, Thunder Bay Law Association

Sentences – Concurrent vs. Consecutive

There are secondary sources that say that, per the Criminal Code, all sentences are assumed to be concurrent (except for certain exceptions). Looking for the wording for this in the Criminal Code. Is it hiding somewhere in 718?

Consecutive vs. Concurrent Sentences

  • Sentencing : Principles and Practice / Danielle Robitaille, Erin Winocur. Criminal Law Series ; 12. 2020.  Emond.  Criminal Law Series.
    • Consult sec. 718.3(4)-(7)
  • Contributed by John Kerr, Wellington Law Association

 

Easements

Texts to consult via Great Library/Courthouse Library catalogue:

  • Gale on Easements (1997) Not a lot of changes in the area of easements
  • Law of Limitations by Mew.  4th 2023  GL has Electronic edition
  • Title searching and conveyancing in Ontario by Moore.  7th ed 2017.  GL has Electronic edition
  • Real Estate Practice in Ontario by Quinn.  10th ed 2023.  GL has Electronic edition
  • Covenants concerning the Use of Land.  OBA 2006.
  • Not Just Another Pretty Lake:  Cottage and Rural Issues in Real Estate Conveyancing.  CBA-O  1999
  • Six Minute Real Estate Lawyer 2022. and 2019 LSO CPD
  • Contributed by Helen Heerema, Thunder Bay Law Association

Education Act – Historical Versions

Do you know where I could find a historical version of the Education Act, in particular one in force in 1982-83?

  • There is no easy way to obtain a consolidation of the Education Act (Ontario) for 1982 – 1983, unless there is on some library shelf somewhere an annotated version for one of those years.  Most libraries maintain the current year only.  The LU Education Library only has scattered volumes.
  • I have attached links to the consolidated 1980 Education Act (RSO) and the 1990 Education Act (RSO).  When you review the 1990 consolidation, you will see when the government changed a section of the act, then you have to work backwards in the annual statute volumes to review the changes.
  • Education Act (RSO – 1990 consolidation)-   https://digitalcommons.osgoode.yorku.ca/rso/vol1990/iss3/31/
  • Education Act (RSO – 1980 consolidation) – https://digitalcommons.osgoode.yorku.ca/rso/vol1980/iss2/38/
  • These should be available on the Osgoode Digital Commons at York University as well.  I also have the Ontario Revised Statutes for 1980 and 1990 in print on our shelves, as well as the annual statute volumes.  If there is a particular section of the act you are investigating, I can check  a little further for you, such as the debate in the 80s about Catholic school funding.
  • Also, I have a copy of the 2023 Annotated Ontario Education Act on our shelves, as well as Education Statutes and Regulations of Ontario, 2020 ed.
  • Contributed by Helen Heerema, Thunder Bay Law Association

Environmental Issues

Checklist Overview of Key Environmental Provisions

  • Canadian Forms & Precendents
    • Sale and Operation of a Business – Checklists- 2C9 Checklist of Environmental Issues
    • 2F3 Environmental Issues  – Land Development – Purchase of Land for Development – Forms
    • 2C10 Checklist Overview of Key Environmental Contractual Provisions – Sale and Operation of a Business
    • Sale and Operation of a Business –   CHAPTER 2 – SALE OF A BUSINESS  >  Commentary  >  III. Due Diligence and Investigations  >  V. Environmental Considerations
  • Textbooks pulled included:  Toxic Real Estate Manual, some LSO CPDs, Environmental regulations looseleaf, etc.
  • Contributed by Helen Heerema, Thunder Bay Law Association

Expert Evidence

Can you send me the Civil Rules please for Identifying impartiality in expert evidence? R.R.O. 1990, Reg. 194: RULES OF CIVIL PROCEDURE -duty of experts to the court, the standard of impartiality is covered in Rule 4.1.01(1).  However, it must be read in conjunction with Rule 53.03 which deals with expert reports.  Contributed by Judith Dale, Hastings & PE County Law Association

Family Law

Cases with only Initials in the Names of the parties

  • Example:  Children’s Aid Society of London and Middlesex v. T.E., [2022] O.J. No. 6038
  • These can be tricky to find and you need to ask the lawyer requesting the case for any additional information that they may have.  They may be providing you with what they think you need rather than all that they have.
  • For example, the lawyer may have the easy-to-search court file number but doesn’t think to include that in the request. They might know the judge’s name or the date (or even just the year), or maybe the name of counsel.
  • Sometimes the case on Westlaw or CanLII might have the initials in the opposite order as they are on Lexis+
  • Contributed by Cynthia Simpson, Middlesex Law Association.

Spousal Support
I’m looking at retroactive spousal support. The wife is suffering hardship and husband may be hiding assets.

  • Consult the Spousal Support Guidelines
  • Halsbury’s Laws of Canada on Lexis+ (annotated with case law): HIC-91 Determining payor’s income/imputing income; HFA-112 Valuation of assets- disclosure; HFA-203 Grounds for support entitlement; HFA-204 Economic advantages & disadvantages; HIC-102 – Discretion of the court.
  • The Ten Hardest Spousal Support Cases, 2019 CanLIIDocs 3936
  • Ontario Family Law Practice: 15.2 Spousal support orders (annotated with case references to retroactive spousal support)
  • Spousal Support Eh: Sorry, Not Your American Alimony R. Thompson 2018 – HeinOnline
  • The Year in Spousal Support: Appeals, Material Changes and More R. Thompson 2018- Access CLE
  • Spousal Support: Riches, Retirement, Retro; Spousal Support Advisory Guidelines: The Revised User’s Guide, R. Thompson 2021 – Access CLE   
  • Contributed by Judith Dale, Hastings & PE County Law Association

Forest Fire Prevention Act

I am looking for a resource that may assist with an issue of the application of the Forest Fires Prevention Act and a Municipalities’ rights and responsibilities under the FFPA.

 

Forms & Precedents

Wavier of Liability Precedent
 “I was wondering if you could find a Waiver of Liability precedent that I might be able to use. “

  • First begin searching Lexis+ Practical Guidance database using keyword search “Waiver of Liability”
  • This will return many hits but we need to filter through, by selecting Precedents in the side bar and then further filtering by clicking Provincial & Federal and ensuring we receive only Ontario precedents.
  • Upon seeing the results, which include a Waiver and Release precedent, Rease of Liability and Waiver Agreement, you may need more information as all of these are vary greatly, some being related to product development, participation in an event, investments, etc . Respond to the lawyer and inquire for more information, which returned this:
  • “I’m acting for a purchaser of a property and in the Agreement of Purchase of Sale the parties have agree to permit the seller to store certain items on the property free of charge for a specified time after closing.  Part of this agreement requires the seller to sign a waiver of liability – thereby relieving the buyer of any liability for the items stored while on the property.”
  • Upon receiving this information, I now have a much better understanding of what I am looking for. This specific situation the lawyer is looking for has to do with a Storage Agreement. With this new information we can search Lexis+ Practical Guidance for a Storage Agreement. However, utilizing the same searching method as above, Lexis+ does not have any such precedent.
  • In this situation, you will have to search other databases, the next best database would be O’Brien’s.
  • If you have O’Brien’s through Westlaw (or the hardcopy like we do, albeit a little outdated) you should search there next.
  • Searching Storage Agreement in the search box and filtering through O’Brien’s Encyclopedia of Forms you will receive many hits. From here you will have to use some deductive reasoning, as you will see Lease Provision, License Agreement, etc. Many of these make mention of lease storage space, but it is not specific to what our lawyer is looking for, such as mentioning tenant storage in the Lease Provision or data storage in the Service Level Agreement.
  • Reading on further we find a precedent called “Storage Agreement”. This precedent is located under Division I – Commercial and General – Chapter 15: Bailment – II. Storage – A. General and B. Optional Clauses.  When we read into this precedent further, we notice that the optional clauses relate to storage location, standard of care of bailee, insurance, etc.  This is what the lawyer is looking for. We can either download it (if you have this subscription) or scan it from the hardcopy and email it to your lawyer.
  • Contributed by Justin Ball, SD&G Law Association

Municipal Law

Specifically a resource that might have something on the scope of a municipality’s ability to add items to its tax roll.

  • The Law of Canadian Municipal Corporations / Rogers (looseleaf)
  • Ontario Municipal Law: a User’s Manual / Rouleau, Bar-Moshe (2023)
  • Ontario Property Tax Assessment Handbook / Walker, Grad (looseleaf)
  • Title Searching and Conveyancing in Ontario, 7th ed. /  Moore (2017)
    • Realty Taxes and related assessments – Chapter 14 – Off-Title Inquiries
  • Lexis+ Search:
    • Canadian Forms & Precedents – Municipal Law –  5F2 Municipal By-law — Establishing Certain User Fees and Charges for Services, Activities or the Use of Property
  • Contributed by Helen Heerema, Thunder Bay Law Association

Wills

Knowledge of a Will Notice
The procedure at H&PELA is to go through one of our local lawyers, who will email a will notice (containing full name of the deceased listed by surname in capitals followed by their given name, their date of birth, date of death, last location of residence, and any other details that the sender feels might be pertinent to the search).  The H&PELA member-lawyer then emails the request to me, I circulate it to the wills & estates listserv, and the replies go to the lawyer who circulated the notice.  Contributed by Judith Dale, Hastings & PE County Law Association. Mutual Wills Mutual wills are distinguished from joint wills, the latter being one document executed by two parties. Mutual wills are two wills, one executed by each of two individuals who have agreed to a specific estate plan.

Ordinary Meaning Rule
I am trying to locate the most recent edition of Feeney’s Canadian Law of Wills. I believe there is a section called “The Ordinary Meaning Rule” which I would like to review.

  • “11.104 to  11.181 (section D: The meaning of some particular words)”.  We have this looseleaf on our shelves if you wish to borrow it. It is regularly updated.
  • Contributed by Helen Heerema, Thunder Bay Law Association

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