Walsh LLP is pleased to have been given the opportunity to participate in the 2013 Mayor’s Showcase & Celebration of Citizenship, hosted by the Calgary Educational Partnership Foundation (CEPF). We are pleased that our contribution permitted even more students to attend this excellent educational initiative.
Walsh LLP’s guests at the event are pictured here with Mayor Nenshi.
Walsh LLP is committed to contributing to its community by providing more than just legal services.
Over the years, we have connected with our community through annual food drives, adopt-a-family programs and community scholarships. We are committed to doing more.
This year we partnered with Ryan Russell-Timbrell in his quest to become a full-time staff member for Youth Unlimited. Ryan is a member of StreetLight (a division of Youth Unlimited), a mobile drop-in center in downtown Calgary that focuses on assisting street youth aged 12-24. Our firm is proud to support and stand behind Ryan and his vision for turning his mobile cart (equipped with food, drinks, snacks, water bottles, and warm clothing) into a focal point for building relationships and instilling hope in street youth.
We are also an excited partner with Social Venture Partners Calgary. Social Venture Partners is a non-profit organization that focuses on capacity building for existing non-profits and not-for-profit organizations in Calgary. Our firm is pleased to be part of SVP and its program in assisting current investees (the Autism Asperger’s Friendship Society, the ALEX and Two Wheel View), and to participate in Calgary’s first annual SVP “Fast Pitch” Event – an Expo giving local non-profit and not-for-profit organizations an opportunity to compete in for prize money as well as professional services.
Walsh LLP has a longstanding relationship with Treaty 7 First Nations. In addition to recognizing the importance of and supporting spiritual and cultural activities within the community, this year we were able to focus on education and minor activities in those communities. We were honoured to support the Treaty 7 Caregivers Conference and to be invited into schools on the Blood Reserve, to meet with children from grades 1 – 3 and contribute school supplies for just over 300 students. We look forward to participating in high school career fairs and providing support for ongoing career development.
Walsh LLP is pleased to announce its association with Wellspring Calgary and Pro Bono Lawyers Alberta. Volunteer lawyers from Walsh LLP will be providing free summary legal advice to clients of Wellspring Calgary who are living with cancer.
Volunteer lawyers will support cancer patients with issues related to Long Term Disability (LTD) or employment issues through the delivery of a monthly legal advice clinic and legal information sessions. The clinics will be delivered as an extension of Wellspring’s “Money Matters” program.
Wellspring Calgary is a warm and welcoming community that provides a comprehensive range of support, resources and programs so anyone living with cancer and the people who care about them can improve the quality of their lives.
Walsh LLP is pleased to provide unique avenue for lawyers to volunteer in a pro bono capacity.
Stephen was called to the Alberta Bar in May of 2015 after completing his articles at a boutique family law firm in Calgary. Stephen has appeared on behalf of his clients in both the Court of Queen’s Bench and the Provincial Court of Alberta. Stephen will be a member of the Family Law practice group at Walsh LLP.
After completing her Commerce Degree in Halifax and working for a few years in that City, Laura attended Law School at Dalhousie University and Articled in Ottawa prior to moving to Calgary. Laura was called to the Alberta Bar in August of 2014 and worked at a boutique family law firm in Calgary prior to joining Walsh LLP. Laura will be a member of the Family Law practice group at Walsh LLP.
It is with mixed emotions that Walsh LLP announces Ray Hunt’s retirement from the practice of law. Walsh LLP and Ray have immensely enjoyed many years of friendship and, with that, Ray’s numerous contributions to firm life, from his obvious care for his colleagues and the profession as a whole, to his regaling stories of firm lore.
Since he joined the Firm in 1978 as an articling student, Ray has been a valued and respected member of Walsh LLP, throughout its history of assisting Albertans with their legal questions and decisions. In his years with the firm, Ray has served as a Special Prosecutor for Justice Canada, has developed a practice in commercial law and matrimonial law, and has appeared in those causes in all levels of court in Alberta.
Ray is known by his colleagues both at Walsh LLP and outside the firm, as a man of integrity, honour, and dignity. In the practice of law, he strove unfailingly to achieve a level of respect for the parties and the process that earned him the admiration of lawyers and students at Walsh LLP, whom Ray enjoyed mentoring and with whom he shared the rich history and banter of Walsh LLP.
Walsh LLP thanks Ray Hunt for his many years of dedication, and wishes him the best of years in his retirement. To mark this special occasion, Walsh LLP is pledging a donation of $2,500 in Ray’s name, to the Multiple Sclerosis Society of Canada (Calgary & Area Chapter), to help the community in which Ray practiced law and dedicated his many years of care and commitment.
With the exception of cash deals, tenancy at will agreements are signed in virtually all residential real estate transactions in Alberta. While closing dates typically precede or mirror possession dates, there will occasionally be situations where a delay pushes the closing date beyond the possession date. Tenancy at will agreements address such situations by allowing the purchaser to take possession of the property prior to closing on the condition that the purchaser pay a rental fee to the seller. In the majority of real estate transactions, the tenancy at will agreement is a precautionary measure that is never used. However, one area of real estate where tenancy at will agreements are acted upon with regularity are new condominium purchases.
New condominium purchases offer a unique real estate problem because of the delay between the completion of the condominium and its registration with the Land Titles office. Section 14(3) of the Condominium Property Act states that without registration, ownership of condominium units cannot be transferred from the builder to the purchaser. Before individual units can be registered, the condominiums themselves must be registered. To be registered, the condominiums must receive a number of permits from the municipality. To receive many of these permits, the condominium build must be near completion. Unfortunately, the volume of the administrative work required means that many condominiums are fully built and ready to be lived in prior to their registration with Land Titles. If builders waited for registration before allowing possession, unit owners would be subject to prolonged and unpredictable delays. Tenancy at will agreements are the solution to this problem.
When a delay is expected between possession and closing, the builder will inform the purchaser’s solicitor of the estimated length of the delay and instruct the solicitor to collect tenancy at will rents for a period in excess of the estimate. The builder will then hold the rent payments in trust and use only the funds necessary for the duration of the tenancy at will. Any unused funds will be returned to the purchaser upon the funding of the mortgage.
It is important to note that on new condominium purchases a mortgage cannot fund until the purchaser is registered on title, and therefore the purchaser will not be paying both the mortgage and tenancy at will at the same time. If the funding of the mortgage occurs after the specified first payment, the payments will adjust for the delay on a pro rata basis. Further, the purchaser should not expect to pay any more than they otherwise would be paying towards the interest component of their mortgage because the amount of the rent is usually calculated at mortgage rate mortgage amount. In other words, the purchaser will not be out be out additional funds via the tenancy at will.
Ultimately, tenancy at will agreements in new condominium builds operate to provide purchasers with the soonest possible possession of their units. Without such agreements, purchasers would have to wait weeks while permits were granted, documents were processed and titles were registered. The onerous costs of these delays make tenancy at will agreements an invaluable asset in new condominium purchases.
If you are interested in more information about condominium builds, or have other real estate law inquiries, please do not hesitate to contact the Walsh LLP Real Estate Group.
As the summer nears many parents are beginning to plan summer vacations with their school aged children. If you are a parent who is separated from your child’s other parent and you are planning to travel with your child outside of Canada some additional planning (and documentation) is required before you leave on vacation.
Foreign Affairs Canada strongly recommends that children travelling abroad carry a notarized Travel Consent Letter from every person who has the legal right to make major decisions on a minor child’s behalf if one or more of those persons is not accompanying the child on the trip. For example, if a minor child is travelling abroad by themselves, with only one parent, or with a group or club under another adult’s supervision a notarized Travel Consent Letter is highly recommended.
Without a notarized Travel Consent Letter your child may be prevented by customs and border officials from leaving Canada or from entering a foreign country.
If you are a parent who will be travelling alone with your minor child outside of Canada it is important you plan ahead. Sample Travel Consent Letters are available from Foreign Affairs Canada and can be easily completed by a child’s legal guardians and parents. It is also important that your child’s Travel Consent Letter be notarized by a lawyer or notary public.
Should you require assistance the Walsh LLP Family Law Group is able to assist parents with the notarization of Travel Consent Letters and has extensive experience advising individuals on a wide range of family law matters that arise upon separation and divorce.
As the date of your wedding nears there are likely many things on your mind – venues, dresses, the cake, the band – but it is also important during this busy time to consider whether you and your partner need to discuss and make plans concerning your individual or joint assets and debts before you marry.
Pre-Nuptial Agreements are becoming increasingly common as parties recognize that a Pre-Nuptial Agreement can be a flexible planning document that can achieve many purposes and provide certainty and security to both parties. A Pre-Nuptial Agreement can do many thing such as:
As a Pre-Nuptial Agreement sets out each person’s entitlement to and responsibility for assets accumulated and debts incurred during the marriage it is important that each person receive legal advice from a lawyer before entering into a Pre-Nuptial Agreement. This ensures that each person fully understands their legal rights and responsibilities and the effect of the Pre-Nuptial Agreement they are entering into, as well as ensuring that the Agreement is legally enforceable.
If you and your partner are considering entering into a Pre-Nuptial Agreement we would encourage you to speak with a member of Walsh LLP’s Family Law Group whom have extensive experience advising individuals on a wide range of topics and important considerations that arise prior to and upon marriage.
There is no law in Canada that says you must retire at the age of 65. Why? Because courts and Human Rights Tribunals have adopted the position that to permit employers to impose mandatory retirement, which is solely based on age, is discrimination.
Pursuant to the Alberta Human Rights Act, it is recognized in Alberta as a fundamental principle and as a matter of public policy that all persons are equal in: dignity, rights and responsibilities without regard to race, religious beliefs, colour, gender, physical disability, mental disability, age, ancestry, place of origin, marital status, source of income, family status or sexual orientation. These are known as the enumerated grounds of discrimination. Age explicitly being one of them. As such, the Alberta Human Rights Act further states that no employer shall refuse to employ or refuse to continue to employee any person based on age or any other enumerated ground. Mandatory retirement at the age of 65 is considered to be a refusal to employ an employee based on age. Age discrimination may also apply to other aspects of ones conditions of employment such as, but not limited to, salary, duties, training or opportunity for promotions.
However, as is the case with many legal issues, there is an exception to this rule. The Alberta Human Rights Act states that a breach of one’s human rights shall be deemed not to have occurred if the breach was reasonable and justifiable in the circumstances. Courts have found that mandatory retirement is justifiable if mandatory retirement is based on a bona fide occupational requirement. The bona fide occupational requirement test is a threefold test, which is generally justified in positions that are safety sensitive, such as firefighters, police officers and bus drivers.
Whether or not a mandatory retirement policy is discriminatory or justified (from either the perspective of an employee or employer), must be determined on a case by case basis taking into account the merits and unique circumstances of each independent matter.
For assistance or additional information on mandatory retirement and its applicability to your specific circumstances, please contact Joshua D. Sutherland and Walsh LLP directly at 403-267-8400, via our toll free number 800-304-3574, or by e-mail (ac.walhslaw@dnalrehtusj).
Statement of claim alleges AHS and health minister conspired against executive
A former health executive is suing the Minister of Health Fred Horne and Alberta Health Services for breach of employment contract, defamation and loss of income, according to the Edmonton Journal. The executive is seeking damages of more than $5.5 million, claiming the health minister and AHS conspired to make the executive a scapegoat for other government expense scandals that were occurring at the time.
Executive accused of misusing expense account
The executive, who was hired as the chief financial officer of the AHS in May 2012 saw his employment terminated on August 1 of that same year. The termination came about just as information was coming to light about his time as an executive with the Capital Health Authority in 2005-08.
That information showed that the executive claimed approximately $350,000 in expenses while with the Capital Health Authority. The expenses, which included expensive meals, car upgrades, and car washes, created a controversy in the media at the time.
The executive claims that the AHS initially told him that they would continue to support him in his role as chief financial officer and that the two parties were working on a public relations plan to combat the negative publicity. However, according to the executive, the AHS was conspiring with Horne to fire him in order to make him a scapegoat for other government scandals.
Lawsuit claims irreparable harm
The executive claims that ever since the termination of his contract his reputation has suffered irreparable harm and that the prospects of him being re-employed at a senior executive level in Canada have been extremely damaged. The executive is also seeking to overturn AHS’s previous decision to withhold his severance pay.
The executive has always claimed that the expense claims were legitimate and followed the rules set down at the time by Capital Health. Furthermore, a legal opinion previously submitted to Horne said that the AHS would be unlikely to succeed if it sued the executive to get back the expenses that were claimed.
Horne and the AHS refused to comment on the lawsuit and a statement of defence has yet to be submitted.
Dealing with employment disputes
The above case shows just how important it is for businesses and corporations to deal with employment disputes quickly and effectively. Any company accused of breach of employment contract, or a company that is dealing with other legal matters surrounding business and corporate law, needs to make sure they have qualified legal counsel on hand at all times. A business and corporate law firm can provide the expertise a company needs when dealing with complicated legal issues and will work closely with the company to make sure that any outstanding concerns are resolved satisfactorily.
© 2020 by Walsh LLP.
All rights reserved.
2800, 801 6th Avenue SW
Calgary, AB T2P 4A3
Phone: 403-267-8400
Toll free: 800-304-3574
Fax: 403-264-9400
Suite 205, 830 8th Street,
Canmore, AB T1W 2B7
Phone: 403-267-8400
Toll free: 800-304-3574
Fax: 403-264-9400
4916 – 2nd Street West
Claresholm, AB T0L 0T0
Phone: 403-267-8400
Toll free: 800-304-3574
Fax: 403-264-9400
205, 15 McRae Street
Okotoks, AB T1S 1A7
Phone: 403-267-8400
Toll free: 800-304-3574
Fax: 403-264-9400
PO Box 270
Stand Off, AB T0L 1Y0
Phone: 403-737-8050
Toll free: 800-304-3574
Fax: 403-264-9400
