This new section of our e-newsletter features our clients and highlights their successes. In February, TDS had the opportunity to interview Claude Vielfaure from HyLife, a La Broquerie, Manitoba based food company. Although the current economic times have been a challenge for many industries, the pork sector has arguably faced some of the most significant challenges. High grain prices, a high Canadian dollar, low pork prices, and the U.S. mandated country-of-origin labelling are just a few examples of the obstacles the pork sector has had to overcome in the past few years. It is a big story when any company succeeds in this kind of a downturn. This is the story of HyLife, Ltd. and the secret of their success.
I will admit it. Everyday, along with tens of millions of others, I log onto my Facebook account to peruse the status updates of my 100 or so "friends" - a group made up of family, close friends, co-workers, and a random assortment of people I went to high school with, sat beside on the bus, or met in an elevator once. Recently, I noticed the status of one "friend" who had had a bad day at work and was clearly ready to vent about it. "Wait," I told him. "I wouldn't be too quick to post anything about work if I were you."
On February 11, 2011, the Supreme Court of Canada issued its decision in the Alberta case of Smith v. Alliance Pipeline Ltd. As Justice Fish colourfully described it, "The seeds of this dispute were sown in a thin layer of manure spread by the appellant on a strip of his land that the respondent was obliged to reclaim."
This article appeared in the spring edition of Municipal Leader Magazine and is reproduced with permission.
In Canada approximately 40% of marriages come to an end prematurely. Separation from a spouse is one of the most difficult, painful and stressful experiences that anyone will ever face. Children of separating parents face their own challenges. After a separation, individuals often experience feelings such as anxiety, isolation, anger, fear, guilt, depression, loss of control, incompetence and/or insecurity. For many, these emotions are at times almost overwhelming. It is important that anyone going through a separation or divorce seek advice from a family law lawyer as soon as possible after the separation.
As farms and agri-businesses get bigger and more sophisticated, there are not only new opportunities but also continuous and growing pressures on margins and on resources, both human and capital. Increasingly, this means drawing on the skills, knowledge, experience and in many instances, foresight and resources of others to meet these evolving needs.
Success requires getting the most out of professional and trusted advisers, including lawyers, accountants and lenders. No doubt, there are others - not only those who provide professional services, but those in the industry who have experience and specific knowledge.
This article appeared in a 2011 issue of Country Guide Magazine and is reproduced with permission.
Owners of family farms may take advantage of fairly simple planning strategies to minimize taxes and to creditor-proof their assets. This article looks primarily at how incorporation may be used to reduce your family tax burden while you are farming or in retirement, and to make effective use of capital gains provisions through your estate. A future article will focus more directly on the potential benefits of family trusts. Before selecting any such option, it is important to obtain legal, accounting and financial planning advice for your specific farm and family circumstances.
This article appeared in a 2011 edition of issue of Country Guide Magazine and is reproduced with permission.
In a wake-up call to employers across Canada, this past year has seen an increase in criminal charges against corporate employers and individual supervisors following a spate of fatal workplace accidents.
In February 2010, Millennium Crane Rentals Ltd., along with its owner and a crane operator were charged with criminal negligence causing death after an April 2009 accident where a mobile crane contracted by Sault Ste. Marie toppled into an excavation in which city workers were doing sewage work, crushing one of the workers to death.
This article appeared in the winter 2010 issue of Mid-Canada Forestry & Mining Magazine and is reproduced with permission.
In the past year, I've received more calls than ever about contracts with provisions that call for one or both parties to waive certain protections afforded to them under The Builders' Liens Act (the "Act").
Perhaps it is indicative of people taking a "DIY" approach to contract drafting, or the abundance of precedent contracts (from foreign jurisdictions) available on the internet, but I've definitely noticed an uptick in the presence of these clauses.
There's only one problem with lien waiver clauses - they are prohibited in Manitoba.
This article appeared in the Manitoba Heavy Construction Association newsletter, The Heavy News Weekly, and is reproduced with permission.
Lawsuits are common in the construction industry. When embarking on any major construction project, companies will often obtain insurance to protect themselves in the event of an accident (an event which is neither expected nor intended). However, on occasion a claim arises in relation to a construction project where a company may not have the protection it believed it had in place. As a result, the company finds itself being met by the insurance company saying that the claim falls outside the policy, and the insurer saying it has no duty to defend the company in the lawsuit. In such scenarios, what generally ensues is litigation between the company and the insurer on the issue of defence coverage.
This article appeared in the Manitoba Heavy Construction Association newsletter, The Heavy News Weekly, and is reproduced with permission.
Allison Fenske interviewed on CBC North Radio One Regarding Bill C-3
In January, Allison Fenske was interviewed on CBC North's Radio One on the morning show, Trailblazers regarding Bill C-3 restoring status to descendants of aboriginal women who married non-status men.
Sixteen lawyers from Thompson Dorfman Sweatman LLP (TDS) have been listed in the recent edition of The Best Lawyers in Canada by Best Lawyers®.
Don Douglas, CEO and Managing Partner of TDS says, "We know that TDS has some of the finest lawyers in Canada, which has now been confirmed by Best Lawyers, a nationally respected organization serving the legal profession."
The following sixteen TDS lawyers have been named in the 2011 edition of The Best Lawyers in Canada:
E. William Olson, Q.C. (alternative dispute resolution, bet-the-company litigation, construction law, corporate and commercial litigation, insurance law and labour and employment law),
Chrys Pappas, Q.C. (banking law, corporate law and real estate law),
If you have any questions or comments regarding this electronic newsletter, or would like to reproduce one of our articles in your publication please e-mail clientservices@tdslaw.com or call 204.934.2580.
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The Lex Mundi Guides to Doing Business are a collection of overviews written by Lex Mundi member firms that provide detailed information about each firm's country, state, or province. The Manitoba Guide was written by Silvia de Sousa of Thompson Dorfman Sweatman LLP, the Lex Mundi member firm in Manitoba, Canada.
In my last blog entry, I expressed my bewilderment at the fact that, although employers in Canada spend hundreds of millions of dollars each year negotiating and administering very detailed collective agreements which cover less than 1/3 of the Canadian workforce, a relatively small percentage of employees who are in positions senior to the unionized employees, or who work in a totally non-unionized environment, have any written employment agreements. In that blog, I urged employers to utilize an "ounce of prevention" and make use of such agreements rather than incurring significant legal costs later.
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This e-newsletter is presented for informational purposes only. The content does not constitute legal advice or solicitation and does not create a solicitor-client relationship. The views expressed are solely the authors' and should not be attributed to any other party, including Thompson Dorfman Sweatman LLP (TDS), its affiliate companies or its clients. The authors make no guarantees regarding the accuracy or adequacy of the information contained herein or linked to via this article. The authors are not able to provide free legal advice. If you are seeking advice on specific matters, please contact Don Douglas, CEO & Managing Partner at dgd@tdslaw.com, or 204.934.2466. Please be aware that any unsolicited information sent to the authors cannot be considered to be solicitor-client privileged.
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This new section of our e-newsletter features our clients and highlights their successes. In February, TDS had the opportunity to interview Claude Vielfaure from HyLife, a La Broquerie, Manitoba based food company. Although the current economic times have been a challenge for many industries, the pork sector has arguably faced some of the most significant challenges. High grain prices, a high Canadian dollar, low pork prices, and the U.S. mandated country-of-origin labelling are just a few examples of the obstacles the pork sector has had to overcome in the past few years. It is a big story when any company succeeds in this kind of a downturn. This is the story of HyLife, Ltd. and the secret of their success.
