Blog
The Desautels Centre Blog features insightful discussions on legal issues of concern to small and medium and enterprises, as well as family firms. Contributors to the blog include Robson Hall students, lawyers, alumni, affiliated researchers, and faculty members. Blog posts are crafted to be concise, timely, and valuable to our audience in Manitoba and across the Prairies.
We encourage all interested parties to visit the blog regularly for the latest legal analysis on issues affecting small to medium enterprises.
Alumni of Robson Hall and other academics, politicians, public servants and practicing professionals are invited to contact us about contributing to our Blog. Please email our Blog Coordinator, Dr. Natella Roskoshna Malazoniia to inquire.
Recent Blog Posts:
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Desautels Centre Generously Sponsors Canadian National Negotiation Competition
March 15, 2025 — Nine years ago, the University of Manitoba’s Faculty of Law hosted the inaugural national negotiation competition at Robson Hall, which has been run annually since then. The […]
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The Contention between Unilateralism and Multilateralism in International Taxation
Written by Opeyemi Bello The proliferation of the Digital Services Tax (DST) continues to spark the debate over whether unilateralism or multilateralism more effectively addresses the tax challenges posed by […]
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Tariff Turmoil: How U.S. Tariffs Are Impacting Manitoba Businesses
With the looming implementation of U.S. tariffs on Canadian imports, businesses in Manitoba are facing rising uncertainty. A recent survey by the Winnipeg Chamber of Commerce reveals that many Manitoba […]
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Understanding the Accessible Canada Act: What Business Leaders Need to Know*
The Accessible Canada Act (ACA) represents a cornerstone of accessibility law in Canada. For businesses operating within federal jurisdiction—such as banks, airports, Crown corporations, or postal services—it is crucial to understand the […]
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Business Law and the Accessible Canada Act: Navigating Legal Obligations for Inclusivity*
In today’s increasingly diverse society, businesses are recognizing the importance of inclusivity and accessibility—not only from a moral and ethical standpoint but also as a legal obligation. One key piece […]
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Mayor’s Luncheon
Written by Connor Giesbrecht On June 13, 2024, students from the Manitoba Legal Clinic for the Arts joined local artists and supporters of the arts at the 16th annual Mayor’s Luncheon […]
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Reflections on recent developments on artificial intelligence regulation in Canada and abroad
Written by Rebecca Parry, Nottingham Law School, Nottingham Trent University, UK Artificial intelligence is seen as having transformative potential for Canada, as recently illustrated by the announcement of a large package […]
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Reflections on the 17th Annual Canadian Law Student Conference
Written by Justin Papoff On March 14th and 15th, I had opportunity to attend the 17th annual Canadian Law Student Conference held in Windsor, Ontario. I attended alongside my fellow third-year classmates, Matthew London […]
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Increased Transparency But At What Cost? – Bill C42
Written by Abhinav Dhingra Introduction Bill C-42, which received royal assent on November 2nd, 2023, is known as “An Act to amend the Canada Business Corporations Act and to make […]
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The Federal Courts Advantage in Civil Procedure
Written by Gerard Kennedy In a recent article to be published in the Canadian Bar Review, supported by Desautels Centre funding, I analyzed whether procedure in the Federal Court and Federal Court of Appeal […]
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Small Businesses in the North
Arctic Adventures in Business Law – Challenge and Potential of Operating a Small or Family Business in Canada’s North Written by Rebecca Jaremko Bromwich As those of us working in the […]
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Paper Awarded the Canadian Tax Foundation – Bert Wolfe Nitikman Foundation Award for the Western Provinces
Written by Matthew London In the fall 2022 semester, I authored a paper titled “Incentivizing Giving via the Removal of Capital Gains Tax from the Donation of Private Company Shares” […]
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The intersection of private enterprise and the law in the Canadian business history, the Canadian auto industry, and in Canada’s broader postwar political economy
Written by Dimitry Anastakis, LR Wilson/RJ Currie Chair in Canadian Business History University of Toronto, Department of History and Rotman School of Management and Affiliated Researcher, Desautels Centre As an […]
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Review of the 27th Session of the Committee of Experts on International Cooperation in Tax Matters
Written by Isha Khandelwal* The 27th session of the United Nations (‘UN’) Tax Committee (‘the committee’), a subsidiary group of the United Nations Economic and Social Council, was held at […]
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Corporate Social Responsibility Does Not Generally Call for Political Speech
Written by Rebecca Jaremko Bromwich Elie Wiesel famously said in his 1986 Nobel Prize acceptance speech that “we must take sides; neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim.” I tend to agree […]
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Analyzing Court Processes to Promptly Resolve Cases on their Merits
Written by Gerard Kennedy By and large, staying out of court is a good idea for business. At times, however, lawsuits become necessary. At other times, they may not be […]
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After the Curtain Falls on the US-led EDI Show: Focus on the Equality Work
Written by Rebecca Jaremko Bromwich The past few years have seen popular culture swept away in dramatic media cycles about equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI), driven primarily by events in […]
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The Power of AI for Negotiations
Photo credit: Rawpixel.com on Freepik Written by: Khaled Abdelwahab INTRODUCTION Will AI replace human negotiators? In this blog, we dive into the world of transformational technologies, such as artificial intelligence […]
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Azam v Andrews Custom Furniture Designs Inc.
Written by Xiyuan Feng In Azam v Andrews Custom Furniture Designs Inc.,[1] a recent judgement of the Supreme Court of British Columbia, the Court acknowledged that receiving, and, if necessary, […]
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Employees For Keeps: Some Best Practice Suggestions for Employee Retention in Small and Family-Run Businesses
Both economic and cultural factors strongly suggest it is better to hire employees, to the greatest extent possible, “for keeps”. This is particularly challenging with today’s low unemployment rates. Employee turnover is expensive, imposing monetary costs (as much as $100,000 for a single employee) as well as leading to a “downward spiral” in worker morale…
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When Insolvency Meets Arbitration: The Supreme Court’s Ruling in Peace River v Petrowest
A natural tension exists where a company that is subject to insolvency proceedings (such as bankruptcy) is also a party to an arbitration agreement. In such cases, there may be conflicting decisions issued by the arbitrator and the insolvency court, or there may be disagreement about which forum has the authority to hear the dispute.…
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Certainty and Partnership Arrangements – Key Components to Consider
When embarking on a business venture, it is crucial to set out clear definitions of roles and relationships of all interested parties involved. This can be especially important when seeking to create a formal business partnership, since such an arrangement gives rise to special legal obligations between the partners (as well as legal implications in…
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Typos and Contracts
This is a cautionary tale about attention to clerical detail! Can a typo in a contract prevent a deal from being reached? Apparently, yes, at least insofar as essential terms of the contract are concerned. In 1132080 B.C. Ltd. v 1055616 B.C. Ltd.,[1] one mistake in the party’s name invalidated a contract related to the…
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Certainty and Partnership Arrangements – Key Components to Consider
Written by Ty Schmit When embarking on a business venture, it is crucial to have clear definitions of roles and relationships of all interested parties involved in the venture. This […]
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Equity, Diversity and Inclusion – “Mentorability” as an Example for Small and Family-Run Businesses
Over the past decade, large corporations and BigLaw firms have increasingly institutionalized departments with staff specifically paid to improve their equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI). However, smaller, and family-run businesses are often in a position where they must work towards improving their EDI initiatives without the benefit of specifically dedicated staff.
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Faculty of Law thankful for Desautels legacy of Private Enterprise and the Law
The Faculty of Law joins the University of Manitoba community in remembering its extraordinary benefactor and alum, Marcel A. Desautels, CM, OOnt, OM. A former business leader and one of UM’s, and the Faculty of Law’s most distinguished benefactors and alumni, he passed away on January 31, 2023, at age 88.
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Pension Progress or Pension Peril? Examining the Debate Surrounding Bill C-228
Written by Virginia Torrie and Connor Jonsson New legislation aimed at reforming insolvency proceedings to prioritize pensioners has taken another important step toward becoming law. Bill C-228, which started as […]
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SNC-Lavalin and Remediation Agreements: Part II – The First Remediation Agreement is Granted
Written by Darcy L. MacPherson In an earlier blog on this site,[1] I discussed the then-newly minted (as of 2018) remediation agreement regime which was added by an amendment to […]
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Blackmore v Carmanah Final
Written by Xiyuan Feng A shareholder agreement is a contract among some or all[1] of the shareholders for governing their relationship in governance of the corporation, It is an agreement […]
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Wolverton Pacific Partnerships v Triple F Investments Ltd
A “shotgun” clause is a mechanism found within a shareholder agreement that provides shareholders a means to address deadlocks or disagreements and typically involve one shareholder offering to buy out the other shareholder(s) at a specified price. The other shareholder(s) must either accept the offer and sell their shares or buy out the shareholder who…
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Secured creditors’ rights will not be extinguished by recharacterizing collateral after default
As is well-known in the realm of Canada’s secured transaction law, both the secured party and the debtor are entitled to a number of rights and also owe certain obligations to the other party, pursuant to contract and statute. Such rights and obligations are in place for the objectives of fairness, transparency and commercial certainty,…
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Lessons from “ Succession” Closely Held and Family Businesses and Family Law Should Proactively Seek Family Law Advice
Written by Rebecca Jaremko-Bromwich The American dark comedy Succession,[1] that has aired since 2018 on HBO, centres around the dysfunctional battles between members of a family for control of a […]
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Digitalization and automation of business and law: Inherent dimensions of artificial intelligence that cannot be missed
Digitalization and automation exponentially capture all areas of our society. If a few decades ago today`s technologies seemed to be our far future, but to date, it is our reality, that we encounter every day. Sometimes we cannot imagine our life without these new contemporary technologies, even we cannot go a day without using new…
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O Brother, Where Art Thou? – A cautionary tale of conflict in closely-held corporations.
The recent decision of the British Columbia Court of Appeal in Petersen v Hawley, 2022 BCCA 169 provides excellent perspective on what can happen when two shareholders of a closely-held corporation come to an irreconcilable deadlock. The Court of Appeal ordered liquidation of the closely held company in this case. The decision and its underlying…
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A court’s equitable jurisdiction has its limits in a commercial loan contract
Written by Ty Schmidt In the recent decision of Century Services Corp v. LeRoy, taking place amidst a protracted foreclosure proceeding, the British Columbia Court of Appeal found that the […]
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“Fair and Balanced Approach” to Minimum Wage Increase in Manitoba
The minimum wage is the lowest amount, per hour, that employers need to pay their employees in Manitoba. With ever so increasing costs of living, a minimum wage increase comes as no surprise. At the beginning of the year amendments were made to the Employment Standards Code to increase minimum wage to exceed the rate…
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So, what are trademarks exactly?
Perhaps more than anything else, a trademark is what makes a business instantly recognizable in the marketplace. The most successful corporations on the planet have trademarks that are known from coast to coast to coast: Coca-Cola with its curvy-cursive namesake, Nike’s game-winning checkmark, and Canadian Tire’s big red triangle are just a few examples we…
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While you’re sleeping: Do consent waivers protect you?
Written by Johanna Thiessen Consent waivers are designed to limit an organization’s reach into your privacy. However, they do not guarantee that organizations will stay within those boundaries. Consumers are […]
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Business Law and Reconciliation in Canada: Economic Reconciliation in Corporate Social Responsibility
Colonization and the Residential School System in Canada continue to deeply impact Indigenous peoples today. To make amends for the harm that has been inflicted on Indigenous Peoples, it is important to acknowledge that the work of reconciliation is multifaceted and is the duty of all Canadians. Additionally, with the second annual National Day for…
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An Historical Account of the Orderly Payment of Debts Act Reference: Limiting Provincial Efforts to Protect Insolvent Debtors
Thomas G.W. Telfer is a Professor, Western University, Faculty of Law, and an Affiliated Researcher with the Desautels Centre for Private Enterprise and the Law. Virginia Torrie is an Associate […]