Insurance Blogs hosted by Canadian Underwriter
Insurance Blogs hosted by Canadian Underwriter
Bill 53, Protecting Passenger Safety Act, 2015 received second reading this past week and has been referred to the Standing Committee on Social Policy.
The bill was introduced to address transportation network companies such as Uber and Lyft which have been operating in Toronto since 2012. The bill was introduced by Liberal John Fraser and considered a private member’s bill which rarely get passed. However, there is broad support for the bill and the Conservatives introduced a similar private bill (Bill 51) in December.
Bill 53 if passed would amends the Highway Traffic Act with respect to the offences related to picking up a passenger for the purpose of transporting him or her for compensation without a required licence, permit or authorization in section 39.1 of the Act. The licence or permit may fall under the Public Vehicles Act, an airport authority, the Department of Transport Act (Canada) or a municipal by-law. The bill does not address insurance requirements.
The fine for these offences is increased to a maximum of $30,000. A person who picks up a passenger for the purpose of transporting him or her for compensation without a required licence, permit or authorization also receives three demerit points.
If a police officer believes on reasonable and probable grounds that a person has committed this offence after having been convicted of the same offence within the preceding five years, the officer shall suspend the driver’s licence and impound his or her motor vehicle for 30 days.
New inspection powers that were included in the Fighting Fraud and Reducing Automobile Insurance Rates Act, 2014 come into effect on April 1, 2015.The Consumer Protection Act, 2002 has amended to regulate consumer transactions involving tow and storage…
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The promise of driverless cars continues to ramp up, with tests on public roads occurring or planned all over the world. I’ve spoken before about the emergence of this technology, specifically on the importance of standards in governing how autonomous…
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The Court of Appeal for Ontario has held that a hospital can be sued (in a proposed class action) for a privacy breach.
In Hopkins v. Kay, the class plaintiff alleged that her records as a patient at the Peterborough Regional Heath Centre were improperly accessed. She based her claim on the common law tort of intrusion upon seclusion, set out in Jones v. Tsige.
The hospital brought a Rule 21 motion to dismiss the claim on the ground that the Personal Health Information Protection Act (“PHIPA”) is an exhaustive code that ousts the jurisdiction of the Superior Court to entertain any common law claim for invasion of privacy rights in relation to patient records.
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Once again a big storm was forecast, once again, it failed to materialize (at least for many New Yorkers and New Jerseyans) and once again meteorologists are being criticized for dropping the ball. What’s more, weather models are also being blamed for at least part of the failure and people are, of course, again making the statement “If I was as wrong as often as the weather man, I’d be out of a job.”
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The Consumer Electronics Show (CES) has been the preeminent show for seeing, hearing and feeling what is emerging and hot in consumer electronics at the beginning of each year. It is the place to go to see new electronic games,…
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Over the course of this year, a number of organisations in the London insurance market have publically committed to Lloyd’s Diversity and Inclusion Charter.
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In the recently released decision of Equitable Trust Co. v. The Portage La Prairie Mutual Insurance Co., 2014onsc4767, Ontario Superior Court Justice Stewart affirmed the generally held view that an insured mortgagee is entitled to recover the outstanding balance owing…
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Checking my email today — amid the many “Happy Cyber Security Awareness Month” messages — was a notification from my bank. Like so many other shoppers, my credit card information was obtained “by unauthorized individuals” when I shopped at a…
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On October 10, ICLR held a Friday Forum workshop entitled ‘National Riverine Floodplain Mapping Framework and Advancements in Urban Overland Flood Risk Assessment’, which largely looked at the state of flood mapping in Canada. The workshop was lead by Tim…
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Sitting next to me on a flight last week, a fellow passenger enthusiastically explained his start-up – a new cyber-cloud, he says. A place for consumers to store their sensitive data, he says. So I had to ask, “What happens…
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Recently, my colleagues and I participated in a client’s casualty workshop held in New York City. This particular client was interested in learning more about emerging risks. From 3-D printing and e-cigarettes to data breach claims and concussions – we…
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The scientific evidence is overwhelming that humans are changing the climate due to their unbridled use of fossil fuels. Yet despite the scientific consensus (and, yes, there is consensus), there are those that insist on denying that anthropogenic (i.e. human…
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The EF2 tornado that tore through Angus, Ontario June 17 damaged 102 recently built homes in the small community located just west of Barrie. Ten or 11 homes lost their roofs entirely. These homes will have to be razed and…
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