Law in the Time of COVID-19

Season 2 - Episode 11: WFH 101 – Many businesses forced into work-from-home models during the pandemic lockdowns have since adopted, or are considering adopting, permanent hybrid workplaces. Employers now face what for many businesses was once unthinkable – a primarily digital workforce. But regardless of where workers perform their jobs, an employer retains significant workplace obligations. So, what rights and duties apply when a worker slips and falls at home or when employees who left...

Season 2 – Episode 10: Zap, You’re Frozen? The Omicron variant has moved the finish line again, upending personal plans and forcing governments around the world to postpone efforts at reopening in the race to return to normal. In Canada, responses differ from city to city and province to province. Host Adam Goldenberg brings back to the discussion Jean Charest and Paul Zed to discuss Canada’s patchwork response to the Omicron variant, what roles remain for the federal government to...

Season 2 - Episode 9: Job or Jab– Canadian businesses have been grappling with the fundamental question of whether to implement a vaccine mandate in their workplaces, however the legal landscape is still evolving and companies must factor in a range of key considerations when making their decision. On this episode host Adam Goldenberg speaks to Nicole Deniset and Adam Kanji, two lawyers who are working on the front lines of vaccine law, in litigation and labour and employment, about how...

Season 2 - Episode 8: 10 Years in 10 Months – The pandemic has accelerated the pace of change and transformed the business world, and in a time marked by a need for rapid operational response the makers of COVID-19 vaccines have had a front row seat. In this week’s episode, McCarthy Tétrault CEO, Dave Leonard sits down with Patricia Gauthier, General Manager of Moderna’s Canadian operations to discuss how the company successfully managed tremendous change while also playing a critical role...

Season 2 - Episode 7: Patents, Pronouns, and Second Doses – From virtual IP trials and a new guidance on preferred pronouns in Ontario courts to how our day-to-day lives are changing now an increasing number of Canadians are vaccinated, host Adam Goldenberg interviews Tracey Doyle, a multi-talented guest capable of speaking to all three important issues. Tracey is a doctor of immunology, McCarthy Tétrault associate and the lawyer responsible for an important recent change to court practices...

Season 2 - Episode 6: Start-ups in a Shutdown– Guest host, Aliya Ramji, Partner and Co-founder of MT>Ventures speaks with entrepreneurs, Richard Steiner, Head of Policy and Communications at Gatik and Derek Szeto, Co-Founder of Walnut, about what impact COVID-19 has had on their new businesses. They discuss how persevering through a pandemic has made them more resilient and how the experience of the past year has changed how they develop and implement long-term strategies. MT>Ventures is a...

Season 2 - Episode 5: How do you conduct a jury trial without compromising physical distancing? On September 30, 2020, Ontario’s first civil jury trial of the COVID-19 pandemic got underway. Host Adam Goldenberg speaks to McCarthy Tétrault litigators Moya Graham and Leah Ostler, who successfully represented the defendant, about how the trial was conducted, the refigured courtroom, and what they believe future trial litigation will look like. This program qualifies for up to 0.5 hours of CPD...

Season 2 - Episode 4: The Crown Must Win – What happens if COVID-19 spreads to the very top of the Canadian Government and if the Prime Minister were to become too sick to carry out his responsibilities? Host, Adam Goldenberg speaks with Richard Fadden, OC, former National Security Advisor to the Prime Minister of Canada and Wayne Wouters, PC OC, former Clerk of the Privy Council and McCarthy Tétrault Strategic Advisor about how Canadians would ensure the continuity of constitutional...

Season 2 - Episode 3: Reasonably Unforeseeable – What’s the role of legal counsel in confronting a crisis? Host, Adam Goldenberg speaks with one of Canada’s leading crisis management lawyers and McCarthy Tétrault partner, Awi Sinha about how COVID-19 has changed our understanding of risk and what lawyers can offer clients who are confronting the risk that’s inherent in global uncertainty. This podcast qualifies for up to 0.5 hours of CPD credit under the mandatory education regimes in...

Season 2, Episode 2: South of the Border (Part 2): McCarthy Tétrault’s political and legal panel discuss what a Biden administration will mean for Canada’s oil and gas sector, exporters and tech companies, and for what might follow a chaotic presidential transition as the pandemic’s second wave sweeps across America. This episode is moderated by Alison Smith. McCarthy Tétrault LLP is providing this podcast as a public service, and while it may contain legal information, it is neither legal...

Season 2, Episode 1: South of the Border (Part 1) - McCarthy Tétrault’s political and legal panel discuss one of the most significant world events in the last 12 months, the US Presidential Election. After an election cycle that dominated world news throughout the pandemic, Joe Biden will take office as the 46th President of the United States of America on January 20th 2021. The panel will explore the effect of the election outcome on Canadian businesses, industries and the relationship with...

Episode 23: Student Takeover – McCarthy Tétrault Summer Students take over the podcast to discuss the transition from a virtual classroom to a virtual summer program. Arsalan Ahmed interviews Shailaja Nadarajah, Rebecca Ferguson and Jon Adessky about their personal experiences working in a national law firm in the midst of a pandemic and how they integrated into the fabric of firm and the practice of law from their home office. McCarthy Tétrault LLP is providing this podcast as a public...

Episode 22: Raising the Bar - Across North America, bar examiners are struggling to adapt to circumstances in which in-person exams may not be possible due to the pandemic. Adam Goldenberg speaks to McCarthy Tétrault litigation associate and Bencher of the Law Society of Ontario, Atrisha Lewis and Gurvir Sangha, a 2020 graduate of the University of Toronto Faculty of Law and incoming Articling student at McCarthy Tétrault about what lawyer licensing looks like now and the future of...

Episode 21: Politics in a Pandemic – As Erin O’Toole takes office as Leader of the Opposition and the Conservative Party of Canada, host Adam Goldenberg speaks with McCarthy Tétrault’s panel of Strategic Advisors, The Honourable Jean Charest, The Honourable Wayne Wouters and Paul Zed, about what a new opponent means for the Trudeau government’s pandemic response and what we can expect to see in this fall’s Throne Speech and the next federal budget. McCarthy Tétrault LLP is providing this...

On Episode 20: Pandemic Protectionism: In light of the recent decision by President Trump to impose tariffs for Canadian non-alloyed unwrought aluminium and the subsequent retaliation by the Canadian government, Adam Goldenberg speaks to Martha Harrison, partner in McCarthy Tétrault’s International Trade and Investment Law group, and Paul Zed, a former Member of Parliament and Strategic Advisor at McCarthy Tétrault, about what this will mean for Canadian businesses trying to recover from the...

On Episode 19: Cases without courts: As courts across Canada figure out how to hear cases while maintaining physical distancing – and as growing backlogs mean that one’s day in court could take years longer to arrive, Adam Goldenberg speaks to Junior Sirivar, partner and Co-Chair of McCarthy Tétrault’s International Arbitration Group, and Sandra (Aigbinode) Lange, associate and member of the International Arbitration Group, about why this old alternative to court-based litigation has been...

Episode 18 - Mask Nicely: As municipal and provincial governments start requiring Canadians to wear masks indoors, host Adam Goldenberg speaks to McCarthy Tétrault Partners Miranda Lam and Véronique Wattiez Larose and Associate Patrick Pengelly about what businesses can and sometimes must do to keep their premises – and their employees – safe. This program qualifies for up to 0.5 hours of CPD credit under the mandatory education regimes in British Columbia and Ontario. McCarthy Tétrault...

On Episode 17: History in the making – We hope, our regular host, Adam Goldenberg, speaks to Dr. Natasha Crowcroft, an internationally recognized expert in immunization and the incoming Senior Technical Advisor, Measles and Rubella Control, at the World Health Organization, about the prospects of vaccine research and the science of going back to work. McCarthy Tétrault LLP is providing this podcast as a public service, and while it may contain legal information, it is neither legal advice...

On Episode 16: Same Storm, Different Boat – Inclusion in the Time of COVID – Nikki Gershbain, Chief Inclusion Officer, explores the differential impact the pandemic is having on diverse communities and considers what an inclusive recovery might look like in her discussion with Jonathan Cohen, Director of the Open Society Public Health Program; Rosel Kim, a Staff Lawyer at LEAF, the Women’s Legal Education and Action Fund; Atrisha Lewis, a Senior Associate at McCarthy Tétrault; and Ken...

On Episode 15: Contact (Tracing) High – Part Two, we continue to explore the privacy implications of contact tracing applications and what it means for your data in part two of Jade Buchanan’s discussion with Charles Morgan and Christine Ing, two leading technology and privacy lawyers, and Kate McNeill-Keller, a leading labour and employment lawyer. This episode explores a topic of interest to everyone, not only lawyers, and although it may contain legal information, it does not provide...