Project Overview The nature of employment in Ontario has shifted significantly. Secure, full-time work with stable wages and benefits is increasingly replaced by precarious forms of employment marked by low pay, limited benefits, job insecurity, and little control over working conditions. Workers in these jobs are more vulnerable to economic instability, health risks, and long-term
Project Overview The Violence Against Women Curriculum Modules Initiative was developed to support the inclusion of violence against women issues in Canadian law school education. The objective of the initiative was to develop flexible curriculum modules that law schools could integrate into existing courses, offer as intensive stand-alone courses, or combine into a full course.
Project Overview Older adults make up a growing share of Ontario’s population, yet laws and policies do not always fully account for how they affect people as they age. These impacts arise not only from laws that explicitly target older adults, but also from general laws and policies that shape access to services, participation in
Project Overview The Government of Ontario asked the LCO to review how adults with disabilities can more easily participate in the Registered Disability Savings Plan (RDSP). The RDSP helps people with disabilities save for long-term financial security through personal contributions and government grants. Adults can normally open and manage their own RDSP. But if there
Project Overview The LCO’s Final Report on the Division of Pensions on Marriage Breakdown (2008) was Ontario’s first independent, comprehensive review of how pensions should be treated when couples separate or divorce. At the time, the law was confusing and inconsistent, and many families—especially those for whom a pension was the most valuable asset—faced significant
Project Overview The LCO’s Defamation Law in the Internet Age project examined how Ontario’s defamation laws should be updated to account for “internet speech”, including social media, blogs, internet platforms and other digital media. Defamation laws protect reputation from harm caused by false words. The law tries to balance two fundamental, yet potentially conflicting, values: protection of
Project Overview The LCO’s A New Environmental Bill of Rights for Ontario: Final Report is the first independent, comprehensive review of Ontario’s Environmental Bill of Rights, 1993 (EBR) since its enactment. The EBR was groundbreaking at the time, introducing new mechanisms for public participation, transparency, and government accountability in environmental decision-making. The LCO’s project examined
Project Overview The LCO’s Class Actions: Objectives, Experiences and Reforms is the first independent, evidence-based review of Ontario’s Class Proceedings Act, 1992 (CPA) since its enactment. The project examined whether class actions are achieving their three legislative goals—access to justice, judicial economy, and behaviour modification—and whether the CPA still reflects current class action practice and
Project Overview The LCO’s Improving Consumer Protection in the Digital Marketplace: Final Report is the first independent, comprehensive review of Ontario’s Consumer Protection Act in over 20 years. The project examines how Ontario’s consumer protection laws should evolve to address new risks in the digital economy—particularly those arising from online terms of service (ToS) contracts