Welcome to the 25th edition of Capital Perspectives: Ottawa's Business Law Update. This authoritative resource provides legal insight and perspective on the issues that matter to private and public sector organizations operating in the National Capital Region.

Each issue of Capital Perspectives draws on the Fasken Martineau Ottawa team's expertise in a variety of specialized areas of law to help our readers make sense of the events, issues and trends that impact their organizations.

The theme of this issue is reform, from efforts to boost the efficiency of the Copyright Board's tariff-setting processes, to Ontario's Bill 148 that promises significant changes to the Employment Standards Act and the Labour Relations Act, and to Bill 142 which takes aim at Ontario's Construction Lien Act. We also dive into "smart contracts" based on Blockchain technology, and recap News and Events.

The Federal Government Wants the Copyright Board to Speed Things Up

While most Canadians are completely unaware of its existence, the Copyright Board is one of the most important administrative agencies in Ottawa in terms of the scope of the financial support it provides to Canadian "cultural industries." The federal government is currently soliciting public comment as to how the Board's processes can be improved. Aidan O'Neill and Ariel Thomas discuss the suggestions made by the government as to how the Board's operations can be made more efficient and its decisions issued in a more timely manner.

Ontario Inching Closer to Significant Employment and Labour Changes

Ontario's Bill 148, which is moving rapidly through the Legislative Assembly, proposes significant changes to the province's Employment Standards Act, 2000 and the Labour Relations Act, 1995. These include the highly publicized increases to the minimum wage and changes that facilitate unionizing, but that's not all. Christian Paquette and Julie Robinson break down Bill 148 and what it means for employer and employee alike.

New Bill to Modernize the Construction Lien Act

The Ontario government introduced earlier this year Bill 142, an Act to amend the Construction Lien Act. Several amendments in this bill could have an important impact on the way construction disputes are adjudicated and resolved in Ontario. Stefan Kimpton explores the new and clarified mechanisms for resolving disputes and how the amendments could make dispute resolution more efficient.

The Smart Contract Trend

Julia Kennedy dives into the mysterious world of so-called "smart contracts" to explain how they work and the legal ramifications that are already being felt as more transactions become automated. As smart contracts evolve from simple Bitcoin trades to a fuller range of automated transactions, business practices will change and contract law will have to keep up.

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