Law Summer Santa 2025

There are three fundamental ‘rules’ of Law Summer Santa: Make Connections; Spark Joy; Do Good. Here’s how we make that happen. Please read the following before registering.

Participation Requirements

By participating in Law Summer Santa 2025 you represent and warrant that:

• (a) You are at least 19 years of age.
• (b) You are a member of the legal community.
• (c) You consent to disclose a physical address at which gifts can be received and, if necessary, a mailing address to which gifts can be delivered.
• (d) You will not use any address you learn through this process for any improper purpose - don't make this weird.
• (e) You will either:
  • (i) arrange to meet your recipient, in person, at a mutually agreeable location to deliver your gift; or
  • (ii) arrange to have a gift delivered to your recipient.
• (f) You will abide by all other requirements as set out or as may be prescribed.

MAKE CONNECTIONS - Delivery Requirements

PLEASE Include your CELL PHONE NUMBER and YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS as Address 2 in your address information.

This year, in an attempt to bolster the “Make Connections” aspect of Law Summer Santa, where possible, participants are encouraged to meet their recipient in-person in Canada. Will that be their office, their home, a conference, a lakeside dock, some combination of the foregoing? Let’s see what happens!

Law Summer Santa was born out of pandemic restrictions, but five years later things have changed. In 2025, the push is for Canadians to travel within Canada to see more of Canada.

If you intend to meet your recipient, please arrange a mutually agreeable date, time, and location before Labour Day 2025.

If shipping, your Target Delivery Date is Thursday, May 15, 2025.

Do not send anything requiring ID verification or a signature unless pre-arranged.

SPARK JOY - Gift Requirements

You should spend approximately $100 on your gift(s), purchasing from local vendors. Gifts can be local to you or your recipient, depending on delivery method.

If hand delivering your gift, then the gift should be local to you.

If you’re having the gift delivered, then your gift can either be local to you or local to the recipient.

In years past, people have typically gifted craft beer, snacks, and other consumables. While there are no strict rules on what to gift, most will find something in that genre to be a winner. I have personally received such things as craft beer, craft soda, artisanal ice cream, popcorn, and food baskets.

For example, suppose you are located in Ottawa and your recipient is located in Toronto. Further suppose you intend to gift craft beer. If you are going to hand deliver your gift, then you should bring something from Ottawa. If you’re going to have something delivered, then you can select a local Toronto brewery.

Please ensure you create a WishList to let others know what you do and do not wish to receive. Please keep this general – for example, some people appreciate alcohol, others do not. Some like coffee, others prefer tea. Things like that.

DO GOOD - Charity Requirement

Law Summer Santa has always contained a charitable component. To date, we have raised somewhere in the order of $25,000 together.

The charitable component is easy – you must donate at least $100 to the charitable cause of your choosing. You can make a single donation of $100, or you can spread the love. You can donate more than $100. You do not need to provide proof of your donation to participate. Just remember, he sees you when you’re sleeping, he knows when you’re awake. He knows if you’ve donated at least $100 to charity or not, so do good for goodness’ sake.

BRINGING IT ALL TOGETHER

Once you have received your gift, snap a picture and share the connection and joy.

Post whatever pictures make sense to you to the social media platforms you use for professional purposes with the hashtag #LawSummerSanta2025.

Tell us what you received, from home, and, if your Santa delivered the gift, where you met and how far your Santa travelled. Please also let us know to whom you donated, ideally tagging the organization in your post.

If you need inspiration, on Twitter, check the hashtags #LawSummerSanta; #LawSummerSanta2021; #LawSummerSanta2022; #LawSummerSanta2023; #LawSummerSanta2024; #LawSummerSnackta.

Need to Know More?

Contact Sean Bawden at sbawden@ottawaemploymentlaw.com.

Registration Sign-Up Here: Registration Link

Employers Cannot Rescind Notices of Termination

Can an employer withdraw a termination of employment after it has been delivered to its employee?

In a series of cases from the Ontario Superior Court of Justice, one of which I argued, judges have consistently held that an employer cannot.

Employers May Deduct Statutory Payments from Wrongful Dismissal Damages

When calculating damages for failing to provide reasonable notice of termination, can an employer deduct statutory termination pay and severance already paid to the employee?

The 1996 decision of the Court of Appeal for Ontario in Stevens v. The Globe and Mail, 1996 CanLII 10215 (ON CA), affirmed that the employer is entitled to make such deductions.

Calculation of Damages for Lost Commissions

How is commission income addressed when calculating severance under Ontario employment law?

In Shelp v. GoSecure Inc., 2025 ONSC 49, the Honourable Justice Charles T. Hackland of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice sitting in Ottawa affirmed that “it is common practice in the case law for courts to estimate a terminated employee’s commission income based on averaging pre-termination earnings.”

Validity of Arbitration Clauses in Employment Contracts Within Arbitrator’s Jurisdiction: ONCA

Can an employment contract in Ontario legally prohibit someone from suing for wrongful dismissal? Can your employer require you to “arbitrate” your case rather than allowing you to use the public court system?

In Irwin v. Protiviti, 2022 ONCA 533, Ontario’s top court held that arbitration clauses in employment agreements are not automatically “illegal” and that questions about any particular arbitration provision are to presumptively be resolved by an arbitrator, not the courts.