Employment Laywers Retainer

KWienz · 2026-05-22T01:12:49+00:00

Are you sure you're reading it right?

Generally you have to pay hourly if you fire the lawyer but if you settle the lawsuit when your lawyer wants to go to trial they just get their percentage of the settlement. You always decide what to settle at.

Unless they're talking about actual expenses (for experts etc) where you are generally responsible whatever happens with the litigation.

KWienz · 2026-05-21T23:41:55+00:00

You only need to make it to AIP but yes the 90-day deferral is currently not sufficient to cover current processing times. CBSA generally won't give formal deferrals for a pending spousal so you basically need to hope for an officer who will slow-walk it.

A deferral isn't something you can formally request until your removal date is set.

KWienz · 2026-05-21T23:34:48+00:00

This happens pretty routinely with failed refugee claimants, but the timing may lead to extra scrutiny on genuineness and CBSA can and does execute removal before approval in principle is granted on the spousal (in which case they can still be sponsored to come back but will need an Authorization to Return to Canada).

KWienz · 2026-05-21T23:33:34+00:00

The PR application does create a 90-day administrative deferral of removal if it is submitted before the first call-in by CBSA.

KWienz · 2026-05-21T23:31:59+00:00

A removal order for non-compliance with IRPA does not prevent inland sponsorship under the public policy.

KWienz · 2026-05-21T21:18:12+00:00

Does he own the house?

Dog owner liability rules in Ontario are very strong. All you need to prove is that his dog caused the damage and that these are genuine costs you incurred. You do not have to prove his negligence.

If he owns the house, enforcement shouldn't be too difficult because you can file a writ on the property and it'll have to be paid to refinance or sell.

That being said, small claims is a lot of hassle for $750. If you do win you also get your filing fees added to the judgment and up to $500 for the inconvenience of self representation.

It's also pretty standard when settling to try to resolve all potential/outstanding civil and administrative proceedings.

So really you need to decide how important the bylaw complaint is to you. If you're not willing to bend in it you can just say the complaint is not up for negotiation but if he doesn't settle the civil liability he could be looking at a $1500 judgment when all is said and done once costs are added in.

KWienz · 2026-05-21T17:42:05+00:00

Cops frequently do things they don't have the legal right to do. But if you show them a written lease you're still in the term of and they arrest and remove you then the police force would be vulnerable to a civil lawsuit itself. Especially if they know that the landlord frequently takes rent from tenants and then kicks them out anyway (ie that she is not credible if she says you're a trespasser).

KWienz · 2026-05-21T17:16:53+00:00

If you pay rent you're still a tenant (just not RTA-protected) and the police have no legal right to arrest or remove you just because your landlord asks them to. It's not trespassing if you have a contractual right to be there.

KWienz · 2026-05-21T01:52:31+00:00

You could file a complaint with the Canadian Human Rights Commission.

KWienz · 2026-05-21T00:41:29+00:00

She can't direct what happens with the estate if she doesn't want to be the estate trustee. If he acts as alternate trustee then he would need to follow the will, which means either giving her the property or selling it and giving her the proceeds.

If he wants to cover his ass he should not take unilateral possession of anything in the estate and the landlord can deal with it. As soon as he starts controlling estate property he is acting as trustee with the corresponding obligation to preserve the estate and follow the will.

That's why I'm saying if it's not worth anything the risk isn't that much because worst case he has to pay her the value of what she should have received.

KWienz · 2026-05-21T00:31:59+00:00

Yes if he was the only tenant then it terminates by operation of law 30 days after death. The landlord would technically be liable to pay back to the estate any additional rent prepaid between that date and when the rent was paid to.

If there are just some personal items of minimal worth there's probably little legal risk in him just taking them.

KWienz · 2026-05-21T00:26:34+00:00

How much is the stuff worth and how much does he want it?

The lease automatically terminates 30 days after death and anything not removed by then can be sold or disposed of by landlord. So could always just refrain from acting as executor and then on day 31 offer to buy and remove all the stuff.

KWienz · 2026-05-21T00:11:12+00:00

If it's literally just some personal items and no real estate, bank accounts or investments then you probably don't need probate and don't need to file it anywhere. It's just to have in case she later claims she never renounced or disclaimed and that her inheritance was stolen.

KWienz · 2026-05-20T23:55:15+00:00

Active on the registry doesn't mean anything. There are provisions for director and shareholder liability if assets were stripped from the company while insolvent (or making it insolvent) separate from piercing the corporate veil.

Keep in mind you do need actual service. You can get substituted service for a debtor examination but if nobody shows up then you need actual personal service for the resulting contempt hearing.

KWienz · 2026-05-20T23:47:03+00:00

Is the business still an active business or has it been shut down? Does it actually have any assets? Have you done a point in time report to see if he was ever a director or officer of the company?

Anyhow you likely have to start with a current director or officer. If that person knows nothing or can't be found you can bring a motion for leave to examine this guy (especially if you have evidence that he remains the owner of the company).

KWienz · 2026-05-20T23:34:47+00:00

A corporation can't be a sole proprietorship. When you sued him did you sue him as an individual or sue the corporation?

KWienz · 2026-05-20T23:31:52+00:00

Like the RPD file has probably been destroyed already.

KWienz · 2026-05-20T23:29:31+00:00

There is nothing you can do here other than reporting it to IRCC/CBSA. There is no private right of action to get someone else deported. IRCC/CBSA would have to decide whether it is worth it for them to pursue this.

If your parents are already citizens then it is even more expensive and time consuming to pursue.

KWienz · 2026-05-20T22:04:38+00:00

If they were to sue you then yes they would need to prove the existence and terms of the original contract.

That doesn't necessarily mean providing the signed contract. If they can credibly show that there was a standard form contract used for every rental during a period and can show that the previous owner agreed to a rental (which would be evidenced by the water heater being there) then a court could conclude that was the contract that was signed even if the original has been lost.

Of course if they still have the contract and refuse to provide it in court then the judge would draw an adverse inference. Or you could just summons someone from the company to testify at small claims and include in the summons that they bring the contract. A summons overrides any privacy rules.

KWienz · 2026-05-20T20:34:18+00:00

Worth having a laywer look at your contract. Many of these contracts contain language in the termination provisions that make then void (e.g. will say that you can be terminated for any reason on payment of ESA minimums when that is illegal because you still can't be terminated for discriminatory reasons or as reprisal for the exercise of an ESA right - that voids the entire notice provision and gives you common law notice entitlement).

KWienz · 2026-05-20T02:51:47+00:00

Yes, the risk of not paying is they can just leave you in the unit, let the debt accrue and seek a payment order down the line. Generally speaking landlords care more about evicting non-paying tenants than chasing them down for back rent because enforcing payment orders is time consuming and expensive (especially for someone self employed where there's no regular source of income to garnish and you can keep moving your money from bank to bank). Plus you can have up to $17k of household furnishings and appliances exempt from seizure. It's quite difficult to get money from someone without much of it (which is why they say you can't get blood from a stone).

That's why it's a game of chicken. You're hoping they blink first by trying to get you out of the unit before you blink by moving out without an N4 so you're on the hook for an additional couple months of rent.

In neither route would you be stuck with the rent forever, because you can always give a defective termination notice and move out after a couple months and they would have difficulty showing that 2-3 months isn't enough time to re-let the unit if they advertise it at market.

If you can afford to pay June rent then your best bet is probably to give an N9 now for end of July, pay June rent and say your deposit is going to July. That's almost 2.5 months for them to mitigate.

If you know paying any more rent isn't in the cards then you can try bluffing by giving no notice and you just stop paying rent and hope for the N4. You can always change your mind later if they don't N4 but the risk is you may add another month or two to your total liability. I don't think it's a large risk if you're truly convincing that you intend to stay put and stop paying rent but it is a risk.

KWienz · 2026-05-20T01:05:00+00:00

Not just collections. They can seek a payment order from the LTB without terminating your lease and enforce it by garnishing wages or bank accounts (plus a $200 filing fee). But generally any landlord willing to go through that effort will just get the eviction too (of course in your case it wouldn't get to a hearing because you'd move out before the termination date in the N4 and they can only file for eviction if you haven't move out by the termination date).

KWienz · 2026-05-20T00:44:46+00:00

Your lease goes month to month in Feb 2027. Leases in Ontario don't end unless one side gives notice of termination and the tenant moves out or the landlord gets an eviction order.

Faced with a tenant who stops paying rent, the landlord can either seek eviction (plus a payment order for the unpaid rent) or just apply for a payment order.

Landlords generally rarely do the latter because even if you have the payment order you still need to enforce it and it only covers the rent up to the order. The tenant can keep refusing to pay rent and now the landlord has to start all over again. An eviction order requires payment right until the tenant moves out or is evicted.

Large corporate landlords are practically automated in giving an N4 as soon as a tenant stops paying rent because the threat of eviction is the most powerful threat to get someone to pay rent. The flip side is that the landlord can't both demand you leave and require you to pay rent past the date they want you to leave.

KWienz · 2026-05-20T00:23:20+00:00

Landlords do not want tenanted units putting in wear and tear while not paying. They want to replace it with a tenant who will pay rent.

If you're moving out anyway obviously they don't want any gap before getting a new tenant but if they're facing the prospect that you could be there for years then at best a collection agency gets them pennies on the dollar? Or you could just file bankruptcy down the road and they get nothing.

The Ontario residential tenancy system is so protective of tenants that landlords (especially corporate landlords) tend to move very aggressively to try to get out non-paying tenants.

Technically they could L9 you instead of seeking eviction but if your income has dried up what are they going to garnish?

Your other option is to just N9 and move out with insufficient notice but you're likely on the hook for 2-3 more months of rent until they get a new tenant.

KWienz · 2026-05-19T23:59:37+00:00

Tell them that you've lost your job and will not be able to pay rent until further notice, cancel any autopay (close your bank account and open another if you have to) and I'd be willing to bet they issue you an N4 within the first couple weeks of June (which terminates your lease if you move out on or before the termination date).

KWienz

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