As a firm that has clients that have head offices all over the country, and even in the US, we are often asked if we can assist them with matters where the jurisdiction lies within Ontario. There are many areas of law that our firm can assist our out of province/country clients (exception, if a matter’s jurisdiction is Quebec, you will need to retain a lawyer there to assist you).
When it comes obtaining a Judgment here in Ontario and the debtor has assets in another province, we can assist in obtaining a lawyer in that other province to have the Judgment recognized and enforced. Again, a Judgment obtained outside of Ontario can similarly be enforced here in Ontario.
Something that must be kept in mind is that each province has their own laws that govern certain things, for example: Employment Law.
Our firm handles Employment Law, and just recently held a Lunch and Learn on the changes that took effect on January 1, 2018, and changes that are forthcoming. However, a client that is not primarily in Ontario, may not be aware of the laws here in Ontario regarding employment. It is our job to ensure that a client follows the rules and regulations regarding their employees that are working for their company in Ontario.
It doesn’t stop there, even Estate Planning is different all across our country, and if you have assets in multiple provinces and countries, it needs to be addressed to ensure your Estate Planning complies with each jurisdiction.
Just because something is one way here in Ontario doesn’t mean it’s the same all over Canada. It’s our job to ensure that it gets done here properly, and let you know when something needs to be addressed in a different jurisdiction.