Comments on: New Proposed Apology Legislation in Ontario

By: The Dark Site of Crisis Communications | Social Media Mafia

The Dark Site of Crisis Communications | Social Media Mafia — Sun, 21 Jun 2009 23:17:35 +0000

[...] said before that the new Apology Act in Ontario may change things, but it hasn’t been around long enough to know for sure. The [...]

By: Costa Ragas

Costa Ragas — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 04:21:00 +0000

I don’t know… I’m still not convinced. The Apology legislation would certainly help with bullet 2. But as for bullets 1, 3, and 4 from the original post above, I just don’t see how such legislation could possibly do the things the Ministry of the Attorney General is claiming.

And regarding the legal test, that’s all fine. But with regard to the evidence issue, is prohibiting a publicly made apology which itself could contain indicators of the cause of an injury to another be forbidden? I’m not so sure that we should simply knock out apologies, if they could potentially contain something useful… Particularly with companies less “virtuous” than say Maple Leaf… Say a company which would try and destroy any internal evidence of any wrongdoing or negligence?

Granted, I haven’t read the proposed Ontario legislation (is it online yet?), but if it’s anything like the BC legislation from the previous post, my feeling is this legislation might prematurely tie a victim’s hands, by prohibiting them from entering the apology into evidence.

By: Devin Johnston

Devin Johnston — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 16:41:17 +0000

Something like this came up in a problem that we had in a class last year. A doctor administers a drug to a patient that ends up exacerbating the condition rather than helping. A few days later, the doctor apologizes. The problem with using the apology as evidence of negligence is that it tells us nothing about whether or not the conduct of the doctor was reasonable in the circumstances. All it tells us is that it turned out badly (which we already know) and that the doctor feels bad about it (which we can infer from the doctor not being a total dick).

By: Micheal LawMaster

Micheal LawMaster — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 13:57:52 +0000

Why beneficiraies are Doctors, Nurses and Police?
It seems like racism to other professionas.

Human Rights shall be avail equally to everyone.

As Ontario Courts are full of FUN, even judges shall be allowed to apologize after making wrong statements.

By: Omar Ha-Redeye

Omar Ha-Redeye — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 11:18:06 +0000

The apology is intended to help maintain a relationship with the public and retain shareholder confidence, and work cooperatively with other agencies and the public to minimize the effect or damage.

The current legislatory scheme simply deters defendants from openly speaking publically after a crisis or disaster. The proposed legislation will not result in any changes in actual findings of negligence.

The same legal test that was used before will still be used after: establishing a duty of care, and demonstrating a breach of that duty.

See the links for a more in-depth explanation.

By: Costa Ragas

Costa Ragas — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 00:31:10 +0000

Not sure I agree with you on this one, Omar.

If a company is negligent, causes some wrongdoing that injures another, and then publicly accepts responsibility for this wrongdoing, negligence and injury (my civilian hat is on today), why shouldn’t the apology be used as evidence against the negligent party?

I suppose the question is one of fact vs. one of law. Does “responsibility” equal “liability?”

Well, let’s look at it from another perspective. If you have been injured by someone, but someone who is not legally liable for the injury apologizes, what does that apology really mean to you? Very little, in my estimate.

Point is, if responsibility and liability are not in any way linked, then the value of the apology to the individual is reduced. Although it may aid in some sort of moral healing, the proposed legislation would not take care of the rest… ex) promote accountability, reduce litigation and strain on justice system, etc…