Annotated Assessment Act (AAA): Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
General
Q: What is the Annotated Assessment Act (AAA)?
A: The Annotated Assessment Act (AAA) is a concise and comprehensive publication that summarizes the current state of Assessment Act case law.
Q: Why did MPAC build the AAA?
A: MPAC staff identified an internal need for a consolidated publication of summaries for influential assessment cases to enhance MPAC’s understanding of legal cases that define assessment law in Ontario. Furthermore, making the AAA available to the public encourages the use of precedent by advocates, adjudicators, and policy makers, which can increase the consistency and transparency of future decisions for all parties.
Q: How many decisions can be found in the AAA?
A: The AAA includes short summaries from more than eight hundred influential or leading case law decisions, categorized under the relevant provision and legal issue. Please note that many case decisions will appear under more than one legal issue. There are three divisions for case law decisions and commentary: the Assessment Act, O. Reg. 282/98, and ARB Rules of Practice and Procedure.
Q: What are some of the benefits of the AAA?
A: The AAA aims to be:
- Comprehensive: A consolidation of important publications for assessment law advocacy in one source.
- Impartial: An unbiased selection and examination of current assessment law.
- Accurate: Research and interpretations have been vetted by an experienced legal team.
- Accessible: Searchable materials that are sorted by legal issue makes assessment law decisions clearer and user-friendly.
- Practical: Users of all experience and levels of knowledge will find the AAA to be a strong baseline from which to advocate and understand assessment law basics.
- Beginner-Friendly: Foundational cases and explanatory commentary for each section are easy to find and presented in an orderly manner.
- Time-Saving: Users can access research and understand the law more quickly.
Account Management
Q: Where do I get a copy of the AAA?
A: The AAA is an electronic subscription service. To learn more or obtain an account, visit propertyline.ca Municipal users gain access by visiting Municipal Connect.
Q: Is the AAA a one-time purchase?
A: No, the AAA is a subscription service.
Q: Can I share my login with another individual?
A: No, users are responsible for (a) maintaining the confidentiality of their username and password; and (b) all activities that occur under their username and password. MPAC may disable an account in the event of non-compliance.
Q: Can my organization obtain multiple accounts?
A: For any account-related enquiries, please email propertyline@mpac.ca. Municipal users may contact Carly.Mcconnell@mpac.ca.
Q: Who do I contact for additional information on the AAA?
A: For any account-related enquiries, please email propertyline@mpac.ca. Municipal users may contact Carly.Mcconnell@mpac.ca.
For all other enquiries, users may send an email to AnnotatedAct@mpac.ca.
Content
Q: What can I do with the information in the AAA?
A: The AAA is intended to be a go-to assessment case law resource for informational purposes and does not constitute legal advice. Users should consider the AAA as a research starting point. Users are encouraged to conduct their own case law research and seek independent legal advice with respect to any particular legal matter.
Users must comply with the Terms and Conditions of Use and may store, print, display or share a single copy of de minimis amounts of the AAA on an incidental, infrequent basis within the respective organization during the term of the licence.
Q: Can MPAC help me interpret the information in the AAA?
A: No, MPAC does not provide legal advice. Users are encouraged to seek independent legal advice with respect to any particular legal matter.
Q: How often are statutes and regulations updated?
A: MPAC will target quarterly updates. Users should conduct their own independent research to determine whether more recent updates to statutes and regulations are available.
Q: How quickly do you publish recent summaries?
A: MPAC will target quarterly updates. Users should conduct their own independent search to determine whether more recent case law is available.
Q: How do you choose which decisions to publish?
A: MPAC editors conduct independent research to identify influential decisions. MPAC editors also receive ongoing requests from stakeholders and staff to examine and summarize pertinent decisions.
Q: Does the AAA include decisions from outside Ontario?
A: The AAA includes decisions and summaries relevant to Ontario.
Q: What does it mean when “no cases annotated” is stated?
A: MPAC’s editors have not provided a case summary for the section in question. Users should conduct their own independent search to determine whether there is relevant case law for their enquiry.
Q: Who do I contact to provide feedback or report an issue/error with the AAA?
A: For any account-related inquiries, please send an email to propertyline@mpac.ca. Municipal users may contact Carly.Mcconnell@mpac.ca. For all other enquiries, users may send an email to AnnotatedAct@mpac.ca.
Navigation and Search
Q: How can I find a case summary or topic?
A: The most efficient means to search for a specific case summary or topic would be to use the “Document text, note text” field found in the Dashboard. Here, you can search by case name, topic, or key word that is likely to be found in the title of the documents you are searching for.
You may also search by “Document Title” or scroll down the list of documents to commence your search.
Q: How can I find a court or tribunal decision?
A: Full written decisions that are available on CanLII can be found hyperlinked to the case name that is summarized. Users may also consult their legal publication providers for copies of court and tribunal decisions.
Privacy
Q: Do you gather user information?
A: Information will be collected by MPAC upon account sign-up and during the use of the AAA. All information will be kept internal to MPAC unless MPAC is required by Applicable Law to disclose such information. Such information will be used by MPAC to administer the AAA including user access to the publication and to facilitate electronic communications about other MPAC commercial products.
Terms of use
Q: Can I use your case summaries?
A: Users may view the AAA for their own individual internal business research purposes, provided that they comply with the Terms and Conditions of Use. Users may store, print, display or share a single copy of de minimis amounts of the AAA on an incidental, infrequent basis within your organization during the Term of your licence.
Q: Can I copy your summaries and decisions?
A: Users may store, print, display or share a single copy of de minimis amounts of the AAA on an incidental, infrequent basis within their organization during the Term of the licence. Users are responsible for ensuring compliance with the Terms and Conditions of Use. An account will be disabled in the event of non-compliance.