Learning Options:

Live webinar with chat
includes 60 day replay
9:00 am – 10:30 am (Pacific)
10:00 am – 11:30 am (Mountain)
11:00 am – 12:30 pm (Central)
12:00 pm – 1:30 pm (Eastern)
1:00 pm – 2:30 pm (Atlantic)
1:30 pm – 3:00 pm (Newfoundland)

*This program features real-time video of the presenter with synchronized presentation slides, and a chat feature that allows for live Q & A. SK attendees please verify whether you align with Central (MB) or Mountain (AB) time based on season and location.

Groups Save!

Register 3+ attendees and save up to 25%. See our group discounts here. Contact jennifer@seminarpartners.ca.

Technical Information:

Live webinars allow you to view faculty, see their presentation slides, and ask questions by chat. You will need a current web browser (Chrome (Chrome works best), Safari, Firefox), a wired (better than wireless) connection to the Internet of at least 2 Mbps. You can test your internet speed/bandwidth here. If you miss the live program, you can access the archive, at your convenience, for 60 days.

Who Should Attend

This program is designed for all lawyers who want to better understand how sports and recreational activity waivers function. Plaintiff and defence counsel alike will benefit from attending.

About the Program

If you’re a member of a fitness club or a recreational sports league, or have a school-aged child, liability waivers are a fact of life. Questions about the validity and enforceability of waivers are common, both from activity operators seeking to protect themselves from negligence claims and from patrons who signed a waiver and were subsequently injured. Challenges to waivers, and the defence of claims involving the interpretation of waivers, require careful analysis of a number of variables.

This webinar features Ryan Morasiewicz, experienced outdoor/adventure and personal injury litigator, as well as a mountain Search and Rescue volunteer. Ryan will introduce general practitioners, corporate counsel, and other non-personal injury specialists to this discrete area. Topics include the insurance context in which a liability waiver operates, requirements of a valid waiver (both style/substance and administration), challenges to enforceability or validity of waivers, and the special case of minors and related consent acknowledgement of risk forms. Ryan will provide a broad perspective of relevant cases and statutes across Canada.

You’ll leave with a better understanding of the purpose of waivers, what participants are being asked to give up when they sign a waiver, and tools available to recreational providers to insulate themselves from and defend personal injury claims. Attend this course and help your clients better manage the legal risks that are part of their everyday lives.

Schedule (Eastern)

12:00 pm - 1:30 pm

Welcome and Introduction

Overview of Liability Waivers

Requirements for a Valid Waiver

Challenges to Enforceability/Validity of a Waiver

Role of Statutory Protections

Recent Cases

Emerging Issues

Program Wrap-up and Evaluation

Praise for Past Programs

“Good pace and well-organized. Very impressed.”

“Very pleased. Well organized, good speaker and good materials.”

“If you have a reason to deal with this subject, I recommend you take this program. Very useful.”

“Very useful as a general practitioner. Confirmed some of what I knew but also learned new information.”

“Excellent. References to relevant cases to demonstrate or highlight issues was very helpful.”

“Best seminar I've taken in years. Knowledgeable, engaging, interesting, and respectful of all questions.”

“I am a lawyer for a municipality, and the content was very helpful for me in drafting waivers relating to various municipal activities.”

“Very useful. I was impressed by the practical comments and the thorough description of cases.”