CAUTION: We have been advised that fraudulent emails with a modified domain name have been sent by a source purporting to be from Aird & Berlis LLP. These communications are not legitimate and are not from Aird & Berlis LLP. Disregard any such emails and do not engage with the sender or the email in any way. Please report the attempted fraud by contacting the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre and by emailing Aird & Berlis LLP at help@airdberlis.com.

David Reiter

David S. Reiter

Partner* Admitted to the Ontario Bar: 2000
*Practising as a professional corporation
People > David S. Reiter

As a strategic litigator, David focuses on a variety of civil and quasi-criminal matters involving incidents and conduct at and outside of workplaces. He identifies key issues and develops persuasive arguments for his clients’ positions. David’s background in criminal law has given him the ability to see cases from a different point of view. As a proactive advisor, he identifies gaps in his clients’ operations and dedicates himself to finding practical and preventative solutions to their issues.   

David is a member of the firm’s Litigation Group and Occupational Health & Safety Group.

On the civil side, David regularly assists clients with respect to claims stemming from incidents and other operational liabilities, and with respect to the development and implementation of strategies aimed at managing and mitigating ongoing exposure. On the quasi-criminal side, David represents clients involved in investigations, prosecutions and appeals.

Through his experience in the practise of criminal law, David is particularly well-positioned to assist clients with the assembly and preservation of evidence, with guidance on interacting with authorities, in addressing orders and warrants, and with representing clients at the trial and appellate levels.

David has acted as lead counsel in dozens of trials and applications before various courts and tribunals in Ontario. He has also acted as lead counsel with respect to investigations, defences and/or prosecutions under a variety of statutes including, amongst others, the Occupational Health & Safety Act, the Building Code Act, the Competition Act and the Criminal Code.

Professional Involvement

Memberships

  • The Advocates’ Society

Professional Activities

  • Upon being called to the Bar in 2000, David practiced criminal law at Reiter Barristers LLP. (2000-2007)
  • He also practiced quasi-criminal and civil litigation in association with a boutique firm. (2005-2007)
  • David has sat on a variety of panels involved in the preparation of questions for the Bar Admission Licencing Exam (Professional Responsibility – Criminal Law Section). During that time he has also individually appraised questions written by other practitioners. (2007-2017)
  • David has spoken at industry and Bar events on the issue of quasi-criminal and corporate criminal liability. (2008-2017)
  • David has acted as a moot court judge in the Osgoode Cup Mooting Competition. (2012 and 2014)
  • David created and ran a pro bono legal clinic for the residents of Seaton House Men’s Shelter. (2004-2006)

Representative Matters

Represented the Friends of the Simon Wiesenthal Centre in a matter in which they, along with others, resisted Your Ward News’ attempt to reinstate its right to use Canada Post to deliver its anti-Semitic/misogynist/homophobic newspaper.

Represented a client through a Competition Bureau investigation related to allegations of anti-competitive conspiratorial conduct. Charges were not laid against our client. An alleged co-conspirator was charged, convicted, and a $12M fine was imposed.

Secured the withdrawal of charges against clients (corporate and individual) charged with breaching municipal anti-lobbying provisions.

Acted as lead counsel representing various individual and corporate clients charged with separate Occupational Health and Safety Act offences related to fatalities and critical injuries.

Represented a Municipal Compliance Audit Committee, AMA.

Prosecuted a sitting Deputy Mayor of offences under the Municipal Elections Act, 1996. Two convictions were obtained, and the highest fine in the history of the statute was imposed.

Acted as lead counsel successfully representing, and securing the withdrawal of charges against, various individuals and corporations charged with separate breaches of the Fire Protection and Prevention Act, the Environmental Protection Act, and the Fisheries Act.

Represented a client in a joint Police, Ministry of Labour, and Technical Standards and Safety Authority investigation stemming from a fatality. No charges were laid against our client. Acted as co-counsel in obtaining  and lead counsel in upholding (on Judicial Review) an order under the Workplace Safety and Insurance Act preventing a related $2M action from proceeding against the client.

Represented a municipal taxpayer in an Application under the City of Toronto Act and secured, and upheld on appeal, an injunction restraining an adjacent land-owner’s ongoing breaches of a municipal by-law.

Acted as lead counsel on the prosecution of several corporations charged with violating municipal zoning by-laws. Multiple convictions were secured and over $200,000 in fines were levied with respect to various violations of the Planning Act.

Conducted more than 150 appeals, trials, preliminary hearings, applications, motions, and or show cause hearings before the Ontario Court of Justice, the Ontario Superior Court of Justice, the Ontario Divisional Court and the Ontario Court of Appeal.

Conducted scores of mediations and charter/evidentiary applications on behalf of clients with matters before the Ontario Court of Justice and or the Ontario Superior Court of Justice.

Selected Speaking Engagements

"Occupational Health & Safety: Lessons Learned From the Pandemic," Aird & Berlis LLP Workplace Webinar, April 27, 2021.

"The Ontario Occupational Health & Safety Act," EDA Safety Forum, March 23, 2021.

"Why the OHSA is More Important than Ever, and How Workplace Parties Can Protect Themselves," The Canadian Institute, Managing Risk in Construction Contracts & Projects, July 2020.

"Workplace Accidents Caused by Defective Equipment and Machinery: Who is Liable?," Aird & Berlis LLP Labour & Employment Webinar, May 2017.

"Everyone Has Liability in Workplace Situations," Partners in Prevention 2017 Conference, May 2017.

"Wearing the White Hat: Defending Regulatory Inspections and Prosecutions Against Trucking Companies," CTLA Conference, September 2016.

“There’s Been an Accident: What Do I Do Now? An Employer’s Guide to Responding to Workplace Accidents in 11 (Not So Easy) Steps,” Aird & Berlis LLP Labour & Employment Webinar, May 2015.

“Municipal Election Enforcement (MEA),” David Reiter and Jody E. Johnson, Ontario Bar Association Institute 2014 Conference, February 2014.

"Representing Compliance Audit Committees in Investigations and Prosecutions under the Municipal Elections Act, 1996," Municipal Law Conference, 2013.

"Defending and Prosecuting Provincial Offences Act Charges," Municipal Law Conference, 2011.

"Bill C-52:  An Act Respecting Consumer Products," Aird & Berlis LLP, June 2009.

"Regulatory and Criminal Liability in the Workplace," ORCGA Damage Prevention Workshops (Toronto, Sudbury, Kitchener and St. Catharines), January, February and March 2009.

"Bill C-45," 6th Annual ORCGA Damage Prevention Symposium, February 2009.

"Due Diligence," 5th Annual ORCGA Damage Prevention Symposium, February 2008.

Selected Publications

“Looking Back on the Year That Was in OH&S Law,” OHS Canada, January 12, 2021

"Reopening Your Business? Take a Tried, Tested Approach," OHS Canada, May 20, 2020

"Looking Back at the Major Cases of 2019," OHS Canada, February 10, 2020

"Municipal Infrastructure Projects - the Element of Control and Employer Liability Under Ontario's Occupational Health & Safety Act," The Digest of Municipal & Planning Law, January 2020

“OHS Due Diligence: If There Isn’t a Record, Did It Even Happen?” Aird & Berlis LLP Workplace Law Bulletin, August 19, 2019

“The Ministry of Labour’s Safe Operation of Machinery Blitz is Underway...” Aird & Berlis LLP Workplace Law Bulletin, February 2016

“New Year, New World? Sentencing Under the Occupational Health and Safety Act,” Aird & Berlis LLP Occupational Health & Safety Law Bulletin, January 2015 (Co-author with Cynthia Sefton)

"Prosecution of Offences Under the Municipal Elections Act," Town Hall, July 2014 - CBA National Municipal Law Section Newsletter (Co-author with Jody E. Johnson)

"The Regulatory Law Does Not Concern Itself with Trifles," Ear to the Ground, Fall 2009 (Co-author with Cynthia Sefton)

"The Regulatory Modernization Act 2007, Welcome to the New Reality," Ear to the Ground, Spring 2009 (Co-author with Cynthia Sefton)

"The Due Diligence Defence after the DoFasco Decision," Ear to the Ground, Fall 2008 (Co-author with Cynthia Sefton)

"Municipal Criminal Liability: Raising the Bar on Workplace Safety," Municipal World, August 2008 (Co-author with Denis Chamberland and Cynthia Sefton)

"Corporate Criminal Liability & The Workplace," Ear to the Ground, Spring 2008 (Co-author with Cynthia Sefton)

Insights

Publications Article Jun 24, 2020 As Businesses Reopen, They Need to Be Thinking About Their Workplace Safety Plans The Ministry of Labour Has Just Made That Task Easier By Providing a Guide
Publications Article May 26, 2020 Reopening Your Business in a Post-COVID-19 World
Publications Article Jan 23, 2020 A New Year’s Reminder From the Ministry of Labour About Workplace Violence
Publications Article Nov 28, 2019 The Ministry of Labour is Appealing the Greater Sudbury Decision What this means for businesses that contract out work
Publications Article Aug 19, 2019 OHS Due Diligence: If There Isn’t a Record, Did It Even Happen?
Publications Article Jul 17, 2019 Contracting Out Construction Projects on Your Business’s Property Limiting Your Liability Exposure Under the OHSA
Publications Article May 09, 2019 Some Dos and Don’ts for Internal Workplace Accident Investigations
Publications Article Apr 24, 2019 The Ontario Cannabis Control Act and Implications for Commercial Landlords Lessons Learned From a Prosecution Under the CCA
Publications Article Apr 10, 2019 Looking Backwards … to Get to the Future Spring 2019: Another New and Young Workers’ Blitz
Publications Article Mar 18, 2019 Workplace Accidents To Give Notice or Not to Give Notice – That’s Only One of the Questions…
Publications Article Feb 28, 2019 The Latest Court of Appeal Decision on Jail and Occupational Health & Safety Act Offences Are jail sentences about to become more common, and what can businesses do about it?
Publications Article Jan 24, 2019 When Compliance Isn’t Enough: Ensuring Compliance Through Alternative Methods Under the OHSA
Publications Article Dec 07, 2018 Don’t Leave Workplace Safety out in the Cold Three Steps That Every Employer Should Be Taking to Protect Their Workers This Winter
Publications Article Nov 29, 2018 A Reminder About Director and Officer Liability Under the OHSA
Publications Article Oct 23, 2018 R. c. Fournier: A Recent Lesson in Indifference to Workplace Safety, and in Jail Sentences

Education

  • LL.B., University of Victoria, 1998
  • Graduate Studies Program, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, 1995
  • B.A., University of Toronto, 1994

Expertise