The Complete Brief
-
December 04, 2025
What to do when counsel is never available for urgent court applications?
One of the recurring frustrations in family law practice is the increasingly common tactic where opposing counsel is mysteriously “unavailable” for any proposed hearing date.
-
December 04, 2025
CFIA cuts red tape, speeds up plant-pest control changes
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) has repealed a number of outdated requirements and updated the Plant Protection Regulations to make domestic plant-pest controls more flexible, moves the agency says will reduce red tape.
-
December 04, 2025
Using s. 35 of the Property Law Act to extinguish, modify easements in B.C.
Easements, being one of the most common non-possessory interests in land, are often essential for the proper use and development of a dominant tenement. However, over time, changes in the character of the land, the surrounding neighbourhood or the purpose of the original grant can render an easement obsolete, impractical or economically detrimental to the burdened land (the servient tenement). In British Columbia, if parties do not agree to privately extinguish an easement, the owner of the servient tenement must apply to the court for relief under s. 35 of the Property Law Act.
-
December 04, 2025
Court orders law firm to disclose client’s banking information
Parties may occasionally seek disclosure of information or documents from another party’s lawyer during the course of litigation. In such cases, solicitor-client privilege as well as a general duty of confidentiality must be considered. Lawyers who receive a request for disclosure of privileged information by a non-client will generally require that a court order for disclosure be obtained.
-
December 04, 2025
Ontario Court of Appeal weighs real public risk against public opinion
There is significant public pressure to deny bail after a person is arrested for a criminal offence. It is also reasonable to expect that this pressure could influence a Court of Appeal judge to refuse bail when an application for bail pending appeal is made, especially if the conviction involves a serious offence.
-
December 04, 2025
MORTGAGES - Mortgage agreement - Terms - Mortgagee’s remedies - Foreclosure order - Right to redemption
Appeal by Innovation Federal Credit Union Limited from chambers judge’s decision disallowing property insurance expenses. Innovation entered into a mortgage agreement with the respondents under which Innovation provided loan financing to the respondents who, in turn, granted a mortgage over their property to Innovation to secure repayment of the loan.
-
December 04, 2025
A manually actuated excavation device and other excuses for legal bafflegab
Let’s call a spade a manually actuated excavation device. Why? Well, I can think of at least four reasons.
-
December 03, 2025
Federal judges ‘reluctantly’ take Carney gov’t to court in dispute over pay, judicial independence
In a pay dispute with Ottawa that raises questions about the requirements for judicial independence, the Canadian Superior Courts Judges Association (CSCJA) and the associate judges of the Federal Court separately filed Federal Court applications seeking judicial review of the Carney government’s recent refusal to implement the recommendations of an independent judicial pay commission, including its advice that a $28,000 salary boost (on top of mandatory annual indexing) is necessary to keep attracting outstanding lawyers to the federal benches.
-
December 03, 2025
Ottawa releases world’s first standard for accessible, inclusive AI design
Accessibility Standards Canada has released what it says is the world’s first standard on accessible and equitable artificial intelligence (AI), aimed at enabling the development of AI systems that are accessible to people with disabilities.
-
December 03, 2025
New Alberta law sparks debate on regulatory freedom
Alberta’s legislative move to limit the disciplinary authority of professional regulatory bodies has stirred controversy, with legal analysts debating its implications for professional independence and the broader regulatory landscape.