The Complete Brief
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July 24, 2025
Federal Court rules against Ottawa in Cold Lake military base tax dispute
The Federal Court of Appeal has ruled in favour of the City of Cold Lake, Alta., in a significant dispute over payments in lieu of taxes for a military base, finding that a federal minister failed to properly justify her decision on property valuations worth tens of millions of dollars.
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July 24, 2025
Alberta expands family justice strategy to more municipalities
The Alberta government is expanding its family justice strategy — which aims to give Albertans a more streamlined and consistent process to access family justice services — to more municipalities in the province.
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July 24, 2025
CSA report finds three concerns relating to CIRO’s regulatory processes
The Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA) has released a new report titled “Oversight Review Report of the Canadian Investment Regulatory Organization” (CIRO), evaluating whether CIRO has complied with terms and conditions of its recognition orders.
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July 23, 2025
Court confirms disclosure prohibition in Canada-U.S. bridge dispute
The Federal Court has confirmed that redacted information in litigation relating to two international bridges between Canada and the U.S. cannot be disclosed. The case involves a condition imposed by Canada to demolish part of the U.S. bridge.
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July 24, 2025
Manitoba groups getting almost $1 million for accessibility projects
Manitoba is giving $820,000 to numerous community organizations in a bid to tear down barriers and improve accessibility for those with disabilities.
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July 24, 2025
CRIMINAL CODE OFFENCES - Offences in relation to sexual services for consideration - Procuring - Material benefit from sexual services
Appeal by appellants from a judgment of the Alberta Court of Appeal which restored their convictions. The appellants were convicted of receiving a material benefit from sexual services and procuring a person to offer or provide sexual services for consideration.
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July 24, 2025
AI liability is rising: How will insurers respond?
AI is making its way into nearly every industry, but what happens when it causes harm? Who is legally responsible? Courts, lawmakers — and insurers — are still figuring that out. Recent cases and studies provide some insight into how tort law may evolve.
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July 24, 2025
Divorce, second time around — it can hit your clients twice as hard
Everyone knows that marriages don’t always last. But it’s not just first marriages that struggle to survive — many second and third marriages end in divorce as well. According to Statistics Canada’s most recent General Social Survey (2017), more than one-quarter of Canadians aged 35-64 were on their second or subsequent marriage — but only about half of those couples were still together a decade later.
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July 24, 2025
Security concerns no excuse for treating all Chinese students as spies
A recent Law360 article argues that Canada should “enhance vetting” of students from the People’s Republic of China (PRC) who are “linked to state actors.” It suggests that applicants with ties to government or military organizations, or even family connections to state entities, should face heightened scrutiny. On the surface, this appears to be a prudent national security policy. But scratch deeper and it reveals a dangerous, ill‑defined approach that risks painting an entire group with the same brush.
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July 24, 2025
Family separation consequences taken into consideration in sentencing
When a family relationship ends, it can be likened to the nursery rhyme “Humpty Dumpty.” When the details of the breakup are presented in court, a judge’s role is to try to put the pieces together again. That appears to be the task the Ontario Court of Appeal took on in R. v. D.L., 2025 ONCA 533. They became the king’s horses and king’s men.