The Complete Brief

  • October 30, 2026

    Ontario law society rejects task force to look into TMU antisemitism claims

    Law Society of Ontario (LSO) benchers voted down a resolution at its most recent convocation to investigate allegations of antisemitism at Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU).

  • October 30, 2026

    Building a remission request the CRA must engage with

    Part one of this series established that third-party-created tax debt is recovered administratively, by set-off and without any proceeding. Part two established that the relief provisions practitioners reach for first cannot cancel the principal of it. This closing part addresses what remains.

  • October 30, 2026

    Canadian payroll is not enough: Proving an overseas assignment under PR residency rules

    A Canadian pay statement can be genuine and still prove the wrong point in a permanent resident (PR) residency case. The legal question is not simply who paid the worker abroad, but whether a qualifying Canadian business actually assigned that person to full-time work outside Canada on terms that meet the residency rules. Where the foreign role has no defined end or realistic Canadian position to return to, an employer’s letter may not resolve the problem.

  • October 30, 2026

    Alberta referendum results a ‘colossal failure’ for premier, lawyer says

    The polls have closed and the smoke has cleared from Alberta’s constitutional referendum that could have given the go-ahead to a separation vote, with provincial voters rejecting independence but backing a number of proposals on immigration issues that observers say could lead to legal and political difficulties down the road.

  • October 30, 2026

    OFFENCES RELATING TO CONVEYANCES - Dangerous operation - Causing bodily harm - Causing death

    Appeal by the Crown from a judgment affirming Zadeh’s acquittals on charges of dangerous driving causing death and dangerous driving causing bodily harm. Zadeh drove through a red light at a busy downtown Vancouver intersection without slowing down or attempting to stop.

  • October 30, 2026

    The art of proving less at trial

    Family law trials often involve proving matters that are not seriously in dispute. Financial statements, bank records and property transactions are introduced into evidence, sometimes at considerable expense, when the underlying facts could have been agreed upon beforehand.

  • October 30, 2026

    Trademark rights adrift: Abandonment and distinctiveness in Sea Tow v. C-Tow

    An abandoned trademark application may leave more than a gap in a brand’s history — it may undermine the owner’s ability to claim priority. The Federal Court of Appeal’s decision clarifies how abandonment affects trademark adoption and confirms that the same test for distinctiveness applies in opposition and expungement proceedings. (Sea Tow Services International, Inc. v. C-Tow Marine Assistance Ltd., 2025 FC 27 and costs at 2025 FC 355 appeal dismissed 2026 FCA 177.)

  • October 30, 2026

    Is independent asset verification becoming part of an estate trustee’s duty of inquiry?

    For generations, an estate trustee stepping into an administration has started with the paperwork in front of them: the will, the bank statements that happened to be lying around, the prior trustee’s inventory (if applicable). That starting point is not going away. But as estate trustees — and particularly neutral and succeeding trustees who inherit an administration someone else began — come under closer scrutiny, a question is emerging: is documented, independent verification of what the estate actually owns and owes becoming an expected part of the duty of inquiry?

  • October 30, 2026

    N.L. high court orders man’s release pending appeal of sexual, physical assault convictions

    A man found guilty of assault and sex offences has been freed while he appeals his convictions after a court weighed his solid release plan against risk to the public.

  • October 30, 2026

    Crime Stoppers: The price of outsourcing privacy

    The Privacy Commissioner’s investigation into the Crime Stoppers data breach raises fundamental questions about data security, corporate accountability and the obligations of organizations entrusted with confidential information.

  • October 30, 2026

    EVIDENCE - Witnesses - Credibility - Impeachment - Cross-examination

    Appeal by the appellant from convictions for sexual assault and assault. LV and the appellant were the only witnesses who testified. The case turned on credibility.

  • October 30, 2026

    TRUSTS - Constructive trusts - Discretionary remedy - Arises through operation of law - Creation

    Appeals by nine Settling Parties from the order excluding them from preserved proceeds; appeal by the Pichelli Group from the apportionment among investors who proceeded to trial; and motion by the Settling Party Appellants for leave to appeal costs.

  • October 29, 2026

    Ottawa plans economic, public safety & intelligence reform under new national security strategy

    Canada must “prepare for all contingencies up to and including war and other worst-case scenarios,” Prime Minister Mark Carney announced as he unveiled his government’s plan to roll out a new national security strategy over the coming year to ensure that the country can “control its own destiny and is resilient in the face of daunting challenges.”

  • October 29, 2026

    Cain Lamarre moves Lac-Mégantic office downtown

    Cain Lamarre has relocated its Lac-Mégantic, Que., office to a new space downtown.

  • October 29, 2026

    Farris announces 2027 summer students

    Farris has announced that eight law students will join the firm in May 2027 as part of its summer student program.

  • October 29, 2026

    Miller Thomson launches defence, security and aerospace group

    Miller Thomson has launched a national defence, security and aerospace industry group, co-led by partners Kirk Emery and Yves Rocheleau.

  • October 29, 2026

    Competition Bureau encourages limiting ‘prevalent’ use of non-competes

    In an open letter to provincial and territorial ministers, the interim commissioner of competition is encouraging the limitation of non-compete agreements to create a more competitive labour market.

  • October 29, 2026

    Ontario releases 2026 economic outlook, notes deficit increase

    On Oct. 29, the Government of Ontario issued its 2026 Economic Outlook and Fiscal Review, emphasizing its efforts to become “the most competitive, resilient and self-reliant economy in the G7.”

  • October 29, 2026

    Ontario urged to regulate AI use in criminal justice sector

    A major law reform institute is recommending the Ontario government adopt a widespread framework on artificial intelligence (AI) use in the criminal justice sector, saying not doing so will expose people to increased police surveillance and privacy violations.

  • October 29, 2026

    Fraudulent & unauthorized paid immigration & citizenship reps face up to $1.5M in penalties

    New penalties of up to $1.5 million are now in force for those who break the law when providing paid immigration or citizenship advice or representation — including licensed immigration consultants, lawyers and other authorized representatives, as well as people who give paid immigration or citizenship advice or representation without authorization.

  • October 29, 2026

    Federal Court rejects Black River First Nation challenge to Treaty 5 reserve land terms

    The Federal Court has dismissed a claim brought by Black River First Nation over less favourable reserve land terms under Treaty 5, finding that the disparity did not breach the honour of the Crown and that the Crown did not owe the First Nation a fiduciary duty when it joined the treaty.

  • October 29, 2026

    Rogers ordered to pay $15M over misleading ‘unlimited’ wireless plan ads

    Rogers Communications has been ordered to pay a $15-million administrative monetary penalty in relation to its advertising of wireless plans with limited high-speed data as “unlimited” or “infinite.”

  • October 29, 2026

    What are grounds of inadmissibility? How U.S. bars to re-entry and waivers work

    A ground of inadmissibility is a legal reason, set out in the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), that bars a foreign national from entering the United States. Did you know that every time a foreign national enters the U.S., a U.S. CBP officer makes a determination on whether the officer believes there is a relevant ground of inadmissibility that applies? If the officer determines that there is, U.S. immigration law prevents him or her from permitting that foreign national to enter the U.S.

  • October 29, 2026

    When Crime Stoppers can no longer promise anonymity

    Exposing millions of crime tips threatens more than personal privacy. It risks undermining public confidence in a system that depends on people being willing to speak. Anonymity can be essential to administering justice.

  • October 29, 2026

    The relief provisions that cannot reach coerced tax debt

    Part one of this series (see below for link) set out how a third party creates a federal tax liability in a taxpayer’s name and why recovery proceeds administratively against the provisions described there.