Civil Litigation

  • July 08, 2026

    B.C. eyes lawsuit over Tumbler Ridge shooting

    British Columbia has retained counsel in both Canada and the United States to pursue legal action against artificial intelligence company OpenAI over its failure to notify law enforcement of threats made on its ChatGPT platform prior to the mass shooting at Tumbler Ridge Secondary School earlier this year. The province has retained Vancouver’s CFM Lawyers and California-based Stranch, Jennings & Garvey (SJ&G) to explore all legal avenues open to it over the February 2026 shooting, which left eight dead and 27 others wounded.

  • July 08, 2026

    How to decide between arbitration and litigation

    Mediation doesn’t always end with a handshake. After 39 years of handling commercial and employment disputes, I can tell you that a failed mediation is not necessarily a failure of the process; often, it is useful information. It tells you something about where the parties actually stand, and it forces a decision that matters as much as anything that came before it: arbitration or litigation?

  • July 08, 2026

    A day wasted driving to court

    Last week, I had a settlement conference scheduled at the Milton, Ont., courthouse on one of my “remaining” litigation files.

  • July 08, 2026

    Arbitrage betting and Canadian tax law: When ‘risk-free’ profits become taxable

    Arbitrage betting, often described as “sure betting” or “arb betting,” has gained increasing prominence in Canada following the expansion of regulated single-event sports betting and the rapid growth of offshore and blockchain-based prediction markets.

  • July 08, 2026

    P.E.I. library hotspots could help residents access virtual court: province

    Prince Edward Island is bringing internet access to those who lack it with portable hotspot devices available through the library — and there is “no reason” they could not be used for virtual court appearances, says a government spokesperson.

  • July 07, 2026

    Vacation pay and the reasonable notice period: Where Canadian courts stand

    When a court awards damages in lieu of reasonable notice, should the award include vacation pay that would have accrued over the notice period?

  • July 07, 2026

    AI and accountability: Recent cases reshaping Canadian immigration law

    Artificial intelligence is no longer an emerging issue in Canadian immigration law. It is now firmly embedded in both immigration administration and the practice of immigration litigation.

  • July 07, 2026

    Tax transparency and procedural fairness: Lessons from King Charles’s disclosure for tax practitioners

    The King Charles tax disclosure creates no legal obligation in Canada and establishes no precedent that Canadian courts are required to follow. What it does is illustrate — at the level of a head of state — a principle that is deeply embedded in Canadian tax law and frequently litigated: that those who administer the tax system, and those who are subject to it, operate within a framework governed by the rule of law, institutional transparency and procedural fairness.

  • July 07, 2026

    NATURAL JUSTICE - Duty of fairness - Procedural fairness

    Appeal by appellant from an order dismissing his application for judicial review of an adjudicator’s decision confirming a Notice of Administrative Penalty (NAP) for failing or refusing to comply with a breath demand. The appellant was stopped by police following a trespass complaint and, after multiple unsuccessful attempts to provide a breath sample on an approved screening device administered by a second officer, was issued a NAP.

  • July 06, 2026

    Opioid class actions to proceed to early 2028 trial after appeal rulings: B.C. Attorney General

    British Columbia’s opioid class actions against manufacturers, wholesalers, distributors and consultants will proceed to trial in early 2028 after the B.C. Court of Appeal dismissed the final appeals challenging certification, Attorney General Niki Sharma said in a statement issued July 6.