Civil Litigation

  • July 17, 2026

    Feds to spend $607M in next phase of plan to end gender-based violence

    Canada’s government is spending more than half a billion dollars to support the next phase of its decade-long push to eradicate gender-based violence. On July 16, it was announced that Ottawa will be investing $607.4 million into its ongoing National Action Plan to End Gender-based Violence — a 10-year initiative where participating provinces and territories sign on to the plan and, in exchange, receive funding to help implement the plan in their respective jurisdictions.

  • July 17, 2026

    SCC rules medical treatment methods are not patentable, but drug-dosing regimens can be

    The Supreme Court of Canada has reaffirmed that Canadian patent law bars patent claims for “methods of medical treatment” but has also clarified that drug-dosing regimens can be patentable subject matter if they do not seek to monopolize professional medical skill and judgment. In its 158-page judgment handed down July 17, the top court 9-0 dismissed the appeal by generic drug manufacturer Pharmascience Inc. from decisions of the Federal Court and Federal Court of Appeal that affirmed the validity of the patent owned by the respondents, Janssen Inc. and Janssen Pharmaceutica N.V.

  • July 17, 2026

    Alberta court declines to refer shareholder dispute to arbitration for lack of jurisdiction

    The Alberta Court of King’s Bench has declined to refer a shareholder redemption dispute to arbitration, finding that it lacked jurisdiction because there was no binding arbitration agreement and one party had not consented to the court determining the scope of the proposed arbitration.

  • July 17, 2026

    Ontario court confirms COVID-19 limitation suspension applies to priority dispute notice period

    Although six years have passed since the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic, legislation enacted during that period continues to influence how courts interpret statutory provisions. Echelon Insurance v. Zenith Insurance Company, 2026 ONSC 1214 is a recent reminder that the legal effects of the pandemic continue to influence the interpretation of legislation enacted in response to those unprecedented circumstances.

  • July 17, 2026

    Irregularities can invalidate a will: More on Anroop v. Naqvi

    In the second part of this two-part series, we will be discussing what irregularities in a will can cause the entire will to be invalid and if a mistake in a will can be detrimental to its validity.

  • July 17, 2026

    Why valuation mistakes usually don’t negate a business sale in Quebec

    A key principle of Quebec contract law is that for a contract to be validly formed, the parties’ consent must be free and enlightened. An error can sometimes vitiate that consent, giving the court grounds to step in, but not every error has that effect. As a rule, a party can’t get a contract annulled just because they later realized it wasn’t a good deal after all, or because they overestimated the economic returns of doing business with the other party.

  • July 16, 2026

    UN convention on cybercrime a step closer to coming into force as Canada signs on

    Canada is now the 79th signatory to the United Nations Convention against Cybercrime, a groundbreaking treaty aimed at providing a legal basis for international cooperation in the fight against cybercrime.

  • July 16, 2026

    Court rejects Dollarama’s motion to strike proposed greenwashing class action

    The Federal Court has dismissed Dollarama’s motion to strike a proposed class action alleging it engaged in greenwashing contrary to the Competition Act. The court rejected arguments of res judicata despite a similar action in Quebec.

  • July 16, 2026

    Glenn Joyal sworn in as Supreme Court of Canada justice

    The Honourable Glenn D. Joyal was officially sworn in on July 15 as a judge of the Supreme Court of Canada. According to the court, the private ceremony was held in Ottawa and presided over by Chief Justice Richard Wagner.

  • July 16, 2026

    WeirFoulds names 2 associates in litigation and corporate groups

    WeirFoulds has added Damian Di Biase and Rijja Baig as associates in its commercial litigation and corporate, securities and public companies practice groups, respectively.