Family
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August 01, 2025
Manitoba court clarifies proof standards for will challenges
For a will to be recognized as valid, the testator must have known and approved of its contents. Typically, knowledge and approval are presumed when a will is submitted for probate, provided it was duly executed.
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July 31, 2025
SCC rules Ontario court lacks jurisdiction over Ont. man’s tort claims against Italian defendants
In an important private international law judgment on the jurisdiction of Canadian courts over tort claims involving foreign defendants, the Supreme Court of Canada has ruled 5-4 that an Ontario court does not have jurisdiction to determine tort claims launched against three Italian companies by an Ontario resident injured on a holiday in Venice. On July 31, 2025, Justice Suzanne Côté, writing for the top court’s majority, dismissed the appeal of injured plaintiff Duncan Sinclair and his spouse, Michelle Sinclair, from a 2023 Ontario Court of Appeal decision that stayed the plaintiffs’ Ontario Superior Court damages claims, for lack of jurisdiction: Sinclair v. Venezia Turismo, 2025 SCC 27.
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July 31, 2025
Court denies production of children’s aid society files ahead of class action certification
The Ontario Superior Court of Justice has denied a request for document production of files from children’s aid societies in a putative class action alleging that the defendants breached the standard of care owed to children in their care.
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July 30, 2025
Expert panel recommends 24 pre-1970 Supreme Court precedents for priority translation
The Supreme Court of Canada — which drew fire last year for its posting, and then removal, of some 6,000 pre-1970 untranslated (mostly English) judgments from its website — says it has started to translate some of the court’s “most significant” decisions rendered before the 1970 Official Languages Act (OLA) required all new judgments to be issued simultaneously in both official languages.
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July 29, 2025
Trudeau Liberals increased diversity of federal benches; female jurists made big gains: report
The former Trudeau government’s nine-year push for diversity in federal appointments since 2016 saw big progress for female jurists — who now make up 49 per cent of all federally appointed judges — along with significant gains for jurists who self-identify as Indigenous, racialized, ethnic, 2SLGBTQI+ or as having a disability, according to the latest information from the Office of the Commissioner for Federal Judicial Affairs.
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July 29, 2025
N.B. funding programs for victims of gender-based violence
As part of its ongoing efforts to tackle an epidemic of gender-based violence, New Brunswick is spending millions on emergency transition programs, outreach initiatives and “second-stage” housing.
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July 29, 2025
Shifting Canadian attitudes toward immigration
For much of its modern history, Canada has stood out as a beacon of openness and multiculturalism, with immigration widely embraced as a key pillar of economic prosperity. However, in recent years, this long-standing support has begun to show signs of erosion.
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July 28, 2025
How your kids can access the ‘Bank of Mom and Dad’ to buy a home
Even though the housing market in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) and elsewhere is currently undergoing a downturn due to economic uncertainty, homeownership likely remains out of reach for many. For young Canadians, a home purchase is often supported (at least partially) by the “Bank of Mom and Dad.”
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July 25, 2025
Is generative AI a threat to the integrity of the justice system?
The use of generative artificial intelligence in the legal profession is continuing to grow. Although its application may have value in some areas of practice, its use in litigation has raised significant ethical questions because of the tendency for AI platforms to hallucinate cases. In circumstances where a court relies on fake cases to influence a decision, the integrity of the administration of justice and the legal profession can be irreparably tarnished.
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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.