July 03, 2026
The chair of the advisory board that recommended ex-Manitoba Court of King’s Bench Chief Justice Glenn Joyal and one other unnamed jurist for appointment to the Supreme Court of Canada defended the board’s decision not to shortlist three to five names, which was contrary to the mandate from Prime Minister Mark Carney.
July 02, 2026
The Supreme Court of Canada’s newest judge says his key areas of legal expertise are constitutional and criminal law, including the rules of evidence and procedure, though he has also presided over many civil and administrative law cases in his generalist trial court. Glenn Joyal, a former federal and Manitoba prosecutor and the longtime chief justice of the Manitoba Court of King’s Bench, was elevated by the prime minister to the top court on June 30, succeeding Supreme Court Justice Sheilah Martin of Alberta, the highly respected constitutional and criminal law litigator, academic and judge who retired from the bench May 30.
June 30, 2026
Public schools in P.E.I. have adopted a new sexual misconduct policy in a bid to better protect students by focusing on prevention, early intervention and a uniform complaints process.
June 30, 2026
The B.C. Court of Appeal has upheld the certification of a class action against opioid manufacturers, distributors and wholesalers over health-care costs arising from the opioid crisis, rejecting arguments that the plaintiffs were required to produce more detailed evidence to support certification.
June 29, 2026
Ontario’s civil courts continue to struggle with post-pandemic delays. The problem is not just administrative. In personal injury litigation — and especially in motor vehicle collision cases — delay changes the financial value of a claim. For plaintiffs, longer times to get to trial do not simply postpone compensation. They can reduce it.
June 29, 2026
While the Ahluwalia decision solidified a groundbreaking civil framework for addressing coercive control, Parliament simultaneously built a parallel carceral one (Ahluwalia v. Ahluwalia, 2026 SCC 16). The federal intention behind Bill C-16 is well-intentioned — aiming to intervene early, recognize psychological containment as violence, and treat coercive control as a precursor to lethal escalation.
June 26, 2026
Underscoring the breadth of the constitutional obligation of first-party Crown disclosure to the defence, the Supreme Court of Canada has 7-0 clarified and elaborated on the scope of the duties of Crown and the police to disclose to the accused relevant police disciplinary records, as was previously established by R. v. McNeil, 2009 SCC 3.
June 26, 2026
The B.C. Court of Appeal has upheld the certification of a proposed class action against consulting giant McKinsey & Co. over allegations that it worked closely with opioid manufacturers and distributors to increase the sale and distribution of opioids in Canada for unsuitable uses.
June 25, 2026
For any legal practitioner or advocate deep in the gender-based violence (GBV) sector, certain names carry an undeniable historical weight. Recently, my mind has been occupied by a striking parallel: two landmark legal decisions, separated by more than 30 years and a vast ocean, yet fundamentally bound by the same name, the same history of horrific abuse and the same foundational concept: coercive control.
June 24, 2026
The Ontario Court of Appeal’s decision in Diep (Litigation guardian of) v. Mac’s Convenience Stores Inc., 2026 ONCA 424 is a useful reminder that not every injury occurring near a motor vehicle becomes an automobile case. Sometimes a car is central. Sometimes it is background scenery. And sometimes, as in this case, the vehicle is legally important for one purpose but not important enough for another.