Pulse
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April 11, 2025
Ontario Court of Appeal upholds decision in Chippewas of Saugeen First Nation case
In a recent ruling, the Ontario Court of Appeal upheld a lower court’s decision in Chippewas of Saugeen First Nation v. South Bruce Peninsula (Town), [2024] O.J. No. 5607 a case that addresses key issues in the interpretation and application of Indigenous treaties. This decision examines important legal principles regarding treaty interpretation and the rights of landowners.
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April 10, 2025
Constitutional clash brewing as Ottawa targets immigration bar with up to $1.5 million in admin penalties
Bar organizations are warning Ottawa that a new administrative monetary penalty regime to be applied to legal professionals — featuring penalties of up to $1.5 million for immigration and refugee lawyers determined by federal officials to have participated in clients’ misrepresentations — will be constitutionally challenged if lawyers are not exempted from the proposed regulations, which are expected to come into force later this year.
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April 10, 2025
Are we inadvertently creating a surveillance state?
Canada is quietly becoming a nation where your face isn’t just yours anymore — it’s a data point in some corporate or government database, and nobody’s asking permission. The time is ripe to have an adult conversation about facial recognition technology in Canada — one that moves beyond simplistic trade-offs between security and privacy to examine the profound societal implications of biometric surveillance.
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April 10, 2025
‘Constitution does not fade from view in times of crisis,’ Ontario Appeal Court says in COVID-19 case
A former Ontario legislator has emerged victorious in his constitutional challenge of COVID-era gathering limits, with his lawyer saying the ruling will set the standard for jurisprudence on freedom of assembly issues in Canada.
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April 09, 2025
Aird & Berlis welcomes two new associates to its team
Jonathan Kyriacou and Nico Jones have joined Aird & Berlis LLP as associates.
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April 09, 2025
LSO’s appeal allowed, Divisional Court order quashed in November 2021 licensing exams breach
The Ontario Court of Appeal has allowed an appeal by the Law Society of Ontario (LSO) and quashed orders of the Divisional Court in connection with an information breach that compromised the integrity of the November 2021 online barrister and solicitor licensing exams.
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April 09, 2025
New $1 coin marks the creation of the Supreme Court of Canada 150 years ago
The Supreme Court of Canada marked a milestone birthday on April 8, 2025, 150 years after it came into existence on April 8, 1875, when the Supreme and Exchequer Courts Act received royal assent. The composition, powers and importance of the world’s only bilingual and bijural apex court have evolved considerably since the court first sat in 1876, after the original six-judge bench was appointed.
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April 09, 2025
Indigenous rights in Canada: So, so many questions
Canada stands at a pivotal moment in its relationship with Indigenous Peoples. Landmark court rulings and policy shifts have signalled a move toward stronger legal recognition of Indigenous land claims and self-governance. Yet, many argue that progress remains slow, uneven and often hindered by government inertia and corporate interests. The stark reality leaves the lingering question: is Canada truly committed to reconciliation, or are these developments in Indigenous jurisprudence merely incremental steps in a system that continues to resist meaningful change?
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April 09, 2025
Pro Bonzo
A brave articling student once quipped about me that “if you say ‘pro bono’ near Murray, you’d better be talking about Sonny & Cher.” Now that was a tad unfair. It was not that I was against our firm doing pro bono work, but I did want us to be doing it for people who could not afford a lawyer, as opposed to people who were just cheap and did not value what we did.
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April 09, 2025
Viability of private prosecutions in hate-motivated crimes
Section 504 of the Criminal Code permits anyone to initiate a criminal proceeding by laying an information in writing, under oath before a justice. In R. v. Mivasair, 2025 ONCA 179, the Ontario Court of Appeal reviews the law respecting private prosecutions including the role and duty of the Crown and the remedies available to an informant where the Crown has intervened and terminated a private prosecution.