Real Estate
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December 10, 2025
Will relaxed bank regulation help jump-start Canada’s economy?
Canada’s economic growth has slowed in recent years, with business investment lagging and productivity measures falling behind peer economies. Ottawa has hinted that any meaningful revival may need to start with the institutions that have remained resolutely strong: Canada’s major banks.
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December 09, 2025
Are Canadian courts fit for purpose?
With the Cowichan Tribes v. Canada (Attorney General), 2025 BCSC 1490 decision, the British Columbia Supreme Court cast aside nearly a millennium of certainty regarding land ownership. It did this by severely limiting the rights inherent to fee simple title. It additionally declared invalid land titles under the province’s Torrens land registry system (undermining the provincial guaranty inherent in Torrens systems). Given the nature of the claim, namely ownership and development of land that occurred in the absence of a formal treaty, this decision has nationwide implications.
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December 09, 2025
INTERPRETATION - General principles
Appeal by Young Chul Kim (Mr. Kim) and cross-appeal by Argo Ventures Inc. (Argo) from trial judge’s decision quantifying Mr. Kim’s entitlement under a development financing agreement related to the Olympic Village Project.
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December 08, 2025
Federal Court finds Canada owes fiduciary duty for on-reserve First Nations housing, water
A Federal Court judge has ruled that Canada owes a fiduciary duty to provide, ensure or not impede access to adequate on-reserve housing for remote First Nations.
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December 08, 2025
Quebec’s young lawyers are suffering psychological distress, report reveals
More than 60 per cent of Quebec lawyers with fewer than 10 years of experience suffer from psychological distress, a comprehensive study reveals, painting a disconcerting portrait of young lawyers overwhelmed by stress and struggling with the pressures of billable hours and long workweeks.
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December 05, 2025
HCRA under the microscope: What the auditor general missed about builders’ real challenges
In early October, the Office of the Auditor General of Ontario released its long-awaited performance audit of the Home Construction Regulatory Authority (HCRA). The report set out to evaluate whether the HCRA is effectively fulfilling its mandate to license and oversee new-home builders and protect consumers.
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December 04, 2025
Shauna Towriss joins Dentons as partner in Vancouver real estate group
Dentons has added Shauna Towriss as a partner in its real estate group in Vancouver.
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December 04, 2025
Case shows that Ontario public bodies will not be able to insulate themselves from scrutiny: lawyer
Ontario’s top court has ruled in favour of a business consortium in its fight with a utility over the building of an electrical substation, saying a lower court was wrong to determine it lacked jurisdiction to consider a decision made by the provincial energy board.
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December 04, 2025
Using s. 35 of the Property Law Act to extinguish, modify easements in B.C.
Easements, being one of the most common non-possessory interests in land, are often essential for the proper use and development of a dominant tenement. However, over time, changes in the character of the land, the surrounding neighbourhood or the purpose of the original grant can render an easement obsolete, impractical or economically detrimental to the burdened land (the servient tenement). In British Columbia, if parties do not agree to privately extinguish an easement, the owner of the servient tenement must apply to the court for relief under s. 35 of the Property Law Act.
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December 04, 2025
MORTGAGES - Mortgage agreement - Terms - Mortgagee’s remedies - Foreclosure order - Right to redemption
Appeal by Innovation Federal Credit Union Limited from chambers judge’s decision disallowing property insurance expenses. Innovation entered into a mortgage agreement with the respondents under which Innovation provided loan financing to the respondents who, in turn, granted a mortgage over their property to Innovation to secure repayment of the loan.