The Complete Brief
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June 17, 2025
The Parenting Plan Guide: Time for version 2.0?
Parenting Plan Guides are being used in Ontario, Alberta and British Columbia, with a soon-to-be-released Nova Scotia version, to help parents, professionals and courts make developmentally appropriate plans for the care of children after separation. These materials have often been cited by the courts, and it is time to assess how useful these materials are and consider whether they should be revised.
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June 17, 2025
23andMe data breach a ‘cautionary tale’ for all organizations, warns OPC
The Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada (OPC) has warned that the global data breach at 23andMe serves as a “cautionary tale for all organizations about the importance of data protection in an era of growing cyberthreats.”
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June 17, 2025
Capacity: No one test to rule them all
Ontario’s Rules of Professional Conduct require lawyers to turn their minds to their clients’ capacity throughout the retainer. However, determining capacity is often much more complex than it initially appears.
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June 17, 2025
Unconscionability, contractual oddities in gig-worker arbitration agreements in Davis v. Amazon
The Ontario Court of Appeal’s decision, and before it that of the Superior Court of Justice, in Davis v. Amazon Canada Fulfillment Services, ULC, 2025 ONCA 421, addresses complex issues surrounding the enforceability of arbitration agreements within the context of gig-economy employment contracts.
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June 17, 2025
The importance of a well-drafted confidentiality clause, and the dangers of AI
A recent US$3.1-million award by a Florida jury in favour of Pliteq, Inc. (Pliteq, Inc. v. Mostafa, 2025 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 60316), a Canadian international engineering services and manufacturing enterprise, against a high-ranking Dubai-based employee who stole trade secrets demonstrates that — despite cross-border tensions — Donald Trump’s America may still be a favourable place for Canadian businesses to seek and obtain justice.
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June 16, 2025
Canadian IP Office advances online tools, cuts application backlog: report
The Canadian Intellectual Property Office (CIPO) has tabled its 2023–2024 annual report in Parliament noting progress it made in that fiscal year, including developing over 200 online intellectual property (IP) tools.
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June 16, 2025
Insurance Bureau says unchecked increase in litigation funding could drive up insurance costs
The Insurance Bureau of Canada (IBC) is calling for restrictions on litigation funding on the basis that it is being used as an investment tool that uses the court system to generate profits for large financial firms.
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June 16, 2025
Privacy watchdog: Vending machine cameras at University of Waterloo breached privacy law
The University of Waterloo violated the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (FIPPA) by using smart vending machines on campus that captured users’ facial images without consent or proper notice, the Ontario Information and Privacy Commissioner (IPC) has ruled.
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June 16, 2025
Nova Scotia announces faster approvals process for metal mining projects
The Nova Scotia government has announced a streamlined approvals process for metal mining that will feature phased, post-approval submission of key operational plans. But environmental advocates are raising concerns that the new system will reduce transparency and public input.
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June 16, 2025
Ontario judge allows health services board to intervene in private clinic's $290K repayment appeal
The Ontario Superior Court of Justice has allowed the Health Services Appeal and Review Board to intervene in an appeal of its own decision requiring a private health facility to repay more than $290,000 to the Ministry of Health.