The Complete Brief
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November 17, 2025
Geneviève Langlois appointed to Court of Quebec
Geneviève Langlois has been appointed to the Court of Quebec, where she will primarily serve in the Criminal and Penal Division in Joliette.
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November 17, 2025
Saying ‘yes’ to discomfort: How risk-taking grows elder law advocacy
Most legal careers are built on expertise, specialization and predictability. But some of the most meaningful work happens when lawyers say “yes” to cases that push them far outside their comfort zones.
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November 17, 2025
Refresher on legal ethics for unscrupulous litigators, part one
I am going to tell you a true story from out west. The names and a few details have been changed to protect me.
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November 17, 2025
Continuing education for judges
When an accused person is found guilty and sentenced to prison, it is likely that no one in the courtroom — not the prosecutor, not the defence counsel, not the jury and not the judge — fully understands what a prison term involves. To address this, the Ontario Court of Justice has established a continuing education program to enhance and maintain professional skills, as well as foster social awareness.
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November 17, 2025
The irrelevance of disability or death: Wrongful dismissal damages when employee can’t work
At two recent mediations, an issue arose that does not come up often, and as a result is not front of mind for most counsel: how to calculate wrongful dismissal damages when the employee could not have worked during the notice period. In both cases, defence counsel sought to discount damages to reflect what the employee would have earned had they actually been working, while plaintiff counsel insisted on full compensation for the entire notice period.
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November 17, 2025
PROCEEDINGS - Appeals and judicial review - Deference to expertise of decision maker
Appeal by Canadian Natural Resources Limited of trial judge’s decision on liability and costs award; cross-appeal by Signalta Resources Limited on damages award.
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November 17, 2025
ATV accident decision illustrative of ‘so much grey in criminal law’
A Toronto criminal lawyer, Michelle Psutka, posted this comment online: “There is so much grey in criminal law. Accused and convicted people are not inherently bad, and the state is not inherently good.”
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November 14, 2025
SCC settles appellate courts’ clash over evidentiary requirements for impaired driving convictions
Ruling 8-1 on the Criminal Code’s evidentiary requirements for impaired driving convictions, the Supreme Court of Canada has clarified that (1) the Crown does not have to prove at trial (but must disclose to the defence) the target value used in a breath test for alcohol and (2) the Crown can rely on a certificate from a qualified technician who administered the breath test to prove the breath machine was properly calibrated.
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November 14, 2025
B.C. commits $241M to double trades training in largest expansion in nearly 20 years
British Columbia has announced plans to invest $241 million to double trades-training in the province over the next three years, according to a release issued on Nov. 14.
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November 14, 2025
CFIA completes operations on B.C. farm to cull ostriches
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) has announced that it has completed its active operations at the Edgewood, B.C. farm whose ostriches were ordered to be depopulated due to avian flu.