The Complete Brief
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October 03, 2025
Ontario court jails contractor 21 days for contempt over unpaid wages
The Ontario Superior Court has sentenced the owner of multiple paving and construction firms to 21 days in jail over contempt after he repeatedly defied court orders to attend examinations over unpaid union wages owed by his companies.
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October 03, 2025
Canadian Intellectual Property Office rules AI cannot be inventor: The DABUS decision
On June 5, 2025, the Canadian Intellectual Property Office’s commissioner of patents ruled that Stephen Thaler’s Canadian patent application No. 3,137,161 was refused. The application, which is titled “Food Container and Devices and Methods for Attracting Enhanced Attention,” listed as its inventor DABUS (Device for Autonomous Bootstrapping of Unified Sentience), an artificial intelligence model created by Thaler.
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October 03, 2025
Hague abduction case pits B.C. Supreme Court against Bulgaria’s District Court
In Zahariev v. Zaharieva, 2025 BCCA 35, the British Columbia Court of Appeal considered a Hague Convention case that featured a contest between Bulgaria’s District Court and the British Columbia Supreme Court, in relation to the parties’ infant daughter, Neva.
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October 03, 2025
Legal classification of crypto assets in securities law re-examined following ruling by tribunal
The legal classification of crypto assets in securities law has been brought into question following a ruling by Quebec’s Financial Markets Administrative Tribunal. The tribunal held that the nature of a crypto and its potential classification as an investment contract may vary depending on the “economic reality” surrounding each transaction.
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October 03, 2025
Jeffrey Bradshaw joins leadership of DLA Piper’s restructuring group
DLA Piper (Canada) LLP has announced that Jeffrey Bradshaw has been appointed co-chair of the Canadian restructuring group in Vancouver.
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October 02, 2025
AI hallucinations in the legal context
Remember how skeptical people were of YouTube and content creation? This video tool became a creative outlet for many and led to the birth of occupations that did not exist before, like influencers. Now, the buzz is about TikTok. Think of AI for lawyers by analogy.
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October 03, 2025
Lack of clarity in jury instruction leads to new trial in Yukon murder case
Adam Cormack’s body was discovered near a gravel pit sometimes used as an informal shooting range on June 28, 2017. He had a single gunshot wound to the head. Edward James Penner was charged with first-degree murder.
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October 03, 2025
MINES AND MINERALS - Leases and licenses - Contracts
Appeal by Brad Paddison Contracting from decision of chambers judge dismissing its petition to enforce its lien. This appeal concerned the scope and registration of lien claims under the Miners Lien Act.
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October 02, 2025
Court upholds judgment on real estate partnership, related harassment claims
The Ontario Court of Appeal has dismissed an appeal in a case where it was disputed whether two purchasers of a property had entered into a partnership agreement. The action included allegations of harassment.
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October 02, 2025
Court rules Husky Energy failed to withhold required tax on $329M non-resident dividend
The Federal Court of Appeal has upheld a finding that Husky Energy improperly failed to withhold 25 per cent of nearly $329 million in dividends paid to Luxembourg corporations, finding that they were temporary custodians for the majority shareholders.