Civil Litigation
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January 19, 2026
When will parental alienation lead to reduced child support?
When does a parent’s deliberate obstruction of court-ordered parenting time justify the cancellation or reduction of child support? That question was addressed by the Supreme Court of British Columbia in K.A.N. v. N.L., 2025 BCSC 2477.
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January 19, 2026
What estate litigators can expect in 2026
2025 marked significant updates in estate litigation, introducing key reforms for practitioners. Changes to Estate Forms under Rules 74, 74.1 and 75 of the Rules of Civil Procedure, which took effect mid-August to simplify probate applications, will remain active into 2026. A notable Ontario Superior Court ruling in Mavalwala Estate v. Fast, 2025 ONSC 4100 confirmed that only physically executed wills are valid, and that electronic drafts are not valid. There have also been discussions regarding the changes to the Rules, which started in 2025 and will be implemented in 2026.
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January 19, 2026
B.C. Appeal Court upholds tax on foreign real estate buyers
B.C.’s top court has ruled the province’s so-called “foreign buyer’s tax” for certain real estate sales is payable on the whole transaction when any transferee is a foreign entity or taxable trustee.
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January 16, 2026
SCC’s packed winter session features momentous appeal on Charter s. 33 override provision
The Supreme Court of Canada began hearings in its very busy winter session this week, which features a potentially watershed constitutional appeal and the surprise announcement that Justice Sheilah Martin, the court’s senior western judge, will retire next spring.
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January 16, 2026
Court allows appeal in case of $3M penalty for undisclosed fee relating to mortgage
The Federal Court has allowed an appeal in a case where a financial institution was fined millions for two violations relating to fee disclosure in a mortgage agreement.
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January 16, 2026
N.B. opening anti-racism office, launching website
New Brunswick’s Liberal government is opening an anti-racism office to promote “equity and inclusion” in the province — and is now stating it has completed a little more than half the recommendations made in a commissioner’s report on the prevalence of systemic racism.
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January 16, 2026
Privacy commissioner investigates social media company due to reports of sexualized deepfake images
Canada’s privacy commissioner is expanding a current investigation into X Corp., the company that operates social media platform X, after reports that the platform’s chatbot is “being used to create explicit images of individuals without their consent.”
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January 16, 2026
Tribunal denies first public-interest Competition Act leave application against Google, Apple
The Competition Tribunal has denied the first application for leave to bring a private case under the Competition Act on public-interest grounds, finding the applicant failed to show a genuine public interest, sufficient evidentiary support, or the capacity to advance a complex competition case.
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January 16, 2026
Taskeen Nawab joins Aird & Berlis as associate
Taskeen Nawab, who was called to the Ontario bar in 2023, has joined Aird & Berlis as a member of the firm’s Indigenous practice and litigation groups.
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January 16, 2026
Ontario Civil Rules Review report calls for binding judicial dispute resolution
In my last article for Law360 Canada, I provided an overview of the Ontario Civil Rules Review (CRR), its Working Group and the Working Group’s final policy report (the Report), which called for, among other things, two reforms to the pre-trial process. That article explored the following reforms: