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October 23, 2026
For the first time in more than 50 years, the Court of Appeal for Ontario has updated its test for leave to appeal from a decision of the Divisional Court. In Knauff v. Ontario (Human Rights Tribunal), 2026 ONCA 653, a five-judge panel confirmed that the test for leave is whether the proposed appeal raises an arguable question of law or mixed law and fact that is of sufficient public importance to warrant consideration by the Court of Appeal.
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October 23, 2026
Nova Scotia’s highest court has ruled that plaintiffs in a multimillion-dollar civil conspiracy lawsuit provide “full particulars” in their claim against a company accused of dealing in the illegal lobster trade.
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October 22, 2026
The Supreme Court of Canada has granted Ottawa’s request for leave to appeal Federal Court rulings that held that the federal government wrongly declared a national “public order” emergency in 2022. On Oct. 22, the top court granted the federal government’s leave application and also granted leave to cross-appeal to the Canadian Civil Liberties Association (CCLA) and the Canadian Constitution Foundation (CCF).
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October 22, 2026
The Federal Court has awarded a prison inmate $7,500 in Charter damages, finding that Correctional Service Canada’s failure to provide prescribed medication for his bipolar disorder while he was held in a dry cell constituted cruel and unusual treatment.
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October 22, 2026
Ottawa has launched its first-ever cross-country recruitment drive for the federal benches, in the midst of a lawsuit from the judiciary, in which Ottawa denies having a judicial recruitment problem.
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October 22, 2026
Within the practice of cultural property restitution and estate asset recovery, fiduciary litigators and trust administrators frequently encounter unique administrative challenges.
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October 22, 2026
Appeal by the Crown against acquittals of Singh and Grewal. An RCMP officer stopped their vehicle. Based partly on information received from another RCMP member, and partly on observations, the officer formed the belief that Singh and Grewal possessed controlled substances for the purpose of trafficking and arrested them.
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October 21, 2026
Dementia Justice Canada is urging Parliament to require an independent legal assessment before medical assistance in dying is administered under an advance request, warning that people who have lost decision-making capacity need protection from coercion, undue influence and abuse.
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October 21, 2026
The evening Of Oct. 8 saw a gathering at the Law Society of Ontario's Convocation Hall of an eclectic mix of those at the forefront of the innocence movement in this country. The occasion was the 12th anniversary of International Wrongful Conviction Day.
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October 21, 2026
A royal commission or national commission of inquiry into immigration could boost Canadians’ understanding of hot-button immigration issues and generate positive public dialogue as well as needed policy reforms, says an expert on Quebec’s uniquely autonomous immigration regime that sparks envy from other provincial leaders.
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October 21, 2026
A police officer investigating suspected drug trafficking does not have to eliminate every innocent explanation for a suspect’s behaviour before making an arrest. But an officer’s training and experience alone cannot justify depriving someone of liberty.
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October 21, 2026
Appeal by accused from convictions for sexual interference, invitation to sexual touching and forcible confinement.
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October 20, 2026
An open letter, titled “Reconciliation and Reintegration Cannot Mean Exclusion,” challenges McGill University’s decision to exclude Jeffrey G. Ewert from campus after concerns about his presence were raised. The letter, addressed to the leadership of McGill University, notes that Ewert is an Indigenous man serving a life sentence, a survivor of the Sixties Scoop and was admitted to first-year law at McGill. The university’s Oct. 6, 2026, exclusion order barred him from campus until Oct. 28 and prohibited him from communicating with female students during that period.
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October 19, 2026
The Government of Ontario is planning on introducing changes to “strengthen enforcement against illegal cannabis sales” to protect consumers, while also “promoting a fair and competitive marketplace for the approximately 1,800 authorized cannabis retailers operating across the province.”
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October 19, 2026
Law students should learn from the difficult realities of rehabilitation. A controversy at McGill University law school raises questions about campus safety, reintegration and the educational value of confronting the criminal justice system.
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October 16, 2026
For lawyers, a photograph with a political figure can do two jobs. It can reassure a prospective client that a lawyer understands where decisions get made. It can also invite a question: Whose side is this firm on?
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October 16, 2026
For the first time, the Supreme Court of Canada has explained when and how the Criminal Code’s s. 276 rules limiting the admissibility and use of evidence of complainants’ sexual history apply in prosecutions for non-enumerated sexual exploitation crimes, such as human trafficking and selling “sexual services.”
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October 16, 2026
Canada and Manitoba have announced an investment of $163.5 million for two major initiatives under the First Nations and Inuit Policing Program that respond to the unique needs and priorities of First Nations in Manitoba.
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October 16, 2026
Appeal by the Crown from the order quashing the respondents’ convictions for receiving a material benefit from sexual services, procuring and advertising sexual services, and ordering new trials.
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October 16, 2026
The Manitoba Court of Appeal has upheld a sentence of two years less a day to be served in the community for a man convicted of criminal harassment, unlawfully entering a dwelling house, sexual assault and assault against his former intimate partner (R. v. B.S.H., 2026 MBCA 70). The decision recognizes the seriousness of domestic and sexual violence while reaffirming the deference owed to sentencing judges.
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October 16, 2026
Appeal by the Crown from a global sentence of two years less a day to be served as a conditional sentence order (CSO), followed by one year of unsupervised probation.
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October 15, 2026
The Alberta Court of Appeal has partially allowed Christopher John Barron’s sentence appeal, reducing his global sentence after finding that the sentencing judge had punished him twice for the same conduct (R. v. Barron, 2026 ABCA 270).
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October 15, 2026
Segregation is seen as a necessary and justifiable punishment for maintaining safety and order in a prison. But as I presided over more than 900 disciplinary hearings in B.C. provincial prisons, it became clear that the practice failed to achieve its purpose. Rather than rehabilitating, it made prisoners worse, creating a revolving door.
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October 14, 2026
Keeping up with the speed of money, working with limited resources and assisting judges with gaps in their technical knowledge were among the challenges under the spotlight at a recent legal conference about cybercrime and crypto fraud.
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October 14, 2026
The 1939 film adaptation of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz includes this famous scene.