Other Areas of Practice
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August 20, 2025
Settlement of $59M reached in Ontario correctional facilities lockdowns class actions
A proposed settlement of $59 million has been reached in Ontario class actions relating to lockdowns in correctional facilities due to alleged lack of staff, providing each eligible claimant with between $2,000 and $68,000 in compensation if approved.
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August 19, 2025
Feds announce probe into unpaid airline work in light of Air Canada flight attendant strike
As Air Canada flight attendants have reached a tentative deal to end their strike, the federal government has announced it is launching consultations regarding unpaid work in the airline sector. Meanwhile, labour unions are calling for an end to the “unconstitutional” section 107 of the Canada Labour Code.
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August 19, 2025
Court denies stay in securities case concerning privileged documents
The British Columbia Court of Appeal has denied a stay of proceedings sought by an appellant challenging the British Columbia Securities Commission (BCSC)’s jurisdiction over privileged communications in a case that it brought against him.
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August 18, 2025
CSA highlights crypto alerts, enforcement in 2024-25 review
The Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA) has published its annual “Year in Review” report for 2024-2025, which discusses progress made on the six strategic goals outlined in its 2022-2025 business plan. It noted that a majority of issued alerts related to crypto assets.
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August 15, 2025
The Friday Brief: Editor-In-Chief’s must-read items from the past two weeks
Here are my picks for the top stories we’ve published over the last two weeks.
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August 13, 2025
Cowichan Nation descendants successful in land claims in ‘longest trial’ in Canada
In an Indigenous land claim case that spanned 513 trial dates, the B.C. Supreme Court has found that descendants of the historic Cowichan Nation have a claim to land and right to fish in an area of Richmond, B.C., and on the southern arm of the Fraser River. The province has noted it plans to appeal the decision.
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August 12, 2025
What has Ontario’s law society’s CEO salary scandal really cost us? Part two
Upon reflection, I realized there is a wonderful opportunity here for the law society to demonstrate its commitment to transparency by simply advising the profession how much this has all cost us. If I had to guess, I would put the global price tag in the seven-figure range. But I shouldn’t have to guess. The fees of the external human resources specialists, private law firms, Mr. O’Connor, the image consultants and the governance reviewer, among others, are paid by us — the licensees. We are entitled to see what we got for that money. And we are entitled to know what we spent.
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August 11, 2025
Court dismisses Bayer’s appeal on timing of patent and retroactive eligibility
The Federal Court of Appeal has dismissed an appeal by pharmaceutical manufacturer Bayer regarding a subsequent entry version of the drug aflibercept by a competitor that did not cite the appellant’s patent despite being filed first.
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August 11, 2025
What has Ontario’s law society’s CEO salary scandal really cost us?
As I wrote here in March, Ontario’s Law Society has recently been rocked by the biggest scandal in its existence. The genesis of the controversy was the approval of a massive compensation increase (ultimately worth substantially more than $1 million) to their former CEO by a single signature — that of former treasurer Jacqueline Horvat. I personally find it fascinating that anyone could possibly imagine that was how that worked, when the law society’s bylaws require 10 signatures on any motion a licensee may wish to bring at their AGM.
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August 08, 2025
B.C. judge certifies Indigenous child welfare class action despite Federal Court of Appeal setback
The British Columbia Supreme Court has certified a class action on behalf of thousands of off-reserve Indigenous children and families affected by what plaintiffs call the “Millennium Scoop,” alleging the ongoing, widespread removal of Indigenous children from their families by the child welfare system.