The Complete Brief

  • November 13, 2026

    Budget 2026: A renovation, not a rebuild

    If Canada’s tax system were a house, business leaders would want more than new kitchen countertops. A KPMG pre-budget survey found that 87 per cent of business leaders support a comprehensive review of the tax system. Budget 2026 did not deliver a new house. However, it did deliver targeted renovations on some work that was long overdue.

  • November 13, 2026

    EVIDENCE - Weight - Circumstantial evidence

    Appeals by Hudson and Paramsothy (appellants) from their convictions for first degree murder and application by Hudson for leave to appeal his sentences for offences arising from a condominium robbery.

  • November 12, 2026

    Ontario court declines to rule out land remedy for historical breaches of Crown honour

    The Ontario Superior Court has declined to rule out a constructive trust over 651 Crown-owned parcels on the Bruce Peninsula as a potential remedy for historical breaches of the honour of the Crown, including the Crown’s failure to diligently protect First Nations’ lands from settler encroachment.

  • November 12, 2026

    An unexpected scary golf liability

    We hear a lot about growing the game of golf. From Rory McIlroy to Bryson DeChambeau and all the way back to Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus, the notion has been on every player’s lips: “We need to grow the game, bring youth to golf.” Those comments are inevitably followed by full-throated support for some youth-focused program — Drive, Chip & Putt; First Tee Canada; Youth on Course and others. These programs are designed to connect young people with golf professionals and coaches for lessons so they learn the game properly from the ground up.

  • November 12, 2026

    Ontario bringing in new measures for OSAP oversight at career colleges

    The Ontario government has announced it will be introducing legislation that, if passed, would “strengthen oversight and enforcement for private post-secondary institutions in the OSAP system and provide new tools to protect students and taxpayers.”

  • November 12, 2026

    G7 ministers reaffirm stance on global conflicts, commit to ongoing initiatives

    Foreign ministers from Canada and other G7 countries have issued a joint statement after their meeting in Paris on topics relating to Ukraine, the Middle East, Sudan and other global affairs, as well as economic and food security, organized crime and frontier models.

  • November 12, 2026

    IRCC provides details of time-limited measure under Provincial Nominee Program

    Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) has provided more details on a time-limited measure introduced in Budget 2026 that the department says will help provinces and territories address their labour market needs.

  • November 12, 2026

    Blakes welcomes tax partner Lance Fraser

    Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP (Blakes) has welcomed Lance Fraser as a partner in its tax group in Toronto.

  • November 12, 2026

    Allie Larson joins MLT Aikins in Edmonton

    Allie Larson has joined MLT Aikins in Edmonton.

  • November 12, 2026

    Langlois adds 8 legal professionals, expands tax and notarial services

    Langlois has welcomed eight legal professionals to its Montreal office, expanding its tax practice and introducing notarial services for business clients.

  • November 12, 2026

    East Coast man loses appeal in bar fight self-defence claim

    New Brunswick’s top court has denied the appeal of a man who claimed self-defence in causing severe head injuries to a drunken opponent in a bar fight. The Oct. 29 ruling by the Court of Appeal of New Brunswick in R. v. Cook, 2026 NBCA 121 involved Arthur Cook, who was convicted of causing Brian Clarke to suffer a fractured skull and brain bleed after the former punched the latter while in a Saint John pub.

  • November 12, 2026

    Don’t ever use this word when talking to a prisoner

    When I began presiding over disciplinary hearings for B.C. Corrections, I quickly realized I had to relearn how to listen. Incarcerated individuals navigate their environment using their own distinct vocabulary; without understanding it, you risk missing essential pieces of the story, or misinterpreting it entirely.

  • November 12, 2026

    Budget 2026 manages immigration numbers, but not the system

    Canada’s new immigration plan is a necessary correction. Yet without stronger integrity controls, transparent targets and accountable enforcement, it risks confusing lower intake with effective management.

  • November 12, 2026

    Ontario’s PULSE report recommends changes to utility governance and investment

    On Oct. 27, Ontario’s Ministry of Energy and Mines released the long-awaited final report from the Panel for Utility Leadership and Service Excellence (the PULSE report).

  • November 12, 2026

    Ontario wills: When ‘no contest’ means no inheritance

    In our recent article, An estate lawyer’s guide to the estate litigation galaxy, we discussed will challenges and raised that on the planning side, lawyers may consider including a no-contest clause in a will as a deterrent to potential litigation. In this article, I will be highlighting the use of no-contest clauses in wills.

  • November 12, 2026

    MARITAL OR FAMILY PROPERTY - Equalization or division - Test of  unconscionability - Matrimonial or family home

    Appeal by husband from judgment ordering unequal division of net family property, retroactive and ongoing child and spousal support, sale of matrimonial home, and costs. The parties separated after a 13-year marriage and had two children in the wife’s care.

  • November 11, 2026

    Luke Lynett-Howes joins NIKA LAW as an associate

    An October 2026 call and a 2025 graduate of the University of Saskatchewan College of Law, Luke Lynett-Howes has joined the boutique NIKA LAW.

  • November 11, 2026

    Women’s Law Association of Ontario announces new board

    The Women’s Law Association of Ontario (WLAO) has announced its new board of directors and executive committee following its annual general meeting on Nov. 9.

  • November 11, 2026

    Federal Court rules costs for jurisdictional dismissal can include unheard motions

    The Federal Court has ruled that a party successful on a motion to strike for lack of jurisdiction may recover justified costs for the entire proceeding, including preparation for motions that were never heard.

  • November 11, 2026

    Crawford Munroe Thomson adds associate Lauren Dinwoodie

    Lauren Dinwoodie has joined Crawford Munroe Thomson LLP’s Vancouver office as an associate.

  • November 11, 2026

    Alberta court dismisses appeal, clarifies considerations for noting in default

    The Alberta Court of Appeal has dismissed an appeal in a case where a noting in default was set aside, then restored, finding that a court may consider the test for setting aside a default judgment when deciding whether to lift a noting in default.

  • November 11, 2026

    The car remembers: Preserving vehicle data in Ontario, explaining its absence and spoliation

    When it comes to evidence in motor vehicle matters, “nothing to produce” does not mean spoliation. Before alleging destruction of vehicle data amounting to spoliation, counsel must investigate what records existed, who held them and whether the opposing party took reasonable steps to retrieve them.

  • November 11, 2026

    When officials ignore the courts, the rule of law is at stake

    The rule of law rests on a simple bargain. Parliament makes the law, the executive carries it out, and the courts say what the law means. Each branch has to respect the role of the others. When officials charged with enforcing a statute decide they are not bound by the courts’ interpretation of it, the bargain breaks down.

  • November 11, 2026

    Foreign buyer ban set for extension but with new housing exemption

    On Nov. 5, the federal government tabled Budget 2026: Masters of Our Destiny (Budget 2026), which includes a plan to extend the existing prohibition on non-Canadians purchasing residential property in Canada for an additional two years, to Jan. 1, 2029. The proposed extension includes a carve-out for new residential properties.

  • November 11, 2026

    Express Entry shrinks, provinces grow: Families, Quebec and historical comparisons

    Canada is continuing two earlier immigration initiatives announced under Budget 2025. These measures are separate from the new 200,000-person initiative.