The Complete Brief
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December 19, 2025
Duty to consult may be triggered by unproven cross-border Indigenous claims: Federal Court
The Federal Court has found that Canada’s duty to consult under s. 35 of the Constitution Act may be triggered for an Indigenous group located outside Canada based on an unproven claim that the group are Aboriginal people of Canada.
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December 19, 2025
Health Canada to consult on proposed initiatives for greater drug access
Minister of Health Marjorie Michel has announced that consultations for two regulatory initiatives have now launched as part of Health Canada’s efforts to reduce red tape.
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December 19, 2025
The Friday Brief: Editor-In-Chief’s must-read items from this week
Here are my picks for the top stories we published this week.
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December 19, 2025
Prime minister announces Quebec Court of Appeal judge to be next deputy attorney general of Canada
In an unusual and surprising move, Prime Minister Mark Carney announced that a federal puisne judge, Justice Marie-Josée Hogue of the Quebec Court of Appeal, will become deputy minister of justice and deputy attorney general of Canada “early in the new year.”
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December 19, 2025
Stikeman Elliott adds 6 new associates in Montreal
Stikeman Elliott LLP has added six first-year associates to its Montreal office following their recent call to the Quebec bar, the firm announced.
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December 19, 2025
Deferred custody provisions in youth criminal legislation constitutional: Ontario Appeal Court
Ontario’s top court has ruled that prohibitions on deferred custody in the Youth Criminal Justice Act (YCJA) do not violate the Charter, with some legal observers saying the decision limits the flexibility of sentencing judges.
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December 19, 2025
Woods adds litigators Aliya Behar and Basma El Farouk
Woods LLP has added Aliya Behar and Basma El Farouk to its litigation team in Montreal following their call to the Quebec bar, the firm announced.
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December 19, 2025
Lawyering lessons learned at Santa’s knee
I did not know until a recent experience at my local Tim Hortons that there are striking similarities between judges and Santa Clauses. I was sipping my medium double double when I overhead a group of young children sitting at an adjacent table having a chat. They sounded a lot like lawyers at the pub sizing up judges. I listened keenly.
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December 19, 2025
The Friendly Bar Series, No. 14: Remembering the ‘why’ — A Friendly Bar reflection
As the year comes to a close, it is natural to reflect on our work, our choices and the reasons we entered this profession. Lawyers often get caught chasing success, recognition, or the next case milestone and, in doing so, lose sight of the deeper purpose that first drew them to law.
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December 19, 2025
Self-rep fails to convince Appeal Court to cancel $270,000 of support arrears
A case involving more than $270,000 in accumulated child and spousal support arrears, Garousi v. Garousi, 2025 BCCA 392, highlights several recurring issues in applications for retroactive variation of support, including chronic non-compliance, evidentiary shortcomings and the impact of significant arrears on both variation and appellate relief.