The Complete Brief
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March 19, 2026
Consumer protection requirements for direct selling contracts
Consumer protection laws are in place across Canada’s provinces and territories to protect consumers purchasing goods or services elsewhere than at a traditional retail store. Among other things, these laws set out certain informational disclosure requirements in sales contracts/order forms of direct selling companies (DS contracts).
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March 19, 2026
Appeal Court overturns sex assault conviction, orders new jury trial
At the core of a fair criminal trial lies a simple principle: the accused, not the lawyer, must decide the most basic choices about how the defence will be carried out. In a recent decision, the Ontario Court of Appeal determined that this principle was broken when a man convicted of sexual assault was never properly informed of his critical rights, including whether to testify and whether to appear in court in person.
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March 19, 2026
Employees must use full process in lodging safety concerns before alleging reprisal: lawyer
Those who accuse their employer of reprisal for raising safety concerns must exhaust all necessary steps in the process before lodging such a complaint, says a lawyer of a case involving a Nova Scotia teacher alleging her school punished her for complaining about the air quality in her classroom.
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March 19, 2026
CIVIL PROCEDURE - Judgments and orders - Summary judgments - Misapprehension of or failure to consider evidence
Appeal by RIP Plaintiffs from a decision granting summary judgment dismissing their civil action as commenced outside the limitation period. The RIP Plaintiffs (RIP Beverages, MacDonald Jewellery Design, Wilson, MacDonald, and Klassen) advanced approximately $3.5 million to the Dunn Defendants for the development of three specific liquor stores (Enterprise stores).
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March 19, 2026
Ontario appellate court ruling reinforces importance of accused’s right to cross-examination
In a case centred on cross-examination, the Ontario Court of Appeal has ruled in favour of appellant Rimzan Lye that the test was met to advance a Charter s. 8 claim that his rights were violated when police conducted surveillance of him without warrant.
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March 18, 2026
SCC asked to review FCA ruling that Ottawa wrongly declared nat'l emergency during trucker blockades
Ottawa’s request to appeal to the Supreme Court of Canada court rulings below which held that the federal government wrongly declared a national “public order” emergency in 2022 argues that there are three issues “of public importance” that warrant the top court’s determination.
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March 18, 2026
Affordable housing bylaw did not violate municipal governance legislation: Alberta Court of Appeal
Alberta’s top court has ruled that a municipal bylaw meant to help generate revenue for affordable housing did not run afoul of provincial legislation.
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March 18, 2026
World Anti-Doping Agency agrees to limit athlete data use after federal privacy probe
The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) has agreed to take steps to ensure that sensitive personal information collected from athletes that is under its control is not used for purposes beyond anti-doping, as part of a compliance agreement with the federal privacy commissioner.
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March 18, 2026
Court allows appeal finding claim for a sold dog was not vexatious
The British Columbia Court of Appeal has allowed an appeal finding that an appellant’s claim for a dog she purchased and wished to return engaged contract law and was not frivolous, vexatious or an abuse of process.
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March 18, 2026
The mask of professionalism: Stress of maintaining the ‘good lawyer’ image
In the first part of this two-part series (see link below), I wrote that in addition to actual legal work, most lawyers are also expected to act, speak and dress in certain ways. This added layer of effort can feel like a performance. It requires constantly monitoring yourself to maintain the image of a “good lawyer,” and it is exhausting. Here, I turn to what can be done to reduce the stress associated with all this extra labour.