The Complete Brief
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April 13, 2026
Why equal shares aren’t always equal: RRIF estate tax lessons
What happens when a Registered Retirement Income Fund (RRIF) is included in an estate but the will says nothing about it? The Québec Superior Court answered that question in Noël c. Birk, 2026 QCCS 187, and the answer should matter to every estate planner, liquidator and testator with registered assets.
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April 13, 2026
Substance over form: Alberta Court of Appeal stays third-party claim in favour of arbitration
In Arsopi v. ARVOS GmbH, 2026 ABCA 49, the Alberta Court of Appeal (the ABCA) allowed an appeal from a decision that only partially stayed a third-party claim in favour of arbitration. The court concluded that the entire dispute fell within the scope of a broadly worded arbitration clause agreed to by sophisticated commercial parties.
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April 13, 2026
The AND mindset: How law firm leaders build businesses AND great lives
There is a story that quietly circulates through the legal profession. It goes something like this: to build a truly successful law firm, you must sacrifice everything else. Your weekends. Your health. Your presence at the dinner table. Your hobbies, friendships and any meaningful sense of personal fulfilment outside of work. Success, the story insists, demands total surrender.
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April 13, 2026
Ontario increasing WSIB benefits for injured workers, over 65s
The Ontario government is proposing an increase to income replacement benefits that workers receive through the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB) if they are injured on the job. The province said this was the first of such an increase in nearly 30 years.
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April 13, 2026
Self-represented accused loses bid to overturn home invasion decision
It was a scene one might have expected to see on the popular TV cop series The Rookie. Armin Babic, then 42, of Edmonton committed an armed home invasion on Nov. 19, 2019.
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April 13, 2026
Ontario 2026 budget introduces enhanced HST relief on new homes
On March 26, the province of Ontario introduced its 2026 budget, which proposes a temporary enhancement to the provincial portion of the Harmonized Sales Tax (HST) New Housing Rebate and New Residential Rental Property Rebate. The measure is intended to improve housing affordability by increasing the amount of provincial HST relief available on qualifying new home purchases while preserving the existing rebate framework and eligibility rules.
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April 13, 2026
SCC’s new session precedes big moves as Martin J. and judges prep for departures
The Supreme Court of Canada’s spring docket presents the nine judges with a wide range of appeals, including the last cases to be heard by soon-to-retire Justice Sheilah Martin and her colleagues in their iconic 1940s-era Ottawa courthouse, which is slated for a multi-year major update. The Supreme Court’s new spring session, scheduled from April 13 to May 22, 2026, features 14 appeals, 10 of which involve criminal law issues.
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April 13, 2026
Should you make the first offer? Anchoring, aggression and strategy in settlement negotiations
Is it better to make a first offer in negotiations? And what about aggressive first offers — do they set an advantageous anchor or lead to insult and impasse?
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April 13, 2026
CREDITORS AND CLAIMS
Appeal by appellants from an order approving three sale transactions recommended by the court appointed receiver of 720434 N.B. Inc. (720). The Caisse, holding first mortgages over all nine rental properties owned by 720, obtained the receivership order and a court approved Sale and Investment Solicitation Process (SISP).
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April 10, 2026
Yukon government apologizes to students over use of restraints, seclusion at elementary school
The Yukon government has issued a public apology to students and former students of Jack Hulland Elementary School (JHES) in Whitehorse, including those in a specialized behavioural support program who were subjected to holds, restraints and seclusion.