The Complete Brief
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February 04, 2026
An open letter to lawyers in Alberta and elsewhere on the importance of checks and balances
Dear fellow lawyers:
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February 04, 2026
Alberta seeking greater role in judicial appointments, threatens to withhold funding for judges
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith is asking the federal government for a greater say in judicial appointments and has threatened to withdraw funding to support any new judicial appointments in the province unless a more collaborative process is set up. In an open letter to Prime Minister Mark Carney, Smith also said Ottawa needs to relax bilingualism requirements for judicial appointments “that do not reflect Canada’s broader linguistic diversity in Western Canada and alienates Albertans and western Canadians alike.”
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February 04, 2026
McKercher names Perrault and Wilson as partners
McKercher LLP has welcomed Toni A. Perrault and Cole J.N. Wilson to its partnership in the firm’s Saskatoon office.
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February 04, 2026
How outdated website content quietly sabotages law firms
Law firms invest significant time and money producing website content, blog posts and practice area pages designed to inform prospective clients and demonstrate expertise. Once published, that content is often treated as an asset that continues working indefinitely.
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February 04, 2026
Marks & Clerk promotes Vekris, Smith and Young in Canada
Marks & Clerk has promoted three members of its Canadian team across its patents and trademarks practices, effective Feb. 1, 2026. Evangellos Vekris and Justin Smith have been named partners, while Shannon Young has been promoted to principal.
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February 04, 2026
Alberta Court of Appeal weighs need for police, relocation, special needs in child support case
Naim v. Zawawi, 2025 ABCA 386 is a November 2025 decision of the Alberta Court of Appeal addressing the issues of parenting time, relocation and imputation of income for child support purposes.
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February 04, 2026
When it comes to employee vaccination policy, proportionality matters
The Ontario Superior Court’s recent decision in Paul v. Sensient Colors Canada Ltd., 2025 ONSC 3127 should cause a familiar sense of discomfort for employers who assumed that pandemic-era policies would receive blanket judicial deference.
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February 04, 2026
The expanding use of biometrics: Privacy guidance for federal institutions
Biometric technologies have progressed rapidly over the past two decades, enabling not only identity verification (one-to-one comparison) and recognition (one-to-many) but also health and behavioural analysis through app interactions, among other uses.
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February 04, 2026
CIVIL PROCEDURE - Appeals - Grounds for review - Misapprehension of or failure to consider evidence
Appeal by Lungu from chambers judge’s summary dismissal of her negligence claims. This appeal arose from a medical malpractice action involving a trigger point needling treatment performed by Dr. Cabrita, a medical doctor specializing in physiatry. Lungu alleged that Dr. Cabrita performed the trigger point needling treatment without her informed consent and pierced and destroyed her bones with the needles, causing disabling and permanent pain.
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February 03, 2026
Labour board’s view that worker’s comments weren’t ‘sexual harassment’ was unreasonable: FCA
The Federal Court of Appeal has ruled that a longtime WestJet employee’s persistent unwelcome comments, which had sexual undertones, were “sexual harassment” that could possibly justify his termination, notwithstanding that the labour board below made findings that none of his intrusive comments to his female coworkers were “sexual in nature or intent” and that no one interpreted his comments in a sexual manner.