The Complete Brief
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November 14, 2025
CRIMINAL CODE OFFENCES -- Impaired operation or operation over the legal limit -- Certificate of analysis
Appeal by Rousselle from a judgment of the New Brunswick Court of Appeal which upheld a decision setting aside his acquittal and entered a conviction. Rousselle was arrested for impaired driving.
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November 14, 2025
Federal bail and sentencing reform: Real-world impact in B.C.
On Oct. 23, 2025, the federal government introduced the Bail and Sentencing Reform Act (Bill C-14), signalling a significant shift in bail and sentencing policy across Canada. The legislation aims to make bail harder to obtain in certain higher-risk cases and to impose tougher sentencing regimes for repeat and violent offenders. The message is clear: more detention upfront and longer sentences at the back end.
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November 14, 2025
CRIMINAL CODE OFFENCES - Offences against person and reputation - Criminal harassment or stalking
Appeal by appellant convicted of criminal harassment of three individuals who were all members of the same family. The appellant was sentenced to a 90-day intermittent period of incarceration which he had fully served.
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November 14, 2025
The problem with ‘fairness’ in family business succession
“Being good is easy — What is difficult is being just.” ~ Victor Hugo
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November 14, 2025
SCC upholds the common-sense interpretation of the Good Samaritan law
Paul Eric Wilson saw a person overdosing and called 911. When the police arrived on the scene, they detained him for drug possession because they saw drugs on him. A subsequent search of his person revealed a gun and other illegal items.
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November 13, 2025
Court authorizes class action over alleged abuse of Indigenous children at youth centres
The Superior Court of Quebec has authorized a class action against the provincial government and several health and social service institutions over alleged discrimination and abuse of Indigenous children placed in youth protection centres across Quebec since 1950.
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November 13, 2025
Competition Bureau seeks feedback on new merger guidelines
The Competition Bureau is seeking comments and feedback on its proposed merger enforcement guidelines, which will update the guidelines issued in 2011.
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November 13, 2025
Canada’s 2025 federal budget: Key tax and legislative measures lawyers need to know
The 2025 federal budget introduces a broad range of legislative and tax measures that will shape corporate planning, compliance and cross-border transactions in the coming year.
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November 13, 2025
Court limits capital loss in oil and gas tax dispute relating to partnership
In an oil and gas tax decision, the Federal Court of Appeal has clarified the application of the general anti-avoidance rule (GAAR), reducing the disallowed capital loss claimed by a company while addressing the misuse of adjusted cost base bump provisions in a 2010 partnership transaction.
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November 13, 2025
Dear Mr. Machiavellian JD: Your services are not needed
Niccolò Machiavelli, the 16th-century Florentine diplomat, philosopher and political theorist, is perhaps best known for his controversial guide for rulers on how to maintain power — even if it meant resorting to deceit, coercion or ruthlessness.