The Complete Brief

  • August 17, 2026

    Ontario cash bail requirements challenged as creating ‘two-tier’ system

    A coalition of legal and civil rights groups has launched a constitutional challenge to Ontario’s new cash bail requirements, arguing the rules create a “two-tier” justice system that favours people who can afford to pay for their release. Changes to the bail system came into effect on Aug. 17, and among other things require a cash security deposit in the full amount pledged to be paid once an accused person is released into custody, with payment due within two business days of release.

  • August 17, 2026

    Ontario court sets aside $574K default judgment after defective counsel removal order

    The Ontario Superior Court has set aside a $573,820 default judgment, finding that the order removing the defendants’ former counsel failed to inform them of the consequences of not appointing new counsel and noting that the award far exceeded the amount claimed.

  • August 17, 2026

    Saskatchewan appoints 5 new provincial court judges

    The Government of Saskatchewan has appointed five judges to its provincial court: Darin Chow in Moose Jaw, Roger DeCorby in Yorkton, Alexandra Findlay in Saskatoon, Suzanne Lalonde in Regina and Jason Peszko in Prince Albert.

  • August 17, 2026

    Madison Kelly joins Mathews Dinsdale in Toronto

    Mathews Dinsdale has added Madison Kelly as an associate in its Toronto office.

  • August 17, 2026

    Ottawa law prof to co-chair natural capital task force

    Stewart Elgie and Geneviève Morin have been named co-chairs of the federal Expert Taskforce on Natural Capital Accounting and Nature Financing following its first meeting on Aug. 14.

  • August 17, 2026

    Maui the Cat and an impatient family court judge

    Every so often, a judge stops writing like a judge and starts writing like a person who has run out of patience.

  • August 17, 2026

    MSG Sports’ proposed separation: A lesson in modern sports ownership

    In May 2026, Madison Square Garden Sports Corp. (MSG Sports) (NYSE: MSGS) filed a confidential initial Form 10 registration statement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in connection with its proposed separation of the New York Knicks and New York Rangers businesses into two distinct publicly traded companies by way of a spin-off transaction. The filing follows MSG Sports’ announcement that its board had approved a plan to pursue a potential spin-off and represents a significant step toward implementing that transaction.

  • August 17, 2026

    Decision parses determination of dangerous-offender applications involving serious mental illness

    Justice, Ontario Judge Brock Jones recently reminded us, is not simply a matter of punishment: sometimes it requires looking beyond a troubling criminal record to the illness underlying the offending and asking whether treatment, rather than incarceration, better protects society: R. v. Gowers, Aug. 10.

  • August 17, 2026

    CIVIL PROCEDURE - Assessment or fixing of costs - Particular circumstances

    Appeal by appellants from an order granting trial costs to the Attorney General of British Columbia (Attorney General) following litigation challenging the constitutionality of provisions of the Medicare Protection Act. The trial, described as prodigiously lengthy and complex, resulted in dismissal of the appellants’ Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms claims, which was upheld on appeal.

  • August 17, 2026

    What Ontario’s authenticity certificate does not certify

    The Law Society Tribunal’s six-month suspension in Law Society of Ontario v. Lee, 2026 ONLSTH 136 turned in part on a factum containing four defective authorities. Three of them did not exist.

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