The Complete Brief
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March 19, 2026
B.C. legislation sparks debate over protest access zones at schools, places of worship
As the B.C. government doubles down on bubble zones that limit protest around schools and places of worship, civil libertarians are saying they not only violate Charter rights but are also largely unnecessary.
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March 19, 2026
Law school: The dean, the dance and the Holy Grail
There are three reasons I decided to apply to Queen’s law school back in 1968.
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March 19, 2026
New Brunswick introduces pay transparency law and expands illness leave benefits
New Brunswick has introduced legislation that is set to increase pay transparency and require employers to provide up to 27 weeks of job-protected unpaid leave for workers recovering from illness or injury.
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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.