The Complete Brief
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September 04, 2025
Court dismisses real estate appeal for abuse of process
The Ontario Court of Appeal has dismissed an appeal by a building company, finding that the claim sought to bring an action against a seller for conduct in previous litigation, which amounted to an abuse of process.
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September 04, 2025
Determining an individual’s Canadian tax residency
Determining whether an individual is a resident of Canada for tax purposes is a critical first step in ensuring compliance with Canadian tax laws and optimizing their tax position. The taxpayer’s residency status influences what they must report and how they are taxed — on worldwide income as a resident, or generally only on Canadian‑source income as a non‑resident.
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September 04, 2025
Competition Bureau launching study of competition in small, medium business financing
The Competition Bureau is seeking public feedback as it “prepares to launch a market study into the state of competition in the lending sector for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Canada.”
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September 04, 2025
Patricia Blair to lead CBABC as 2025-26 president
The Canadian Bar Association, B.C. Branch (CBABC) has announced Patricia Blair as president for the 2025-2026 membership term.
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September 04, 2025
ASSESSMENT OF DAMAGES - Measure of damages - Deductions
Appeal by appellants of an award of damages for past and future loss of earning capacity to the respondent for injuries he suffered in two motor vehicle accidents.
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September 04, 2025
Psychedelic disconnect: Charter rights and the case for transparency
A recent Federal Court of Appeal decision (Toth v. Canada (Minister of Mental Health and Addictions and Associate Minister of Health), 2025 FCA 119) about medical psilocybin use exemptions provides some interesting analysis on s. 7 Charter rights and significant policy shifts under the Vavilov framework (Canada (Minister of Citizenship and Immigration) v. Vavilov, 2019 SCC 65).
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September 04, 2025
B.C. Appeal Court rules workplace assault claims need arbitration
The British Columbia Court of Appeal dismissed a surveyor’s civil action against Surerus Pipeline Inc. arising from an alleged workplace assault and subsequent termination (Gabriel v. Surerus Pipeline Inc., 2025 BCCA 194). The court overturned the chambers judge’s ruling, holding that the wrongful dismissal claim must be pursued through arbitration under the collective agreement rather than in court.
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September 04, 2025
Alberta Court of Appeal finds no reviewable error in Calgary murder decision
It was Calgary’s first murder of 2019. On Jan. 9, police charged 36-year-old Vincent Fong with the second-degree murder of his father, Shu Kwan (Ken) Fong, after a body was found in a northwest Calgary home. Fong was charged with second-degree murder.
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September 04, 2025
Can foreign nationals work remotely in the U.S.?
While people have wanted to and sometimes enjoyed the opportunity to work while they are spending time outside of their home country, this practice became much more prevalent and common since the COVID-19 pandemic. With remote work far more normalized in the pandemic’s wake, it is now easier and sometimes necessary to work from wherever you are — regardless of physical boundaries or limitations.
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September 03, 2025
Ottawa concludes budget consultations covering tariffs, AI, affordable housing
The Department of Finance Canada announced on Sept. 3 that it has concluded nationwide consultations ahead of Budget 2025.