The Complete Brief
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April 01, 2026
Real estate: HST relief for buyers, although temporary
On March 25, the Ontario government announced some temporary relief for buyers who are purchasing new homes. The harmonized sales tax (HST) rebate in Ontario is being expanded to all buyers to a maximum of $130,000. Both provincial and federal governments will eat up the entire 13 per cent HST. The province will cover its eight per cent, and federal will cover five per cent of the HST.
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March 31, 2026
Judicial council sanctions handful of federal judges but rejects hundreds of conduct complaints
The Canadian Judicial Council (CJC), which oversees the professional conduct of the country’s 1,184 federally appointed judges, says that five judges were reprimanded or received other disciplinary sanctions last year.
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March 31, 2026
B.C. proposes new process to resolve First Nations issues in environmental assessments
British Columbia is proposing amendments to the Environmental Assessment Act that would introduce a new process for resolving issues raised by First Nations during environmental assessments.
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March 31, 2026
Canada invests $157M for gun violence prevention initiatives
The federal government has announced that it is providing up to $157.5 million for gun and gang violence prevention initiatives through the Building Safer Communities Fund (BSCF) over the next three years.
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March 31, 2026
Alberta pushes for constitutional change on judicial appointments
The Government of Alberta announced that it will introduce a motion calling for “constitutional amendments that give the province a say in superior court appointments.”
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March 31, 2026
Tribunal ruling on First Nations child welfare system a ‘long-awaited milestone,’ minister says
In a letter decision, the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal has approved a deal between Ontario First Nations and the federal government, which will reform the First Nations Child and Family Services (FNCFS) Program in the province.
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March 31, 2026
Report finds 1,000-plus Charter breaches by Ontario police
Legal observers are calling for systemic change in response to a new report that found more than 1,000 Charter violations by police in a 10-year period — a number that is being called only the tip of the iceberg. The Unlawful Enforcers report, which was co-authored by Western University faculty of law adjunct research professor Sunil Gurmukh, found that officers from the five largest city police services in Ontario — namely Toronto, Peel, York Region, Durham Region and Ottawa — violated the Charter more than 1,000 times in over 600 reported court cases in a 10-year period from 2015 to 2025.
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March 31, 2026
BLG appoints Laura Levine as partner, innovation and AI
Borden Ladner Gervais LLP (BLG) has appointed Laura Levine as partner, innovation and artificial intelligence, a newly created role.
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March 31, 2026
McKercher adds Sarah Regehr as new finance director
McKercher LLP has welcomed Sarah Regehr as director of finance in its Saskatoon office, effective March 23.
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March 31, 2026
B.C. moves to boost timber supply, support forestry jobs with legislative changes
British Columbia has introduced amendments to the Forest Act and Forest and Range Practices Act to increase wood supply by an estimated 17,700 truckloads, according to a March 30 release.