The Complete Brief
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March 23, 2026
Deepfakes, texts and secret recordings: Growing role of digital evidence in Ontario family law disputes
Digital communications are everywhere: text messages, emails, social media posts and recorded conversations. They are an entrenched part of modern daily life.
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March 23, 2026
The joint expert playbook: What you need to know about Rules 20.1 and 20.2
Most family lawyers have used a joint expert at some point. Fewer have a clear sense of when joint retainers advance a file and when they create more problems than they solve. The difference matters. A well-managed joint retainer saves money, narrows issues and moves files toward settlement. A poorly managed one generates motion after motion, escalates costs and poisons settlement prospects.
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March 23, 2026
Proposed settlement of $650K reached in Toronto fire class action
A proposed settlement of $650,000 has been reached in a class action relating to a fire at a Toronto residential building.
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March 23, 2026
Class conflicts in corporate COVID-19 claims: Alberta court weighs limits of one class
Class actions promote litigation efficiency and access to justice, but they can also expose tensions between groups of plaintiffs whose interests do not fully align. In Ingram v. Alberta, 2025 ABKB 420, (Ingram) the Alberta Court of King’s Bench (the court) showed how those tensions can become a certification issue when a proposed class definition sweeps together businesses with potentially opposite economic interests.
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March 23, 2026
Snippets from recent cases in failed real estate transactions: Buyers and sellers beware
Failed real estate transactions often give rise to disputes between buyers and sellers. While most of these disputes are mutually settled by the buyers and the sellers, there are some that don’t and make their way to the courtroom. Although these courtroom dramas are scary, they teach us a lesson so we, as lawyers, get better when advising our respective clients in those situations. I have picked three cases.
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March 23, 2026
The rule of law is under threat for business lawyers too
Our background is in business law. Imagine our surprise when our editor suggested that we write about the rule of law, which you might have heard is currently on life support.
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March 23, 2026
Doug Ford on self-defence laws: Yippee ki‐yay, Mr. Premier
By now, we’ve all seen the news coverage surrounding the Vaughan, Ont., homeowner who shot one of three armed home invaders, sending the assailants fleeing like scalded dogs back into a waiting getaway vehicle. York Regional Police later arrested and charged the wounded home invader after he turned up at a Toronto area hospital. York Regional Police declined to charge the homeowner. This led Premier Doug Ford to issue his now infamous “congratulatory” remarks that the homeowner “should have shot him a couple more times.”
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March 23, 2026
N.B. moves to end limitation period for victims of intimate partner violence dependent on assailant
New Brunswick is proposing legislation that would remove the limitation period for civil claims by victims of intimate partner violence who were dependent on their assailant. A March 18 news release notes there is no civil limitation period to file claims for damages in cases of assault or battery “for acts of a sexual nature” or for “trespass to the person.”
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March 23, 2026
Seismic Bill 21 case draws record counsel & intervener presence at this week’s four-day SCC hearing
This week’s blockbuster Bill 21 appeal at the Supreme Court involves 140 counsel of record — with 64 of them slated to make oral argument over four days on behalf of the 10 main party groups and the record 51 interveners.
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March 23, 2026
CRIMINAL CODE OFFENCES - Weapons offences - Possession of prohibited or restricted weapon or ammunition
Appeal by appellant from his conviction for possession of a loaded restricted firearm. Police responded to a complaint about an idling car. When the driver opened the door, a cloud of cannabis smoke escaped, and open packages of cannabis were visible at her feet.