The Complete Brief
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October 31, 2025
CONSTITUTIONAL ISSUES - Legal rights - Protection against cruel and unusual punishment
Appeal by Appellants from a judgment of the Quebec Court of Appeal which declared the mandatory minimum sentences provided for in ss. 163.1(4)(a) and 163.1(4.1)(a) of the Criminal Code unconstitutional under s. 12 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms and of no force or effect pursuant to s. 52 of the Constitution Act, 1982.
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October 31, 2025
Bill C-12 threatens thousands of business incubator applications under Start-Up Visa program
Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) is poised to undertake a sweeping overhaul of its immigration application processing through the enactment of Bill C-12, introduced on Oct. 7, 2025. This legislation builds on and expands the priorities originally set out in Bill C-2, granting IRCC unprecedented authority to cancel pending applications across numerous immigration streams.
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October 31, 2025
B.C. Court of Appeal decides error by trial judge means harsher sentence
In British Columbia, it is well established that a sentence for sexual assault against adults must reflect society’s current understanding of the serious harm and wrongfulness of sexual violence.
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October 31, 2025
Wearing different hats: Takeaways from Mikelsteins v. Morrison Hershfield Ltd.
To incentivize and retain key employees, employers often reward them with an option to acquire shares in the employer corporation. As a condition to exercising the option, the employees are typically required to enter into a unanimous shareholders’ agreement (USA).
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October 31, 2025
CIVIL PROCEDURE - Pleadings - Amendment of - Statement of claim - Striking out pleadings or allegations
Appeal by Cary Tarasoff from a decision of Chambers judge granting an application by the City of Saskatoon to strike his statement of claim.
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October 30, 2025
Court slashes lawyers’ $510M contingency fee in $10B Robinson Huron settlement to $40M
The Ontario Superior Court has slashed legal fees for the lawyers who obtained a $10-billion settlement for certain First Nations under the Robinson Huron treaty, reducing their compensation from $510 million to $40 million.
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October 30, 2025
Exclusive: Chief Justice Crampton reflects on Federal Court’s successes and ongoing challenges
As he steps down today from the diversified and expert bench he’s recruited over the past 14 years, Federal Court Chief Justice Paul Crampton says he’s confident about the national trial court’s future, even though the full implementation of the court’s “digital shift” awaits the necessary funding from Ottawa.
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October 30, 2025
Canada targets non-compliance in trucking sector, proposes Income Tax Act amendment
Canada is investing $77 million over four years with ongoing funding of $19.2 million annually for the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) to lift the moratorium on penalties for failure to report service transactions fees in the trucking industry.
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October 30, 2025
New Brunswick considering changes to Wills Act
New Brunswick is planning changes to legislation governing wills to give judges more room to interpret them, create greater clarity on the law by getting rid of old rules and allow 16-year-olds to officially document their last wishes.
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October 30, 2025
Court denies certification of proposed Facebook data breach class action
The Ontario Superior Court of Justice has denied the certification of a proposed class action alleging data breaches by Facebook due to an unworkable class definition.