Business
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January 22, 2026
Canada’s new citizenship law is disrupting the global passport market
In the volatile global marketplace for “Plan B” residency and secondary citizenship, a new titan has emerged — and it isn’t a Mediterranean tax haven or a Caribbean island. With the quiet implementation of Bill C-3, An Act to amend the Citizenship Act (2025), on Dec. 15, 2025, Canada has effectively disrupted the multibillion-dollar “golden passport” industry, positioning the Canadian passport as the most sought-after asset in global mobility.
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January 22, 2026
John McKeown joins Loopstra Nixon as partner
John McKeown has joined Loopstra Nixon LLP as a partner with the intellectual property practice group.
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January 21, 2026
Ontario privacy, human rights bodies publish principles for responsible use of AI systems
Ontario’s Information and Privacy Commissioner (IPC) and Human Rights Commission (OHRC) have released joint principles for guiding responsible adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) systems.
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January 21, 2026
Court allows appeal for mortgage interest repayment in real estate dispute
The Ontario Court of Appeal has allowed an appeal relating to the repayment of 12 per cent interest on a mortgage for a commercial sale that did not go through.
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January 21, 2026
Feds announce $1.5M in renewed funding for B.C. workplace harassment program
The federal government has announced $1.5 million in renewed funding for a program that provides free legal advice and education to victims of workplace sexual harassment in B.C., according to a release.
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January 21, 2026
FCA rejects Ottawa’s ‘expansive’ view of cabinet authority to wield ‘draconian’ emergency powers
In a case that might land on the steps the Supreme Court of Canada, the Federal Court of Appeal has ruled unanimously that the federal cabinet wrongly invoked the Emergencies Act to declare a national “public order” emergency in 2022.
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January 21, 2026
Family agreements, part one: Governance of multigenerational family businesses
The lifecycle of an owner-managed business can vary significantly. In some instances, the owner-manager may choose to sell the business or wind it up when they retire. Conversely, the owner-manager may instead choose to transition the business to the next generation, maintaining it as a family enterprise. Where the business is to be transitioned to the next generation, effective succession planning is essential. As part of such succession planning, a family shareholders’ agreement (a “family agreement”) often serves as the “family rule book.”
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January 21, 2026
B.C. court bars franchisor from blocking sale over related company’s debt
A B.C. Supreme Court judge has ordered a franchisor to release part of franchise sale proceeds held in trust, finding it had no legal basis to withhold consent to a sale until the resolution of a dispute concerning an alleged debt owed by a separate, related corporation.
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January 21, 2026
Alberta Court of Appeal considers jump principle in determining appropriate sentence
Before dawn on a winter morning in Calgary, a brief encounter in a deserted school parking lot set in motion a chain of events that would carry a 20-year-old man from street-level allegations to years of appellate scrutiny and a penitentiary sentence measured in years.
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January 21, 2026
Watson Goepel names Dalene Visser and Shashika Stanislaus as partners
Watson Goepel LLP has welcomed Dalene Visser and Shashika Stanislaus to its partnership, according to the Vancouver firm.