Civil Litigation
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February 09, 2026
CIVIL PROCEDURE - Service - Judgments and orders - Default judgments - Setting aside
Appeal by appellant from an order setting aside a default judgment and subsequent damages assessment. The appellant obtained default judgment for damages to be assessed and an order assessing damages at $150,000 after the respondent failed to file a response to a civil claim. The respondent later applied to set aside both orders, and the application was heard in the appellant’s absence.
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February 06, 2026
Lawyers charged with crimes may claim ‘innocence at stake’ to pierce solicitor-client privilege: SCC
The Supreme Court of Canada has upheld 7-2 the acquittal of a Saskatchewan criminal defence counsel charged with attempting to obstruct justice, ruling for the first time that lawyers charged with a crime may invoke the “innocence at stake” exception to solicitor‑client privilege to seek access to their client’s privileged communications for use in their own defence.
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February 06, 2026
10 new partners appointed for 2026 at Dentons Canada
As of Feb. 1, 10 lawyers will be added to the partnership at Dentons Canada, says a release on the firm’s website.
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February 06, 2026
Fasken welcomes lawyer to its Canada, U.K. offices
This week, Fasken announced that Timothy St. John Ellam, K.C., has joined the firm as senior counsel in the litigation and dispute resolution group.
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February 06, 2026
B.C. appoints 12 new sheriffs to provincial courthouses
B.C. has announced that 12 new sheriffs will be posted to provincial courthouses in communities across the province.
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February 06, 2026
B.C. launches free platform for virtual court services help
B.C. has introduced a new centralized virtual counter service for people to receive free help and advice in navigating the court system from anywhere in the province.
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February 06, 2026
Justice Lauwers urges swearing in self-represented litigants when submissions amount to evidence
Justice Peter Lauwers of the Ontario Court of Appeal has recommended that self-represented litigants who make submissions that amount to evidence be sworn in, placed in the witness box and made subject to immediate cross-examination.
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February 06, 2026
Twice as good for a quarter as much: Are fathers held to a higher standard in family court?
My friend Jason asked me — casually, the way people do when they are pretending they are not carrying a question around like a stone in their pocket — “Hodine, why I don’t write an article about women having more rights in family court.” He didn’t ask it like an accusation. He didn’t frame it as an argument. He asked it the way people ask things they’ve heard too many times to ignore.
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February 06, 2026
Supreme Court defines scope of ‘material change’ in Canadian securities law
On Nov. 28, 2025, the Supreme Court of Canada (SCC) issued its decision in Lundin Mining Corp. v. Markowich, 2025 SCC 39, providing important clarification on one of the more complex areas of Canadian securities law: the distinction between a “material fact” and a “material change” under the Ontario Securities Act (the Act).
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February 05, 2026
Ontario’s top court agrees to hear arguments on revisiting climate challenge
Seven young Ontarians who argued the province’s greenhouse gas (GHG) emission targets violated their constitutional rights are once again heading to court.