July 24, 2026
The Supreme Court has ruled that several submerged plots in Quebec’s Laurentians region were sold with the adjoining riparian lands — while also outlining a test on how to interpret a provision in the province’s Civil Code that says a seller must deliver a property with “all its accessories.” The conflict the court was weighing in on traces its origins to 1881, when the construction of a dam raised the level of Lac Masson, north of Montreal. A strip of land between the lake and the shore was then flooded and became submerged.
July 24, 2026
For most of the past decade, the dominant compliance problem in Canada’s digital economy was one of invisibility. Platform income — whether earned through Airbnb, Uber, Etsy, YouTube, or a subscription content service — was self-reported, difficult for the Canada Revenue Agency to verify independently, and largely invisible to the agency’s audit selection algorithms unless the taxpayer’s bank deposits or lifestyle flagged a discrepancy. That environment has changed.
July 24, 2026
The law governing damages arising from the manner of dismissal appeared to be settled nearly two decades ago. In Honda Canada Inc. v. Keays, 2008 SCC 39 (Honda), the Supreme Court of Canada rejected the approach that had developed under Wallace v. United Grain Growers Ltd., (c.o.b. Public Press), [1997] 3 S.C.R. 701 (Wallace), and replaced it with a framework focused on “actual damages.” Under Honda, damages flowing from an employer’s bad faith conduct in the manner of dismissal were to be assessed according to the same principles and in the same way as moral damages rather than through an extension of the employee’s notice period.
July 24, 2026
Appeal by appellant from a judgment of the Quebec Court of Appeal which set aside a judgment of the Superior Court. Years ago, the respondents or their predecessors in title each purchased from the appellant a lot bounded by a large navigable lake.
July 24, 2026
Appeal by Oldcastle from an order setting aside its third‑party notice against Division 8 on the basis that the claim for contribution and indemnity was statute‑barred. Oldcastle, a defendant in an underlying construction defect action, sought contribution and indemnity from Division 8, a subcontractor. Oldcastle had filed applications for leave to issue a third‑party notice within the limitation period but did not file the third‑party notice itself until after the expiry of the limitation period.
July 23, 2026
The B.C. Court of Appeal has affirmed that orders permitting or refusing discovery from class members cannot be appealed as of right, ruling that a chambers judge correctly treated prior appellate obiter on the court’s jurisdiction as authoritative.
July 23, 2026
In 1048977 B.C. Ltd. v. Aviva Insurance Company of Canada, 2025 BCSC 1532, the British Columbia Supreme Court was asked to engage in a measure of “crystal ball gazing” as it assessed the lost profits of a restaurant and event venue that never opened and considered whether the insurer had breached its duty of good faith in handling the resulting business interruption claim.
July 23, 2026
The Northwest Territories has new legislation to better support victims of family violence, including laws that formally recognize stalking, give people greater ability to protect themselves and allow victims to sue perpetrators.
July 23, 2026
MLT Aikins has added Ibrahim Keshta as an associate in its Edmonton office.
July 23, 2026
Eleanor practised family law. She was good at the technical stuff, but not so good at dealing with clients. Especially vulnerable clients, such as people getting divorced.