Family
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June 05, 2025
Undue influence and suspicious circumstances
Lawyers who deal with potentially vulnerable clients must always be on the lookout that such clients are not the subject of undue influence. Undue influence can be exerted by people in a position to exploit the client’s vulnerabilities, such as caregivers, parents and children, and can include those who have been granted power of attorney for property or personal care.
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June 05, 2025
Viewing estate and related family disputes through a different lens
As Canada becomes a more aged society, the number of estate and related family disputes continues to grow. As this growth happens, we need to review how we approach estate dispute resolution to ensure we can keep pace with the evolving expectations of families, the changes in our society and the advancements in alternative dispute resolution (ADR) in general.
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June 05, 2025
Ineffective counsel plea in family law
Family law counsel are quite familiar with client complaints. Our clients are experiencing an emotionally taxing event in their lives, and blaming is often part of the process. In previous published articles I have described my blaming hierarchy: blame the other spouse, blame the opposite counsel, blame the judge and then… blame your own lawyer. We live with this reality in our practices.
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June 04, 2025
Judge Brian Hutcheson retires from B.C.’s provincial court
The Provincial Court of British Columbia has announced that Judge Brian Hutcheson retired on May 31, 2025.
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June 04, 2025
Dealing with invisible disabilities in the workplace
Researchers continue to discover new ways to diagnose and treat so-called “invisible disabilities,” giving new hope to long-term disability claimants.
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June 02, 2025
Prime Minister Carney taps Montreal lawyers for key roles in PMO
Prime Minister Mark Carney has hired prominent Montreal lawyer Marc-André Blanchard, the former chair and CEO of McCarthy Tétrault LLP, as his chief of staff, while ex-federal justice minister David Lametti, counsel with Montreal’s Fasken, is also taking on senior responsibilities in the new Prime Minister’s Office (PMO), according to media reports.
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June 02, 2025
Clear as mud? Ontario courts provide context regarding waiver of OBCA dissent rights
In the context of shareholders’ agreements, contracting parties may waive their statutory dissent rights afforded under the Business Corporations Act (Ontario) (OBCA). In order for the waiver to be enforceable it must be made with clear and direct language.
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May 30, 2025
SCC rules Quebec licensing law does not apply to firms providing airport, maritime private security
In a judgment that turns on the application of the constitutional doctrine of interjurisdictional immunity, the Supreme Court of Canada has ruled 9-0 that Quebec’s Private Security Act (PSA) does not apply to two companies that engage in airport and marine port security in the province because the Quebec law impairs activities at the core of exclusive federal jurisdiction over aeronautics, navigation and shipping.
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May 30, 2025
B.C. legal institute hopes to increase understanding of economic abuse in family law
The British Columbia Law Institute (BCLI) is looking to shed some light on an issue that it says has been seriously under-explored in legal literature and case law — economic abuse in family law, especially as it relates to family businesses.
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May 30, 2025
The legal status of non-human animals in Canada: Sentient beings or property?
Tank follows me everywhere; not out of obedience, nor because he is bound by some legal designation as “property,” but because he chooses to. My commissioned knight who positions himself between me and the world, a quiet protector against perceived threats.