In-House Counsel
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November 03, 2025
Can Canada attract U.S.-bound talent?
Highly educated immigrants, particularly those trained in STEM fields (science, technology, engineering and mathematics), are widely acknowledged as drivers of innovation, productivity and economic growth in advanced economies. Both Canada and the United States have invested heavily in attracting such talent. Yet Canada, despite being one of the most successful countries in attracting university-educated newcomers, has struggled to translate their educational credentials into equivalent labour-market outcomes as the United States.
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November 03, 2025
From Aroma to Dhaliwal: Lessons on arbitrator’s contracts in ad hoc arbitration, part two
As we discussed in the first article of this two-part series, the culture of ad hoc arbitration remains stronger than institutional arbitration in Canada. The Ontario Court of Appeal’s recent decision in Dhaliwal v. Richter International Ltd., 2025 ONCA 522 (Dhaliwal), released on July 15, 2025, once again brought Aroma Franchise Company, Inc. v. Aroma Espresso Bar Canada Inc., 2024 ONCA 839 (Aroma) back into focus.
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October 31, 2025
Court defers issues to arbitration in police workplace harassment class action
In a proposed class action alleging systemic gender discrimination by municipal police forces, the Supreme Court of British Columbia has ruled that claims by current Surrey, B.C., employees must proceed through arbitration.
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October 31, 2025
Competition Bureau calls for comment on new anti-competitive conduct, agreements guidelines
The Competition Bureau has issued a call for comment on the proposed Anti-Competitive Conduct and Agreements Enforcement Guidelines.
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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
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 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
When the internet refuses to forget: Canada’s stand against X and global duty of care
In September 2025, an unassuming British Columbia tribunal did something that sent tremors through the digital world. It fined X (formerly Twitter) $100,000 for refusing to permanently remove a non-consensual intimate image. The fine itself, albeit modest in size, was hardly the point. What mattered was the poignant message: in Canada, the right to dignity online is not negotiable.
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October 30, 2025
No catering around the Code: B.C. Court of Appeal confirms reach of B.C.’s replacement worker ban
In Gate Gourmet Canada Inc. v. Unite Here, Local 40, 2025 BCCA 246, the British Columbia Court of Appeal dismissed Gate Gourmet Canada Inc.’s appeal from a decision of the Supreme Court of British Columbia that had upheld an order of the British Columbia Labour Relations Board. The board had directed Gate Gourmet to cease using out-of-province replacement workers to perform catering work that would otherwise have been done by striking employees at Vancouver International Airport (YVR).