In-House Counsel
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March 16, 2026
How I learned to stop worrying and love the bot
Over the past several decades, law became intertwined with numerous technologies that we simply incorporated into our workflow. We anticipate more creative destruction with generative AI, but with AI, we look into the mirror and sense the mirror looks back. Something more seems to exist than just the simple context window interface, and we tend to anthropomorphize. If all Roomba owners put googly eyes on their machine, most would believe the little guy was truly alive.
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March 13, 2026
Feds reboot new police powers, obligations to give police & CSIS ‘lawful access’ to digital data
Following public outcry and stiff political opposition to its sweeping “strong borders” omnibus bill (Bill C-2), the minority Liberal government has migrated the expanded “lawful access” powers and new obligations for electronic service providers to assist police and CSIS investigators from C-2 into standalone legislation (Bill C-22).
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March 13, 2026
Cross-border clarity: How U.S. franchise reform could affect Canadian brands
The American Franchise Act (AFA), a bipartisan bill currently moving through U.S. Congress, could help bring clarity to franchising as a business model, with implications for Canadian operators.
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March 12, 2026
B.C. ban on arbitration clauses in consumer contracts is retrospective, not retroactive: court
The B.C. Court of Appeal has ruled that amendments to the province’s Business Practices and Consumer Protection Act (BPCPA) banning arbitration clauses in consumer contracts do not apply retroactively, upholding a stay of proceedings against Rogers Communications Canada Inc. in favour of arbitration.
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March 12, 2026
Health Canada adds five fentanyl precursors to list of permanent controlled substances
Health Canada’s addition next month of five chemicals to the list of permanent controlled substances that are precursors to the manufacture of fentanyl prompted a question to Public Safety Minister Gary Anandasangaree, asking why Canada, unlike the U.K. and the U.S., does not also list under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act (CDSA) the animal tranquillizers that frequently contaminate fentanyl.
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March 12, 2026
Sound of silence sinks deal: Settlement agreements need sharper drafting
The Ontario Superior Court’s decision in Cross v. Cooling Tower Maintenance Inc., 2025 ONSC 7203 is a useful reminder that settlement agreements must be drafted with care, especially where salary continuance, mitigation obligations and repayment provisions are involved. If counsel intend a breach to trigger serious consequences, those consequences must be set out clearly. Courts will enforce the agreement the parties made, not the one that one side later wishes it had drafted.
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March 11, 2026
Ontario court certifies class action against Johnson & Johnson over baby powder cancer risk
The Ontario Superior Court has certified a nationwide class action concerning allegations that Johnson & Johnson’s talc-based baby powder increased the risk of ovarian cancer and was marketed without adequate warnings.
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March 11, 2026
Ottawa extends temporary work-sharing EI measures to help employers avert mass layoffs from tariffs
The federal government is extending temporary special measures under the employment insurance work-sharing program until March 31, 2027, from March 6, 2026, to help employers facing unexpected slowdowns avoid layoffs and maintain stability for their workers.
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March 11, 2026
Good faith in contracts clarified by B.C. Court of Appeal
In Pandher v. Dhanesar, 2026 BCCA 63, the British Columbia Court of Appeal allowed an appeal, finding that the trial judge incorrectly applied the legal principles governing contractual interpretation and the duty of good faith in assessing the exercise of contractual discretion.
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March 11, 2026
Silence isn’t golden: Employers must clearly communicate contractual changes
In Comeau v. Valcom Consulting Ltd., 2025 NBKB 253, the Court of King’s Bench of New Brunswick held that an employer’s attempt to unilaterally introduce new, more restrictive terms of employment in relation to a long-term employee who had worked under a series of fixed-term employment agreements constituted a constructive dismissal.