In-House Counsel
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February 13, 2026
Canada Express Entry 2025: Year in review
Canada’s Express Entry system in 2025 marked one of the most active and targeted years since the system launched in 2015. Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) relied heavily on category-based draws, French-language proficiency and Canadian Experience Class invitations to meet labour market and francophone objectives, while keeping Provincial Nominee Program (PNP) candidates at the top of the Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) scale.
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February 13, 2026
Transparency, rigour and accountability at heart of coming clash between LSO, attorney general
The Law Society of Ontario (LSO) and the attorney general’s office are on a collision course in 2026.
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February 12, 2026
‘Distemper of our times’ calls for judges to balance restraint with principled ‘bold action’: CJ Joyal
“Bold” but “properly calibrated” judicial action, rather than reflexive judicial reticence and reserve, is sometimes necessary to preserve public confidence in the justice system — a confidence on which the foundational principle of judicial independence depends, says Manitoba Court of King’s Bench Chief Justice Glenn Joyal.
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February 12, 2026
B.C. court denies leave to appeal orders upholding municipal privilege claims
The B.C. Court of Appeal has denied a project developer leave to appeal orders upholding case-by-case privilege over certain municipal documents in litigation related to the terminated North Shore Wastewater Treatment Plant project in North Vancouver, B.C.
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February 12, 2026
Does having a law society certificate hanging on your wall make you a lawyer?
I own probably 15 or so hammers. A tack hammer, a 10-pound sledge, several ball peens, a brick hammer, claw hammers, a framing hammer… You name it, I probably have one. I also have enough saws and levels and squares and power tools to start a small construction business.
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February 12, 2026
Ontario Court of Appeal calling for papers to honour late Justice Bertha Wilson
The Ontario Court of Appeal is calling for papers to mark the 50th anniversary of the late Bertha Wilson’s appointment to the court as part of a symposium honouring the woman who went on to become Canada’s first female Supreme Court justice.
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February 12, 2026
Data breach and privacy class actions in Canada: Why employers should pay attention
A noticeable shift is underway in Canadian class action litigation. Plaintiffs are increasingly seeking certification in data privacy cases, and courts appear more willing to grant it, even where concrete financial harm has not yet been established. This may signal a lower barrier at the authorization stage, which in turn may lead to greater interest in seeking class action certification.
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February 11, 2026
The new accountability: Why process is becoming a professional requirement in negotiation
For decades, negotiation remained the “black box” of legal work. While research became transparent and file management became auditable, negotiation stayed insulated behind “instinct” and “professional judgment.” Those things mattered — and still do — but they were hard to explain, document and audit. That insulation used to be acceptable.
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February 10, 2026
Federal listing of plastic manufactured items as ‘toxic’ may soon land on top court’s steps
The Federal Court of Appeal’s recent judgment that Ottawa reasonably added plastic manufactured items to the federal list of “toxic” substances in Schedule 1 of the Canadian Environmental Protection Act (CEPA), enabling the regulation of single-use plastics under s. 93 of the Act, may soon head to the Supreme Court of Canada.
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February 10, 2026
Recent developments in Canadian class action law: Q4 2025, part two
As we discussed in the first article (see below for link) of this two-part series, the final quarter of 2025 marked notable developments in Canadian class action law, with courts continuing to refine the boundaries of certification and leave across securities, consumer protection and privacy class actions in eight important decisions. We covered three of the eight key decisions from the Supreme Courts of Canada, Ontario and British Columbia in the first article, and we will now discuss the remaining five.