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July 22, 2026
Imagine you are a partner in a large downtown law firm being blackmailed by a new associate. Several months ago, you started an illicit relationship with another partner, communicating via email on your firm’s business account.
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July 21, 2026
Canada will be launching public consultations on its response to forced labour in global supply chains as per Bill C-35, An Act respecting the prohibition of the importation of goods produced by forced labour.
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July 21, 2026
Courts have the jurisdiction to remove counsel from the record in legal proceedings as lawyers are officers of the court and their conduct affects the administration of justice as a whole. However, disqualifying a lawyer from representing a party is an extreme remedy and often depends upon whether the public interest in preserving confidence in the administration of justice outweighs a litigant’s interest in retaining counsel of their choice.
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July 21, 2026
The results of a recent study by an Ontario university and a non-profit organization have been published, and the conclusions are startling: the use of AI in family law disputes could produce legally accurate and fair outcomes at a fraction of the cost usually incurred — in most cases, in less than three minutes.
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July 21, 2026
By now, the problem is well-known. In March, we reported in Law360 Canada that Canadian courts and tribunals had flagged fictitious case citations in more than 111 decisions, a number that has reached 186 as of early July. In a June article, we showed that the consequences for the people who file them are inconsistent. This article asks the third and final question: what are the courts and tribunals themselves doing about it?
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July 20, 2026
Canada has become very good at recruiting skilled immigrants. It has not become nearly as good at rewarding them. That distinction matters. A country that selects engineers, physicians, software developers, researchers, finance professionals and entrepreneurs on the promise of economic opportunity — but then delivers lower wages, credential barriers, punishing housing costs and weaker career mobility — should not be surprised when some of those same people leave.
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July 20, 2026
An owner-manager’s decision to sell their business can represent the culmination of years of hard work, sacrifice and commitment. However, the path from ultimately deciding to sell and closing the deal is rarely straightforward.
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July 17, 2026
The Supreme Court of Canada has reaffirmed that Canadian patent law bars patent claims for “methods of medical treatment” but has also clarified that drug-dosing regimens can be patentable subject matter if they do not seek to monopolize professional medical skill and judgment. In its 158-page judgment handed down July 17, the top court 9-0 dismissed the appeal by generic drug manufacturer Pharmascience Inc. from decisions of the Federal Court and Federal Court of Appeal that affirmed the validity of the patent owned by the respondents, Janssen Inc. and Janssen Pharmaceutica N.V.
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July 17, 2026
A key principle of Quebec contract law is that for a contract to be validly formed, the parties’ consent must be free and enlightened. An error can sometimes vitiate that consent, giving the court grounds to step in, but not every error has that effect. As a rule, a party can’t get a contract annulled just because they later realized it wasn’t a good deal after all, or because they overestimated the economic returns of doing business with the other party.
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July 16, 2026
Canada is now the 79th signatory to the United Nations Convention against Cybercrime, a groundbreaking treaty aimed at providing a legal basis for international cooperation in the fight against cybercrime.
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July 16, 2026
Generative artificial intelligence is currently reshaping professional services, including the practice of law. For law firms that have not yet made the leap, incorporating AI into private practice may feel daunting. Challenges can include identifying where AI can deliver meaningful value, being willing to experiment with proven workflows and selecting the “right” AI platforms. Rather than approach AI adoption as a technology initiative, this article advocates for treating AI as a business improvement initiative by deliberately targeting specific inefficiencies and implementing AI incrementally to realize measurable benefits.
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July 16, 2026
Early in my career, “Wallace damages” were all the rage. After the Supreme Court of Canada’s decision in Wallace v. United Grain Growers (c.o.b. Public Press), [1997] 3 S.C.R. 701, a common law notice period could be extended to punish an employer’s bad faith in the manner of dismissal, and it seemed that every wrongful dismissal claim included a “Wallace bump.”
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July 15, 2026
As the Supreme Court of Canada moves to accept more cases in 2026, it has announced an especially packed fall session, with 31 appeals slated for argument from October through December. There are only 13 criminal law cases on the fall schedule that was unveiled by the top court this week: eight are as-of right appeals and just five are by-leave criminal appeals (one is both by leave and as of right).
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July 15, 2026
Residents and public bodies in Newfoundland and Labrador are being invited to provide feedback as part of a review of the province’s privacy and access-to-information laws. According to a July 15 news release, it is time for a review of Newfoundland and Labrador’s Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act — something required every five years.
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July 15, 2026
The misuse of generative artificial intelligence by litigants continues to plague the Canadian justice system. In the last two years, the number of cases cited on legal databases in which hallucinated cases have been identified in court filings has increased significantly, going from seven in 2024 to 39 in the first quarter of 2026 alone.
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July 14, 2026
A three-judge divisional panel of the Ontario Superior Court has ruled that provincial restrictions on political advertising on certain rural highways violate the Charter’s free expression rights.
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July 14, 2026
The formal Canada–United States–Mexico Agreement (CUSMA /USMCA) joint review process officially started on July 1, 2026. Leading up to this date, governments accepted public comments and held hearings through late 2025, and the United States and Mexico officially launched bilateral preparatory discussions on March 5, 2026.
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July 14, 2026
On July 13, the Privacy Commissioner of Canada announced the research projects that will be funded through his office’s 2026-2027 Contributions Program funding cycle.
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July 13, 2026
Ontario’s private mortgage market has evolved rapidly, with lenders increasingly offering prepaid interest reserves or capitalized interest structures (often called payment-in-kind or “PIK” arrangements) to attract borrowers facing liquidity constraints.
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July 10, 2026
Many federally appointed trial judges report stress from excessive workloads, limited control over their time in the workplace and too few support resources, according to a new national survey of judges’ physical and psychological health. On July 9, the Canadian Judicial Council (CJC) reported on extensive research commissioned from the Université de Sherbrooke between 2024 and 2026 by the council of 44 chief and associate chief justices.
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July 10, 2026
Bringing an action against a government actor can be riddled with difficulty. Immunity provisions frequently shield state conduct from civil actions. Where a claim is not carefully crafted, it can easily be dismissed on a preliminary motion as an improper means of seeking to reverse the impugned government decision itself. Moreover, torts like misfeasance of public office have very specific requirements that must be proved if you are to succeed.
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July 09, 2026
Bruce Simpson had one of those ideal clients: a recidivist with a wealthy brother who always picked up the tab. Otherwise indistinguishable from the host of vagrants who graced Number Five Court back in the day, old Bill spent the warm months variously at the Mission, the Shepherds, the Sally Ann, and in good weather, in one of Ottawa’s downtown parks.
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July 10, 2026
The Privacy Commissioner of Canada has issued guidance on “submitting codes of practice for sharing personal information as part of efforts to detect or deter money laundering, terrorist activity financing and sanctions evasion.”
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July 10, 2026
Canada is contemplating the most significant restructuring of the Express Entry system since its introduction in 2015. Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) has launched consultations on proposed reforms that would fundamentally change both eligibility requirements and the way candidates are ranked for permanent residence.
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July 10, 2026
Prince Edward Island’s Bill 76 replaces the province’s existing Employment Standards Act (ESA). The bill received royal assent in November 2024 and has been proclaimed into force as of June 30, 2026.