In-House Counsel
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May 21, 2025
600 kilometres north of Sweet Grass
It’s 3:27 in the morning, and I’m at my desk in the basement. A fan clicks on behind the furnace-room door, and my fingertips scatter keystrokes across my MacBook like dropped pins. Other than that, it’s silent.
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May 20, 2025
Ontario court awards $350,000 in damages for insurance brokerage contract breach
In what the judge involved has described as a glimpse into the back room of the insurance brokerage business, the Ontario Superior Court of Justice has awarded a Toronto brokerage $350,000 for an ex-salesman’s breach of contract and a competitor’s role in causing it.
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May 20, 2025
Drip pricing under the microscope following Quebec Court of Appeal ruling
A Quebec Court of Appeal ruling that ordered Air Canada to pay more than $10 million in punitive damages in a class-action lawsuit underscores the growing risks that companies engaging in drip pricing face, according to legal pundits.
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May 20, 2025
Unifor urges Ottawa to penalize offshoring amid U.S. trade measures
Canada’s largest private sector union, Unifor, has called on the federal government to take “immediate and aggressive action against corporations that move jobs out of Canada in response to U.S. trade measures.” In a letter to Prime Minister Mark Carney, Unifor suggests legislative amendments to strengthen the Foreign Extraterritorial Measures Act (FEMA).
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May 20, 2025
Saskatchewan conference examines role of tribunal counsel
Tribunal counsel must give legal advice that is neutral, remain “independent of the parties” involved and not be seen as influencing an outcome, said a veteran administrative lawyer during a Saskatchewan conference.
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May 16, 2025
Competition Bureau releases 2025-26 annual plan, builds on legislative changes
The Competition Bureau has released its annual plan for 2025-26, saying it will continue to build on previous legislative changes aimed at enhancing competition, especially in the face of “rapid shifts in trade, market dynamics and technology.”
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May 16, 2025
Federal Court extends deadlines for immigration JRs due to surging cases, inadequate gov’t funding
Contending with far too many immigration cases for its tight budget, the Federal Court this week extended by 45 days its regulation 30-day deadlines for litigants to perfect their applications for leave and judicial review of immigration decisions (ALJRs). Why? Because the registry’s beleaguered staff simply can’t keep up, and now often needs weeks rather than days to intake and process the ALJRs — which have more than quadrupled the average volume the court experienced over the five years immediately preceding the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic.
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May 16, 2025
Surrey bookkeeper sentenced for nearly $1 million in GST/HST evasion
A Vancouver hotel bookkeeper who masterminded a goods and services tax evasion scheme worth almost $1 million has received a conditional sentence of two years less a day and two years’ probation, the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) has announced.
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May 16, 2025
Ontario budget includes $5 billion support fund, tax deferrals for businesses amid U.S. tariffs
Ontario’s 2025 budget includes a $5 billion “Protecting Ontario Account” and a suite of tax deferral measures aimed at supporting businesses affected by recent U.S. tariffs.
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May 16, 2025
B.C. Court of Appeal caps opioid appeal factums at 195 pages per side
The B.C. Court of Appeal has capped factums in the province’s national opioid class action appeals at 195 pages per side, rejecting the defendants’ bid for nearly 300 pages and ordering aligned parties to co-ordinate submissions to avoid duplication and inefficiency.