In-House Counsel
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July 30, 2025
Ontario Court of Appeal denies intervention in anti-SLAPP case involving developer and citizen
The Ontario Court of Appeal has denied an application by the Toronto-based Centre for Free Expression (CFE) to intervene in a defamation case involving a property developer and a citizen who made corruption allegations on Facebook, in a decision that clarifies the boundaries for intervention in anti-SLAPP appeals.
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July 30, 2025
B.C.’s Infrastructures Projects Act: What’s on the horizon
May 29, 2025, marks the day that Bill 15, also known as the Infrastructure Projects Act (the Act), received royal assent. This follows on the heels of the federal government bringing the Building Canada Act into law with the passing of Bill C-5, intended to create a streamlined approval process for projects designated as “national interest projects.”
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July 30, 2025
Trade tribunal launches expiry review of anti-dumping orders against concrete rebar imports
The Canadian International Trade Tribunal (CITT) has initiated an expiry review of anti-dumping and countervailing duty orders affecting concrete reinforcing bar (rebar) imports from China, South Korea and Türkiye, setting the stage for a comprehensive reassessment of trade protection measures that have been in place for nearly five years.
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July 29, 2025
B.C. Court of Appeal orders specific performance in real estate dispute, clarifies uniqueness test
The British Columbia Court of Appeal has overturned a trial judge’s decision to limit damages in a real estate option dispute, ordering specific performance instead and clarifying when investment properties may qualify as unique enough to warrant the equitable remedy.
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July 29, 2025
Trudeau Liberals increased diversity of federal benches; female jurists made big gains: report
The former Trudeau government’s nine-year push for diversity in federal appointments since 2016 saw big progress for female jurists — who now make up 49 per cent of all federally appointed judges — along with significant gains for jurists who self-identify as Indigenous, racialized, ethnic, 2SLGBTQI+ or as having a disability, according to the latest information from the Office of the Commissioner for Federal Judicial Affairs.
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July 29, 2025
Norwich orders: A powerful tool for third-party disclosure
Imagine finding yourself in a situation where you wish to pursue legal recourse, but you hit a wall trying to identify the responsible party, secure critical evidence or locate assets. These situations might include where an anonymous person has taken money from your bank account or has been posting defamatory content about you online. In these circumstances, the information you need to identify this anonymous person is likely held by a third party, such as a bank or internet service provider, who may not be at liberty to simply hand over the information.
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July 29, 2025
Court of Appeal issues prohibition order against SRL in professional engineering licensing dispute
The Ontario Court of Appeal has issued a prohibition order against a self-represented litigant (SRL) who repeatedly attempted to relitigate a dismissed professional licensing claim, highlighting the challenges courts face with persistent litigants who lack understanding of procedural requirements.
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July 28, 2025
Navigating Ontario’s strong mayor powers: Practical and strategic insights
In November 2022, Ontario introduced a significant shift in municipal governance through amendments to the Municipal Act, 2001, empowering select mayors with new executive authorities known as strong mayor powers. These powers, designed to expedite provincial priorities such as housing and infrastructure, offer municipalities an important tool, albeit one that carries substantial governance implications.
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July 28, 2025
Alberta Court of Appeal rules on possessory lien enforceability in split decision
The Alberta Court of Appeal has issued a split decision in a complex commercial dispute involving possessory liens, with the majority ruling that a storage company cannot retain possession of pipe worth over $3 million after litigation delays rendered its debt claims unenforceable.
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July 28, 2025
Public conduct, conflicts of interest in the executive suite: Lessons from the ‘Coldplay incident’
A recent viral incident, colloquially dubbed the “Coldplay incident,” involving a CEO and a VP of human resources at the company Astronomer, whose affair was exposed in spectacular fashion when they appeared on the big screen at a Coldplay concert, has prompted renewed scrutiny of the fallout when the private conduct of high-ranking employees becomes public fodder.