Insurance

  • October 30, 2026

    N.B. Appeal Court allows correction of class action residency defect

    The New Brunswick Court of Appeal has rejected insurers’ attempt to invalidate a proposed class action because the original plaintiff lived outside the province, finding that the residency defect could be corrected by adding an eligible plaintiff.

  • October 30, 2026

    SCC elaborates on mens rea in dangerous driving cases that involve momentary driver inattention

    The Supreme Court of Canada has specified that a driver’s brief period of inattention is one factor to consider, among others, when analyzing the mens rea in dangerous driving cases.

  • October 30, 2026

    Auditor general delivers 9 audits to Parliament, notes critical gaps and weaknesses

    Auditor General of Canada Karen Hogan delivered nine performance audit reports to the House of Commons on Oct. 29. The reports cover topics including money laundering, procurement technology, public health, the dental care plan, import assessments, ammunition, thermal coal commitments, water monitoring and net-zero emissions.

  • October 30, 2026

    Is independent asset verification becoming part of an estate trustee’s duty of inquiry?

    For generations, an estate trustee stepping into an administration has started with the paperwork in front of them: the will, the bank statements that happened to be lying around, the prior trustee’s inventory (if applicable). That starting point is not going away. But as estate trustees — and particularly neutral and succeeding trustees who inherit an administration someone else began — come under closer scrutiny, a question is emerging: is documented, independent verification of what the estate actually owns and owes becoming an expected part of the duty of inquiry?

  • October 29, 2026

    Ottawa plans economic, public safety & intelligence reform under new national security strategy

    Canada must “prepare for all contingencies up to and including war and other worst-case scenarios,” Prime Minister Mark Carney announced as he unveiled his government’s plan to roll out a new national security strategy over the coming year to ensure that the country can “control its own destiny and is resilient in the face of daunting challenges.”

  • October 29, 2026

    A legal system for the rich, and one (of sorts) for the poor

    Let’s face it folks. Our legal system caters to the rich and, on occasion, the middle class. Most of society cannot afford good lawyers and are on their own navigating our legal system. There is a simple reason for this. Lawyers like to earn good money. It is impossible to do that serving clients who cannot afford to pay hundreds — or thousands — of dollars an hour.

  • October 27, 2026

    Ottawa unveils bill paving way to legally carry out advance requests for MAID

    The federal Liberal government has introduced promised Criminal Code amendments to legalize medical assistance in dying (in specified circumstances) for legally incompetent persons who validly make advance requests for MAID while they are still competent. On Oct. 27, federal Justice Minister Sean Fraser introduced Bill C-41, the proposed MAID Safeguards Act, that would decriminalize the actions of doctors and nurse practitioners who carry out advance requests for MAID, provided that these medical practitioners have complied with specific safeguards and conditions, including requirements put in place by the applicable province or territory.

  • October 27, 2026

    SCC decision in Hemmings brings real-risk test into sharper focus

    The Supreme Court of Canada’s decision in Hemmings v. Padmore, 2026 SCC 34 returns to a question at the centre of Mustapha v. Culligan of Canada Ltd., 2008 SCC 27: when is an injury too remote to attribute to a negligent defendant? The result is a divided judgment, but its central lesson is clear. A court must identify the risk that made the defendant’s conduct negligent and ask whether the plaintiff’s injury was a real, reasonably foreseeable consequence of that risk.

  • October 26, 2026

    Optional isn’t obvious: Untangling Ontario’s shrinking mandatory accident benefits

    On July 1, 2026, Ontario made fundamental changes to the Statutory Accident Benefits (SABs) auto insurance framework, which previously provided no-fault financial protection for people injured in motor vehicle accidents. Coverage that drivers once received as part of their standard policies now depends on individual purchasing decisions. Although these changes give drivers greater flexibility in choosing their coverage, they also introduce financial risks that may not become apparent until an accident occurs.

  • October 23, 2026

    SCC explains how to determine ‘factual causation’ and ‘remoteness of damage’ in negligence cases

    Splintering over the results in a multi-defendant personal injury case, the Supreme Court of Canada has elaborated on the elements of “factual causation” and “remoteness” of damages and on the roles they play in analyzing negligence claims. On Oct. 23, a majority of the seven-judge bench dismissed the appeals of plaintiffs Sophia Hemmings, her litigation guardian and her family from a 2024 Ontario Court of Appeal medical negligence decision: Hemmings v. Padmore, 2026 SCC 34.

  • October 23, 2026

    Court of Appeal for Ontario reframes long-standing test for leave to appeal

    For the first time in more than 50 years, the Court of Appeal for Ontario has updated its test for leave to appeal from a decision of the Divisional Court. In Knauff v. Ontario (Human Rights Tribunal), 2026 ONCA 653, a five-judge panel confirmed that the test for leave is whether the proposed appeal raises an arguable question of law or mixed law and fact that is of sufficient public importance to warrant consideration by the Court of Appeal.

  • October 22, 2026

    Taylor Graham joins Alexander Holburn as associate

    Taylor Graham has joined Alexander Holburn as an associate in its insurance practice group in Vancouver.

  • October 22, 2026

    Supreme Court of Canada agrees to hear groundbreaking Emergencies Act case

    The Supreme Court of Canada has granted Ottawa’s request for leave to appeal Federal Court rulings that held that the federal government wrongly declared a national “public order” emergency in 2022. On Oct. 22, the top court granted the federal government’s leave application and also granted leave to cross-appeal to the Canadian Civil Liberties Association (CCLA) and the Canadian Constitution Foundation (CCF).

  • October 22, 2026

    WSIB cuts average premium rate, saving Ontario employers $160M in 2027

    Ontario’s Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB) will decrease its average workplace injury insurance premium rate from $1.23 to $1.18 per $100 of insurable payroll in 2027, with more than 80 per cent of premium-paying businesses receiving a rate reduction, according to an Oct. 22 release.

  • October 22, 2026

    Court allows appeal, $70K settlement in statutory accident benefits case

    The Ontario Court of Appeal has allowed an appeal and a $70,000 settlement in a case relating to a motor vehicle accident, finding that the judge made numerous errors relating to jurisdiction, interpretation and procedural fairness.

  • October 22, 2026

    The economics of collaboration in cultural property restitution and estate asset recovery

    Within the practice of cultural property restitution and estate asset recovery, fiduciary litigators and trust administrators frequently encounter unique administrative challenges.

  • October 19, 2026

    Ontario Court of Appeal applies ransomware endorsement despite no ransom payment

    The Ontario Court of Appeal held that a ransomware endorsement’s higher retention applied to approximately US$2 million in incident response costs, even though the insured paid no ransom and sought coverage under the policy’s base coverage provisions.

  • October 16, 2026

    Humpty Dumpty v. The King and all the King’s horses et al.

    Does anybody think Humpty Dumpty took his fall off the wall lying down? No way. Mr. Dumpty actually commenced a lawsuit seeking compensation as a result of injuries suffered. I recently came across a copy of a little-known decision of the High Court of Wonderland, which I would like to share.

  • October 14, 2026

    Legal conference examines challenges in battling cybercrime

    Keeping up with the speed of money, working with limited resources and assisting judges with gaps in their technical knowledge were among the challenges under the spotlight at a recent legal conference about cybercrime and crypto fraud.

  • October 08, 2026

    Ottawa proposes new offences, administrative monetary penalties amid ‘red tape’ reforms to 31 laws

    Under the rubric of supporting “economic growth and competitiveness,” the federal Liberal government says its newly introduced “red tape reduction” bill (S-7) will “reduce unnecessary regulatory burden under 31 individual pieces of legislation and their corresponding regulations administered by 11 federal departments and agencies.”

  • October 08, 2026

    41-year-old personal injury defence moat is but a puddle: The phantom medical evidentiary burden

    “Money is a barren substitute for health and personal happiness, but to the extent within reason that money can be used to sustain or improve the mental or physical health of the injured person it may properly form part of a claim.”

  • October 07, 2026

    Feds say bill coming to allow advance directives for MAID but will bar MAID access to mentally ill

    Federal Justice Minister Sean Fraser says the Liberal majority government will introduce “in weeks” groundbreaking legislation to permit persons with serious medical conditions to consent in advance to medical assistance in dying (MAID), i.e. before they lose their capacity to consent to the procedure. The planned bill would also bar MAID access on an “indeterminate basis” to persons whose sole underlying medical condition is a mental illness, he said.

  • October 02, 2026

    Supreme Court kicks off busy fall session with new judge from the west and impressive new digs

    The Supreme Court’s fall session is packed with interesting appeals in diverse areas of law including class actions, contracts, Crown immunity and Charter rights. The top court’s session begins Oct. 5 with an “opening of the court” ceremony in the West Memorial Building at 344 Wellington Street in Ottawa.

  • October 02, 2026

    Settlement of $38.25M reached in Quebec securities class action

    A proposed settlement of $38.25 million has been reached in a class action lawsuit in Quebec against CAE Inc. and its former CEO and CFO, with the claims period now open.

  • October 02, 2026

    Seeing is no longer believing: Deepfakes in criminal trials

    A single underscore sent an innocent man to prison. In a child sexual abuse material investigation, police were looking for “fus__ro_dah.” But they sought records for “fus_ro_dah.” That was Brandon Klayme’s username. One missing underscore sent the investigation to the wrong person. The discrepancy went unnoticed at trial. Klayme was wrongfully convicted and spent 18 months in custody before the Nova Scotia Court of Appeal declared him factually innocent in R. v. Klayme, 2026 NSCA 59.