Insurance

  • July 10, 2026

    Ontario court says insurability rule has no time limit

    Ontario’s top court has ruled that a section of the provincial Insurance Act that allows insurers to deny coverage due to changes in a person’s circumstances is not time-limited.

  • July 10, 2026

    Many trial judges overworked and stressed — but not as much as lawyers: new national survey

    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.

  • July 10, 2026

    Ripe for disaster: Ontario court reiterates importance of causation analyses in coverage disputes

    The recent Ontario Court of Appeal decision in Green Rise Foods Inc. v. N. V. Hagelunie, 2026 ONCA 334 (Green Rise) serves as a helpful reminder of the importance of a careful causation analysis in insurance coverage disputes where several factors arguably caused or contributed to the claimed loss.

  • July 09, 2026

    When the presumed dead return: SCC’s ruling on declaration of death in Riddle v. ivari

    What happens when someone declared legally dead turns out to be very much alive? On April 10, 2026, the Supreme Court of Canada confronted precisely that question in Riddle v. ivari, 2026 SCC 9, issuing a unanimous ruling on the annulment of a declaratory judgment of death with significant implications for Quebec civil procedure and life insurance litigation.

  • July 08, 2026

    RISK - Causation - Exclusions - Multiple causes - Chain of causation

    Appeal by appellant from summary judgment dismissing its coverage claim under a standard form greenhouse insurance policy (Policy). The appellant’s greenhouse tomato crop was destroyed after a boiler malfunction emitted excessive carbon monoxide that was not detected by a malfunctioning monitor. The appellant claimed indemnity under the Policy for the loss of its tomato plants.

  • July 06, 2026

    Prime minister appoints new chief justices of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice & Federal Court

    Prime Minister Mark Carney has appointed new leaders to head two of Canada’s major trial courts. On July 6, Justice Alan Diner was appointed chief justice of the Federal Court, the national superior trial court that decides disputes in the federal domain. He succeeds Paul Crampton, who retired from the post Oct. 31, 2025.

  • July 06, 2026

    Growing systemic problem in Ontario’s auto insurance regime

    Would you buy insurance that only helps you 10 per cent of the time? The Ontario Trial Lawyers Association says that is what accident victims face at the Licence Appeal Tribunal (LAT), where insurers win about 90 per cent of coverage disputes.

  • July 03, 2026

    Canada ratifies protocol for U.K.’s accession to Pacific trade pact

    The Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) will come into force between Canada and the United Kingdom on Sept. 1, Global Affairs Canada says.

  • July 02, 2026

    McDougall Gauley adds Munir Abdulhadi, Jill Wolkowski

    Munir Abdulhadi and Jill T. Wolkowski have joined McDougall Gauley LLP as associates in its Regina and Saskatoon offices, respectively.

  • July 02, 2026

    Faster criminal & child welfare cases, more family law settlements among reforms led by new SCC judge

    The Supreme Court of Canada’s newest judge says his key areas of legal expertise are constitutional and criminal law, including the rules of evidence and procedure, though he has also presided over many civil and administrative law cases in his generalist trial court. Glenn Joyal, a former federal and Manitoba prosecutor and the longtime chief justice of the Manitoba Court of King’s Bench, was elevated by the prime minister to the top court on June 30, succeeding Supreme Court Justice Sheilah Martin of Alberta, the highly respected constitutional and criminal law litigator, academic and judge who retired from the bench May 30.