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July 02, 2026
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.
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July 02, 2026
Appeal by Zurich Insurance Company (“Zurich”) against an appeal judge’s decision. Zurich and Chubb Insurance Company of Canada (“Chubb”) were involved in a dispute over which insurance company was responsible for paying accident benefits for an accident that occurred in 2006 involving Singh. Singh believed Chubb was the insurer.
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June 30, 2026
The B.C. Court of Appeal has upheld the certification of a class action against opioid manufacturers, distributors and wholesalers over health-care costs arising from the opioid crisis, rejecting arguments that the plaintiffs were required to produce more detailed evidence to support certification.
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June 29, 2026
Ontario’s civil courts continue to struggle with post-pandemic delays. The problem is not just administrative. In personal injury litigation — and especially in motor vehicle collision cases — delay changes the financial value of a claim. For plaintiffs, longer times to get to trial do not simply postpone compensation. They can reduce it.
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June 29, 2026
Canada is the only G7 country without a dedicated domestic launch capability — for now. The federal government’s proposed “space age” legislation, Bill C-28, the Canadian Space Launch Act, would, if passed, create Canada’s first dedicated legal framework for spacecraft launch and re-entry on Canadian soil and better position Canada to become a leader in the global commercial space economy.
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June 29, 2026
When Canadians celebrated their national team’s dramatic 1-0 victory over South Africa in the Round of 32 of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, few were thinking about insurance law. They were celebrating a historic football achievement: a place in the Round of 16, secured by Stephen Eustáquio’s stoppage-time goal and a resilient performance from Jesse Marsch’s squad. Canada’s victory marked one of the country’s greatest sporting moments and set up a Round of 16 meeting with either Morocco or the Netherlands.
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June 25, 2026
Earlier this year, the Divisional Court of Ontario found that procedures adopted by the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario (HRTO) to determine its jurisdiction were unreasonable and contrary to law.
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June 24, 2026
The Ontario Court of Appeal’s decision in Diep (Litigation guardian of) v. Mac’s Convenience Stores Inc., 2026 ONCA 424 is a useful reminder that not every injury occurring near a motor vehicle becomes an automobile case. Sometimes a car is central. Sometimes it is background scenery. And sometimes, as in this case, the vehicle is legally important for one purpose but not important enough for another.
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June 22, 2026
Manitoba’s top court has ruled provincial health authorities were wrong to refuse insurance for two sisters who had to travel to the U.S. for treatment — while also including a stern warning for health care decision-makers to keep within the bounds of the law.
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June 23, 2026
The Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs has publicly weighed in on a Supreme Court of Canada nomination, stating they “wholeheartedly endorse” Manitoba Court of King’s Bench Chief Justice Glenn Joyal’s candidacy and are “confident he will bring fairness, wisdom and humility to Canada’s highest court.”
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June 22, 2026
Manitoba Court of King’s Bench Chief Justice Glenn Joyal, widely reputed in recent years to be a leading candidate for appointment to the Supreme Court of Canada, has been nominated to fill the western vacancy that opened up with the May 30 retirement of Supreme Court of Canada Justice Sheilah Martin, Prime Minister Mark Carney announced on June 22.
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June 19, 2026
The federal government has been advised by the majority of a 17-member parliamentary special committee to amend the Criminal Code to “indefinitely” bar access to medical assistance in dying (MAID) to persons suffering solely from mental illness, with the Bloc Québécois and three dissenting senators recommending that the government direct a reference to the Supreme Court of Canada to clarify the applicable law.
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June 18, 2026
The Alberta Court of King’s Bench has ruled that an electric scooter qualifies as an “automobile” under the province’s Insurance Act, excluding a rider injured in a collision with a minivan from accident benefits under the vehicle’s insurance policy.
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June 17, 2026
Used by hostage negotiators, journalists, mediators and others, active listening provides a shortcut to developing trust and understanding between people.
For lawyers, its application is professionally significant: those who listen actively stand to develop stronger client relationships, gain clearer insight into client needs and are better positioned to provide effective representation.
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June 16, 2026
B.C.’s top court has turned back an argument by a man who went to the United States to receive medical treatment that the province’s failure to reimburse his costs violated his constitutional rights.
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June 16, 2026
Ottawa has proposed a new legislative regime for private-sector privacy regulation that imposes a raft of obligations on how businesses and other non-governmental organizations handle Canadians’ personal data, with oversight from a robust dual privacy and digital harms regulator armed with audit and binding order-making powers, backed by hefty administrative monetary penalties (AMPs) and fines for the most serious new offences.
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June 11, 2026
The federal Liberal government’s expansive new bill targeting online harms to children from social media and AI chatbots also takes aim at terrorism and violent extremist content, content that foments hatred and intimate content communicated without consent. Introduced in the House of Commons June 10 by Marc Miller, the minister of Canadian identity and culture, the 92-page Safe Social Media Act (Bill C-34) would enact two other statutes: the Digital Safety Act and the Digital Safety Commission of Canada Act.
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June 10, 2026
The Supreme Court’s controversial Jordan decision, which has sparked the dismissal of thousands of cases due to unconstitutional trial delay, is still good law, but stays of proceedings are not a cure for undue systemic trial delay, Canada’s top judge says. “One stay of proceedings is too many,” Supreme Court of Canada Chief Justice Richard Wagner stressed at his annual press conference in Ottawa June 9.
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June 10, 2026
Canadian real estate lawyers are accustomed to handling closings end to end. Under Canada’s Torrens-style land titles systems, the government register provides statutory assurance of title, and closings largely involve inter-law-firm fund exchanges. When your client purchases real property in the United States, however, the process is fundamentally different. There is no government guarantee of title. Instead, title evidence and settlement are private-market functions performed by title insurers and escrow/settlement agents. Understanding these differences is essential to properly advising your client on a U.S. real estate acquisition.
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June 09, 2026
McLennan Ross has welcomed Alexa Pashovitz to its Calgary office, where she has joined the insurance defence and commercial litigation team.
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June 05, 2026
Yukon’s Supreme Court has issued a directive on the use of generative AI “in written and oral representations” in a bid to reinforce the “integrity and credibility of legal proceedings.”
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June 05, 2026
When a Canadian court or tribunal finds that a party has relied on a case that does not exist, the consequence is far from uniform. In one decision, the lawyer responsible was ordered to pay $17,550 in costs personally. In another, the order was $100. In 60 of the 177 decisions we reviewed, the adjudicator identified the problem but imposed no consequence at all.
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June 05, 2026
Hayley Main has rejoined Thompson Dorfman Sweatman LLP (TDS) as a litigation associate in its Winnipeg office.
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June 05, 2026
An Ontario farm operator has lost its arguments at the province’s highest court that it should not bear responsibility for the collapse of a bridge on its land.
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June 02, 2026
The Northwest Territories has introduced legislation to strengthen presumptive health coverage for the region’s firefighters and other first responders.