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April 08, 2026
The Nahmad family is one of the leading collectors of artworks in the world and are said to have amassed approximately 4,000 paintings worth about $4 billion, most of which I understand is stored in the Geneva Freeport in Switzerland. The patriarch of the family is David Nahmad, while his son Helly runs the Helly Nahmad Gallery in New York. Other members of the family are involved in different galleries in London and New York.
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April 08, 2026
Most of us who have grown up in Canada, whether we realize it or not, have always taken the rule of law for granted. We never really thought about it, or what it even was, but that is precisely the point. It has always just been there, like oxygen. You don’t think about oxygen until you have trouble breathing. We as a society are now having trouble breathing.
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April 02, 2026
Williams Litigation Lawyers LLP (WLL) has added David Cutler as counsel, effective April 1, 2026.
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April 01, 2026
The Carney government has opted to stick with the predecessor Liberal government’s requirement that the prime minister be handed a shortlist of at least three bilingual qualified candidates to fill an impending western/northern vacancy on the Supreme Court of Canada, despite the inability of the advisory committee that created the shortlist for the last such vacancy to recommend more than two bilingual qualified jurists.
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April 01, 2026
Ontario’s recent budget is drawing criticism from legal groups that say it is too focused on a “tough on crime” agenda, while at the same time failing to address issues in the province’s auto insurance system.
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March 31, 2026
The Canadian Judicial Council (CJC), which oversees the professional conduct of the country’s 1,184 federally appointed judges, says that five judges were reprimanded or received other disciplinary sanctions last year.
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March 31, 2026
The Government of Alberta announced that it will introduce a motion calling for “constitutional amendments that give the province a say in superior court appointments.”
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March 31, 2026
The Ontario Court of Appeal’s decision in Hartin v. Hynes, 2026 ONCA 227 is a useful reminder that sympathy for an injured plaintiff does not permit the law of agency to be mauled beyond recognition.
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March 30, 2026
On March 30, Prime Minister Mark Carney launched the process to “select the next judge of the Supreme Court of Canada, who will fill the vacancy created by the upcoming retirement of Justice Sheilah L. Martin.”
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March 25, 2026
Before the Supreme Court of Canada reserved its impending historic decision on March 26, the top court heard starkly different interpretations this week about the nature and operation of the Charter’s s. 33 “notwithstanding” clause.
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March 26, 2026
The Liberal government has introduced legislation aimed at protecting federal elections from foreign interference, cracking down on “long ballot” protest tactics and curbing election-related misinformation, according to a March 26 release.
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March 26, 2026
The Metropolitan Museum of Art (the Met) was founded in 1870 by a group of prominent New Yorkers including businessmen, financiers, artists and philanthropists. Their objective was to bring fine art and art education to the American public, having been inspired by Europe’s great museums, with initial acquisitions being comprised of European Old Master paintings.
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March 24, 2026
The argument that a legislature’s use of the Charter’s s. 33 “override” clause can temporarily prevent judges from striking down a law but not from reviewing the law’s constitutionality or stating that the law infringes Charter rights and freedoms sparked a lively exchange between counsel and the bench as the Supreme Court of Canada kicked off its inquiry into the constitutionality of Quebec’s controversial “secularism” (Bill 21) law.
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March 24, 2026
The use of AI chatbots by self-represented litigants and lawyers has raised alarms in the justice system because the chatbots are prone either to hallucinate cases or to cite a legitimate case for a proposition which simply cannot be found in that case. With respect to lawyers, in general, the courts have awarded personal costs sanctions against them and are beginning to refer them for potential disciplinary penalties. A lawyer has a duty to not mislead a court.
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March 23, 2026
This week’s blockbuster Bill 21 appeal at the Supreme Court involves 140 counsel of record — with 64 of them slated to make oral argument over four days on behalf of the 10 main party groups and the record 51 interveners.
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March 23, 2026
The Special Access Program (SAP) provides a regulatory mechanism under the Food and Drug Regulations, Part C, Division 8, sections C.08.010 and C.08.011, and the Food and Drugs Act, allowing practitioners to request access to drugs not authorized for sale in Canada.
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March 18, 2026
In the first part of this two-part series (see link below), I wrote that in addition to actual legal work, most lawyers are also expected to act, speak and dress in certain ways. This added layer of effort can feel like a performance. It requires constantly monitoring yourself to maintain the image of a “good lawyer,” and it is exhausting. Here, I turn to what can be done to reduce the stress associated with all this extra labour.
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March 17, 2026
The Alberta Court of King’s Bench has removed a lawyer as counsel in subrogated actions brought in the name of an insured, finding that despite the absence of a solicitor-client relationship, his concurrent representation of the insurer against the insured created a substantial risk of impaired representation.
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March 17, 2026
The Supreme Court of Canada heard more appeals last year than in 2024 and delivered its reserved judgments more quickly, but its hearings and output in 2025 were not yet up to pre-pandemic levels, according to the top court, which states it “expects to hear even more cases in 2026.”
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March 16, 2026
McLennan Ross has welcomed Tanya Frizzell, Marc Matras and Peter Morrison as partners in its Calgary office.
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March 16, 2026
Many Ontarians rely on a personal injury lawyer for legal advice during recovery after an injury, when they need it most. However, the change to Ontario’s Statutory Accident Benefits Schedule (SABS) means these conversations may increase in number and need to take place as soon as possible.
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March 13, 2026
Following public outcry and stiff political opposition to its sweeping “strong borders” omnibus bill (Bill C-2), the minority Liberal government has migrated the expanded “lawful access” powers and new obligations for electronic service providers to assist police and CSIS investigators from C-2 into standalone legislation (Bill C-22).
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March 13, 2026
Emily Dikranian has joined Robinson Sheppard Shapiro LLP’s (RSS) insurance law group in Montreal.
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March 12, 2026
Health Canada’s addition next month of five chemicals to the list of permanent controlled substances that are precursors to the manufacture of fentanyl prompted a question to Public Safety Minister Gary Anandasangaree, asking why Canada, unlike the U.K. and the U.S., does not also list under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act (CDSA) the animal tranquillizers that frequently contaminate fentanyl.
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March 11, 2026
The federal government is extending temporary special measures under the employment insurance work-sharing program until March 31, 2027, from March 6, 2026, to help employers facing unexpected slowdowns avoid layoffs and maintain stability for their workers.