Insurance

  • 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.

  • October 01, 2026

    Mental health, AI on radar of Manitoba law society president

    Mental health, job stress and keeping up with AI remain “front of mind” for the new president of Manitoba’s law society.

  • September 30, 2026

    The snitch in your driveway: How your car could tell a different story in court

    At the car dealership, we ask about horsepower, fuel economy and whether the monthly payment will ruin our weekend. We do not usually ask whether the vehicle remembers where we went last Tuesday. It might.

  • September 30, 2026

    Exclusive: SCC’s Côté J. talks advocacy, key cases & rule of law as her 12th anniversary approaches

    Supreme Court of Canada Justice Suzanne Côté says she finds intervener advocacy on Zoom to be as effective as oral submissions made in the courtroom, but she is also alive to contrary arguments made by legal organizations, such as the Canadian Bar Association and The Advocates’ Society.

  • September 30, 2026

    THE INSURANCE CONTRACT - Interpretation - Coverage provisions and exclusion clauses

    Appeal by The Dominion of Canada General Insurance Company that did business as Travelers Canada against an application judge’s decision requiring it to defend an action and indemnify West York Sales and Leasing Inc.

  • September 28, 2026

    Manitoba to expand presumptive compensation coverage for firefighters

    Manitoba is strengthening workers’ compensation coverage for firefighters by widening the scope of job-related sickness and presuming their illnesses are work-related.

  • September 28, 2026

    Mortgage broker’s insurer must cover loss of client funds stolen from trust account: court

    The Ontario Court of Appeal has ruled that an insurer must cover a claim arising from a mortgage brokerage’s fraudulent misappropriation of client money, finding that funds held in trust can still qualify as “mortgage funds” under the policy’s fraud endorsement.

  • September 25, 2026

    Exclusive: Supreme Court of Canada Justice Suzanne Côté mulls her post-bench future

    Supreme Court of Canada Justice Suzanne Côté is thinking about what life after the bench might look like, she tells Law360 Canada. The court’s impactful and most prolific judge, who turned 68 this week with no apparent loss of drive or energy, says she is healthy and still loves the work that has earned her a reputation as a trailblazer and original thinker.

  • September 23, 2026

    Feds give update on progress to combat auto theft

    Canada has released an update on the progress made under the National Action Plan on Combatting Auto Theft, stating that national auto thefts fell by 10 per cent in the first half of 2026 compared to the same period in 2025.