Intellectual Property
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March 31, 2026
Judicial council sanctions handful of federal judges but rejects hundreds of conduct complaints
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
Alberta pushes for constitutional change on judicial appointments
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 30, 2026
PM launches process to select Justice Martin’s replacement on SCC bench
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
Ottawa & provinces roll out disparate views on the ‘notwithstanding’ clause at Supreme Court
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
Ottawa introduces bill targeting foreign interference, deepfakes and long ballots
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
Dipchand adds Yixian Chen as partner
Dipchand LLP has welcomed Yixian Chen as a partner in Toronto.
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March 26, 2026
History of museum’s collection frames looted art claim
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 25, 2026
Words matter when writing legal AI prompts
When writing AI prompts, lawyers shape perception and outcomes, so understanding the impact of words in AI prompts is crucial. Since language acts as a filter, the specific words and phrases used in a prompt influence the AI’s interpretation of legal concepts, potentially affecting recommendations or decisions. If terms are ambiguous or carry historical biases, the legal AI response can lead to unintended interpretations. Tailoring prompts to set the stage and include sufficient background information allows the legal AI to understand the user’s intent. With prompts that are clear and unambiguous, legal professionals can reduce the likelihood of misinterpretation in the legal AI output.
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March 24, 2026
SCC judges probe what Charter s. 33 ‘override’ may mean for survival of Charter judicial review
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
CanLII, Caseway resolve lawsuit over alleged bulk downloading of records
The Canadian Legal Information Institute (CanLII) and AI legal research platform Caseway have settled a lawsuit over Caseway’s alleged use of records from CanLII’s website without authorization.