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April 23, 2026
Ontario has introduced legislation to restrict foreign acquisition of farmland and make it easier for farmers to lease or access arable land in northern Ontario, according to an April 22 release.
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April 20, 2026
This month, the Ontario Bar Association (OBA) launched its Rule of Law campaign in which local lawyers host discussions in their communities to help the public better understand the rule of law and its everyday importance to democracy.
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April 20, 2026
With AI, lawyers can turn to AI agents to answer questions, locate files, find facts (or make them up) and automate certain functions. AI chatbots appear analogous to intelligent articling students.
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April 17, 2026
MLT Aikins has welcomed Steven Prysunka as an associate in its Edmonton office.
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April 17, 2026
The Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) has announced that the six-month trend in housing starts decreased by 2.9 per cent in March to 248,378 units. It said the measure was the moving average of the seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR) of total housing starts for all areas in Canada.
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April 17, 2026
The British Columbia Court of Appeal has overturned an order requiring former residents of manufactured houses to physically remove their homes from the reserve lands they were ordered to vacate.
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April 17, 2026
This British Columbia Court of Appeal case highlights how the enforcement powers of the strata plan for unpaid strata fees and the egregious conduct of the homeowner can lead to the dismissal of the appeal (Zhang v. Strata Plan BCS 4288, 2026 BCCA 55). The homeowner, Shimin Zhang (Zhang), is the appellant and the Strata Plan (Strata) is the respondent in the appeal.
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April 16, 2026
Amendments to the Competition Act came into force in December 2024 and have significantly changed how exclusive use clauses in commercial leases are treated in Canada. The changes broaden the Act’s reach so that even typical landlord‑tenant agreements may now be reviewed if any part of the agreement is aimed at limiting competition.
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April 16, 2026
The British Columbia Court of Appeal has granted leave to appeal in a case requiring a lender to produce its legal bills for a costs assessment in a foreclosure dispute, saying the case raises important and unresolved questions about privilege and redemption rights.
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April 15, 2026
As B.C. contemplates making changes to its landmark Indigenous relations law, the president of the province’s bar association is affirming her organization’s support for the legislation and is calling on the government to be transparent in its implementation. In a statement issued April 14, Canadian Bar Association British Columbia Branch (CBABC) president Patricia Blair called the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act (DRIPA), which mandates the B.C. government to bring provincial laws into alignment with the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP), the cornerstone of British Columbia’s commitment to reconciliation.
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April 15, 2026
In a recent decision, the Ontario Superior Court of Justice reinforced that courts will uphold a debtor’s consent to a receivership when it forms part of a negotiated arrangement, emphasizing the importance of commercial certainty.
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April 14, 2026
The Alberta Court of King’s Bench reinstated security posted for a construction lien, finding that an applications judge erred by vacating it under inapplicable statutory provisions governing liens.
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April 13, 2026
On March 26, the province of Ontario introduced its 2026 budget, which proposes a temporary enhancement to the provincial portion of the Harmonized Sales Tax (HST) New Housing Rebate and New Residential Rental Property Rebate. The measure is intended to improve housing affordability by increasing the amount of provincial HST relief available on qualifying new home purchases while preserving the existing rebate framework and eligibility rules.
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April 13, 2026
The Supreme Court of Canada’s spring docket presents the nine judges with a wide range of appeals, including the last cases to be heard by soon-to-retire Justice Sheilah Martin and her colleagues in their iconic 1940s-era Ottawa courthouse, which is slated for a multi-year major update. The Supreme Court’s new spring session, scheduled from April 13 to May 22, 2026, features 14 appeals, 10 of which involve criminal law issues.
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April 07, 2026
Zachary Thiffault, Métis from the Georgian Bay Métis Community and citizen of the Métis Nation of Ontario, is one of three new associates who joined Aird & Berlis recently. Thiffault is a member of the firm’s Indigenous practice and litigation and dispute resolution groups. Prior to joining Aird & Berlis, he articled and worked at a full-service firm in Midland, Ont., and as in-house counsel to an Indigenous government.
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April 08, 2026
Ontario’s controversial legislation allowing it to fast-track infrastructure projects is facing a constitutional challenge. A coalition of public interest and environmental groups is saying the Special Economic Zones Act (SEZA), which allows the province to establish areas where infrastructure and resource developments are exempt from provincial or municipal laws that might otherwise apply, violates s. 92 of the Constitution Act, 1867, which grants the legislature exclusive power to make laws.
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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 07, 2026
New Brunswick’s government is seeking additional input from residents on changes to rental rules for tenants and landlords as part of its bid to modernize residential tenancies legislation.
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April 07, 2026
Prime Minister Mark Carney has announced the first projects under the Build Communities Strong Fund to support the construction of infrastructure such as hospitals, recreation centres, water and transit systems.
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April 07, 2026
On April 2, Ontario introduced the Better Regional Governance Act, 2026 to change how certain regional governments function, saying the changes would support lower costs for municipal taxpayers and better align decision-making with shared provincial and regional priorities.
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April 07, 2026
McCarthy Tétrault has added Denise Brunsdon as a partner in its national litigation and dispute resolution group in Calgary.
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April 07, 2026
Appeal by Zhang from orders of a judge on a petition brought by the respondent strata to enforce a lien for unpaid strata fees. The amounts at issue were small, the lien was originally for $751, and the Strata asserted $1,822 was owing. Zhang did not attend the petition hearing, instead, Li Zhang appeared, stating she was his daughter, that he was in China, and sought an adjournment.
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April 02, 2026
On April 1, the B.C. government introduced the Miscellaneous Statutes Amendment Act, 2026 to the legislative assembly. If passed, the amendments will make changes to numerous provincial statutes, including those relating to judicial review, administrative penalty proceedings, statutory authority of correctional officers and more.
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April 02, 2026
I’ve been following the ongoing evolution of paralegal licensure across other Canadian provinces and in select U.S. states for some time now. As an Ontario paralegal, it remains a privilege to be part of a licensed legal profession, particularly in a jurisdiction that was not only the first law society in Canada, but the first law society in the world to regulate and license paralegals.
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April 01, 2026
Alberta has announced that as of April 1, residents in the province can submit applications to resolve disputes to the new Condominium Dispute Resolution Tribunal.