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November 06, 2026
With all its Quebec judges warning, in dissent, against the improper expansion of federal authority over labour relations, the Supreme Court of Canada has 5-4 affirmed that a union certification bid from Quebec falls within derivative federal jurisdiction over labour relations rather than under the province’s labour code. On Nov. 6, Justice Andromache Karakatsanis, writing for the majority, dismissed the attorney general of Quebec’s appeal: Quebec (Attorney General) v. SGS Canada inc., 2026 SCC 37.
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November 06, 2026
The federal government has announced changes to the low-wage stream of the Temporary Foreign Worker Program, extending the maximum duration of employment from one year to two years and allowing applications for early childhood educators in metropolitan areas with unemployment rates of six per cent or higher.
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November 06, 2026
Reactions to the recently released federal budget have ranged from welcoming to warning, as organizations stress the need for stability amid ongoing economic uncertainty. Budget 2026, released on Nov. 5, emphasized growth and sovereignty with proposals geared towards energy infrastructure, critical minerals, affordability and supporting the arts.
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November 06, 2026
In 2020, Dr. Michael Schecter sold his dental practice. A condition of closing was that every associate dentist sign an agreement containing a five-kilometre non-compete. One associate was his father, Dr. Ira Schecter, who had owned the practice until 2014. The father resigned in October 2021, began practising within the five kilometres and argued that Ontario’s new statutory ban on non-competes made the covenant unenforceable. Justice Mohan Sharma held that the ban applies only to agreements made on or after Oct. 25, 2021, and granted the injunction: Parekh v. Schecter, 2022 ONSC 302.
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November 05, 2026
Capping bank customers’ liability for unauthorized transactions, extending the ban on foreign ownership of residential real estate and an enhanced capital gains exemption — along with new and stiffer penalties for environmental and fisheries violations — are among the myriad legislative changes the Carney government has proposed in its second budget.
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November 05, 2026
The Carney government’s latest federal budget says Ottawa will implement a 2027-2029 Immigration Levels Plan that sets targets of 370,000 new temporary resident arrivals and 380,000 permanent resident admissions in each of 2027, 2028 and 2029.
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November 05, 2026
Mathews Dinsdale has welcomed Anne Gallop and Jennifer Hodgins as partners and Julia Bassett as counsel in its Toronto office.
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November 05, 2026
A Canadian Judicial Council hearing panel will determine whether removal from the bench is warranted for a Quebec superior court judge arrested for soliciting paid sex, who attributes his actions to the stress and “moral disengagement” he experienced due to overwork, exhaustion and burnout on the bench.
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November 04, 2026
As voting for the upcoming bencher election approaches, lawyers in Alberta are being encouraged to consult the Law Society of Alberta’s (LSA) website for information about the candidates.
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November 04, 2026
Dana Kiefer has joined Mathews Dinsdale as an associate in its Calgary office.
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November 04, 2026
Dentons Canada has welcomed Laura Mensch as a partner in its employment and labour group in Calgary.
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November 03, 2026
The recent Canada Investment Summit generated significant discussion about Canada’s ability to attract new investment and support long-term economic growth. For foreign companies and investors evaluating opportunities in Canada, tax planning is not merely a compliance matter. It can affect deal economics, financing flexibility, cash repatriation, treaty access and exit value.
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November 03, 2026
Saskatchewan has tabled legislation to strengthen safety measures for police and other first responders exposed to someone’s “bodily substances.” On Oct. 29, the province announced proposed amendments to its Mandatory Testing and Disclosure (Bodily Substances) Act, which would “provide quicker access to testing orders and results, and promote compliance with testing orders” brought against the “source” of the bodily substance.
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November 03, 2026
Ottawa’s new administrative monetary penalty regime gives Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) powerful tools against fraudulent and unauthorized immigration representatives. Its express recognition of solicitor-client privilege and Quebec professional secrecy is welcome, but the regime’s legality will ultimately depend on how those protections operate in practice.
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November 02, 2026
Limited licence legal practitioners can “lighten the load” for lawyers — and in doing so allow for more people to access assistance, participants heard during a recent Law Society of Saskatchewan (LSS) webinar.
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November 02, 2026
Imagine an employee discovering that a colleague with the same job title, similar responsibilities and comparable experience earns $10,000 more a year.
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November 02, 2026
Just when employers thought they could put the antacids back in the medicine cabinet, the Ontario Court of Appeal has delivered another reminder that the wording of an employment contract matters. And, as the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC) has now discovered, a promise to comply with the law is not necessarily enough to save a termination provision that says something quite different.
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November 02, 2026
In AtkinsRéalis Construction (Pacific) Inc. v. Barton Malow Canada Ltd., the Ontario Superior Court of Justice dismissed a motion seeking an order directing the arbitrator to provide an explanation of certain aspects of his merits award.
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October 30, 2026
A Canadian pay statement can be genuine and still prove the wrong point in a permanent resident (PR) residency case. The legal question is not simply who paid the worker abroad, but whether a qualifying Canadian business actually assigned that person to full-time work outside Canada on terms that meet the residency rules. Where the foreign role has no defined end or realistic Canadian position to return to, an employer’s letter may not resolve the problem.
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October 29, 2026
Canada must “prepare for all contingencies up to and including war and other worst-case scenarios,” Prime Minister Mark Carney announced as he unveiled his government’s plan to roll out a new national security strategy over the coming year to ensure that the country can “control its own destiny and is resilient in the face of daunting challenges.”
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October 29, 2026
In an open letter to provincial and territorial ministers, the interim commissioner of competition is encouraging the limitation of non-compete agreements to create a more competitive labour market.
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October 29, 2026
New penalties of up to $1.5 million are now in force for those who break the law when providing paid immigration or citizenship advice or representation — including licensed immigration consultants, lawyers and other authorized representatives, as well as people who give paid immigration or citizenship advice or representation without authorization.
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October 29, 2026
Let’s face it folks. Our legal system caters to the rich and, on occasion, the middle class. Most of society cannot afford good lawyers and are on their own navigating our legal system. There is a simple reason for this. Lawyers like to earn good money. It is impossible to do that serving clients who cannot afford to pay hundreds — or thousands — of dollars an hour.
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October 28, 2026
Ontario has announced that it is providing an $8-billion provincial tax relief measure over the next five years to lower the cost of business investment and permanently allowing businesses to immediately write off 100 per cent of the value of various assets.
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October 28, 2026
Starting Nov. 3, an Express Entry candidate can earn up to 100 Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) points for a qualifying job offer in a high-wage occupation, and the offer no longer needs a labour market impact assessment (LMIA).