In-House Counsel

  • July 03, 2026

    Canada ratifies protocol for U.K.’s accession to Pacific trade pact

    The Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) will come into force between Canada and the United Kingdom on Sept. 1, Global Affairs Canada says.

  • July 03, 2026

    B.C. Appeal Court sets aside $1.25M judgment in shareholder dispute after admitting fresh evidence

    The B.C. Court of Appeal has set aside a nearly $1.25-million summary trial judgment in a shareholder dispute after admitting fresh evidence that was available earlier and finding gaps in the record on contract interpretation and damages.

  • July 03, 2026

    Court dismisses multiple appeals in labour contempt case over working hours

    The Federal Court of Appeal has largely dismissed seven appeals in a case in which an employer was found in contempt for not adhering to an arbitral order to cut employee hours.

  • July 03, 2026

    Milestones and practice: Commentary on the IBA’s Canada report on women and equality

    The International Bar Association’s (IBA) recent report marks a meaningful demographic milestone: women now form a majority of the Canadian legal profession. Combined with the historic female majority on the Supreme Court of Canada, it signals progress that deserves recognition.

  • July 02, 2026

    Faster criminal & child welfare cases, more family law settlements among reforms led by new SCC judge

    The Supreme Court of Canada’s newest judge says his key areas of legal expertise are constitutional and criminal law, including the rules of evidence and procedure, though he has also presided over many civil and administrative law cases in his generalist trial court. Glenn Joyal, a former federal and Manitoba prosecutor and the longtime chief justice of the Manitoba Court of King’s Bench, was elevated by the prime minister to the top court on June 30, succeeding Supreme Court Justice Sheilah Martin of Alberta, the highly respected constitutional and criminal law litigator, academic and judge who retired from the bench May 30.

  • July 02, 2026

    Canada’s ‘AI for All’ strategy chooses flexibility over rules

    By introducing “AI for All,” Canada has signalled a choice for AI oversight: it will not legislate comprehensively, and it will not follow the EU. Released on June 4, 2026, the federal government’s “AI for All” strategy confirms that the previously tabled Artificial Intelligence and Data Act is not being revived and that no equivalent is coming in the near term. What Canada is building instead is a framework — one that signals direction without specifying rules.

  • July 02, 2026

    B.C. highlights Trade Recognition Act, infrastructure approval reforms in annual regulatory review

    Legislation to boost interprovincial trade, reforms to streamline project approvals and reduced regulatory requirements are helping lower costs and improve productivity in British Columbia, according to the province’s annual Better Regulations for British Columbians report released on June 30.

  • July 02, 2026

    Finfluencers beware: Securities regulators bring social media investment advice under spotlight

    There is no quick way to make a buck. Not even on the internet. Last year, some person at Canada’s financial market regulator must have registered for a social media account and blew a gasket watching one of the million videos on “How-to-make-a million-dollars-investing-in-the-market-without-breaking-a-sweat.”

  • July 02, 2026

    A Ukrainian lesson for lawyers

    Well, not exactly a lesson in the language or culture, although a tip of the hat is due to a host of Ukrainian-Canadian lawyers, not the least of whom were my former partner Ron Tomosk and the brilliant jurist John Sopinka.

  • June 30, 2026

    Women now a majority in legal profession, but barriers to equality persist: international report

    The ranks of Canada’s bench and bar numbered slightly more women than men last year, yet many female jurists still reported gender-based and sexual harassment at work and don’t “feel seen as equals to their male colleagues,” according to a new report from the International Bar Association (IBA). The IBA’s investigation into the state of gender parity in Canada’s legal profession reported on June 30 that women make up 53 per cent of lawyers overall — with half of these working in senior positions as lawyers and partners, among the organizations surveyed.