In-House Counsel
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November 13, 2025
Court affirms order requiring Hamilton to pay $5.3M for flooding damage to business
The Ontario Court of Appeal has upheld a finding that the City of Hamilton is jointly liable for $5.3 million in damages after its failure to maintain a drainage channel contributed to repeated flooding at the property of National Steel Car Limited, a rail car manufacturer.
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November 12, 2025
Tilly Norwood: As AI actor takes the stage, Hollywood A-list erupts, part two
It shouldn’t be a surprise that a coded thespian in the form of Tilly Norwood has emerged. In July 2023, SAG-AFTRA went on strike for 118 days, two months after the Writers Guild of America (WGA) walked out.
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November 12, 2025
SCC denies requests by AGs & others to make in-person intervener arguments in historic case
The Supreme Court of Canada is denying recent requests from six intervener attorneys general — as well as counsel for The Advocates’ Society and dozens of other intervener groups — to allow them to make their arguments in person in the upcoming historic Bill 21 appeal, Law360 Canada has learned.
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November 12, 2025
The differences between U.S. B-1 business visitor and B-2 visitor for pleasure
Coming to the U.S. as a visitor is fairly straightforward. Whether entering the U.S. on a visa, using the visa waiver program, or without needing either of these because you are a visa-exempt Canadian, entering as a visitor has specific requirements. But does it matter if you’re admitted as a B-1 business visitor or a B-2 visitor for pleasure?
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November 12, 2025
Shareholder deadlocks: Promoting resolution through unanimous shareholders’ agreements
Disagreements between business partners in owner-managed corporations are inevitable. While these disagreements are often resolved at the business level, there are times when owner-managers cannot reach a consensus and are deadlocked on any given decision. For this reason, unanimous shareholder agreements (USAs) often provide for dispute resolution mechanisms.
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November 12, 2025
Climate litigation, causation and Canadian courts
Causation is a contentious issue in climate litigation, both domestically and internationally. In short, “causation” in this context refers to the nexus between a particular government or private actor’s conduct, or lack of conduct, and the harms alleged to be suffered by the claimants or those they represent.
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November 12, 2025
Tilly Norwood: As AI actor takes the stage, Hollywood A-list erupts
She wasn’t discovered at a soda shop or spotted by a casting director on a cigarette break, but Tinseltown newcomer Tilly Norwood can squeeze out a tear on cue, deliver a perfect close-up, and doesn’t demand perfect lighting. Agents are said to be in a conga line to sign her. But, unless the Oscar judges have turned into tech billionaires, nobody’s polishing a tiny golden man for Tilly. Yet.
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November 11, 2025
The limits of biometric surveillance
A recent decision by Quebec’s privacy regulator highlights the risks that organizations face when implementing biometric surveillance systems. In 2024, Metro Inc., a Canadian retailer, announced the launch of a biometric surveillance system in some of its Quebec stores. Metro planned to build a database of facial scans of the people visiting its stores based on the footage captured by Metro’s in-store security cameras. Metro hoped to use this database to identify shoplifters to protect itself from theft.
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November 11, 2025
Putting people at the centre of criminal justice advocacy
Last week, while I was up north for a trial where a relatively young client was facing significant incarceration, something small but deeply significant happened during a sentencing hearing.
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November 10, 2025
Judicial vacancies hit 5%, threatening more trial delays and backlogs
Ottawa is lagging again in filling the country’s federal benches, hitting a five per cent vacancy rate on Nov. 1, 2025 — mostly in the critical trial courts of Ontario, B.C. and Quebec, which are constitutionally obliged to conduct trials within a reasonable time or face the prospect of staying criminal cases.