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November 06, 2026
Legal observers are raising alarm bells about Ontario’s new omnibus red tape bill, saying it will largely eliminate the ability of people to hold the government accountable for decisions that could impact the environment and their communities.
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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
Aleksandra Finelli has joined Aird & Berlis as a partner with the firm’s real estate team.
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November 05, 2026
Can a road be a public highway even if nobody has ever driven on it, the municipality has never maintained it, and a private company is its registered owner? A recent Ontario Court of Appeal decision suggests the answer may be yes.
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November 05, 2026
Appeal by appellant from the order granting the respondent summary judgment on her debt claim, and applications by both parties to adduce fresh evidence. During the appellant’s former relationship with the respondent’s son, the couple used advances from the respondent to finance residential property projects.
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November 04, 2026
The federal government has unveiled anti-financial-crimes legislation that would, among other things, make it a criminal offence to operate an unlicensed cryptocurrency automated teller machine (ATM) and enable “law enforcement” to search and seize mail.
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November 04, 2026
In part one of this three-part series, I wrote about young lawyers who think it makes sense to do residential real estate to generate cash flow when they launch a new legal practice, with a view to ultimately developing a practice in a different area of law.
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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 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
Many lawyers would agree that practising residential real estate is not the intellectual pinnacle of the legal profession. The argument goes that it is simple to do, the steps are repetitive, and it is properly the realm of law clerks, supervised (in theory) by qualified lawyers. Also, it has become a commodity, and clients are fee-sensitive. Simply put, it is difficult to get rich doing it, unless you can use clerks and support staff to process transactions in great volume, with experienced lawyers spending the minimum possible time on each matter.
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October 30, 2026
Nicolas C. Gagnon has joined Langlois’ corporate and commercial law group in Montreal.
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October 30, 2026
For generations, an estate trustee stepping into an administration has started with the paperwork in front of them: the will, the bank statements that happened to be lying around, the prior trustee’s inventory (if applicable). That starting point is not going away. But as estate trustees — and particularly neutral and succeeding trustees who inherit an administration someone else began — come under closer scrutiny, a question is emerging: is documented, independent verification of what the estate actually owns and owes becoming an expected part of the duty of inquiry?
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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
Third-party contribution and indemnity claims against lawyers is a hot topic of contention among the professional liability bar because of the existence of two lines of authority that are used by courts to determine whether such a claim is allowed to proceed or is dismissed on the basis that it discloses no reasonable cause of action.
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October 26, 2026
Dunton Rainville and Ménard Notaires have announced a merger that will expand the law and notarial firm into Granby, Que.
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October 26, 2026
The Tax Court’s treatment of a son added to title for mortgage financing revives an unresolved tension over s. 160, bare trusts and the value of legal ownership without beneficial ownership.
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October 26, 2026
On Oct. 9, 2026, President Donald Trump wrote: “I have just concluded a highly successful discussion with President Vladimir Putin, of Russia, wherein it was agreed that Russia will immediately supply over 300,000 Tons of Diesel Fuel to the American and Global Marketplace, another 500,000 Tons during the month of November, and 1,000,000 Tons immediately thereafter.”
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October 23, 2026
A B.C.-based legal institute has issued a number of tentative recommendations to reform strata leaseholds in the province and is seeking input on them.
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October 23, 2026
When a person who goes by more than one name passes away, it is important to provide not only their legal name when applying for a certificate of appointment of estate trustee, but to also provide alternate names that the deceased used.
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October 23, 2026
For the first time in more than 50 years, the Court of Appeal for Ontario has updated its test for leave to appeal from a decision of the Divisional Court. In Knauff v. Ontario (Human Rights Tribunal), 2026 ONCA 653, a five-judge panel confirmed that the test for leave is whether the proposed appeal raises an arguable question of law or mixed law and fact that is of sufficient public importance to warrant consideration by the Court of Appeal.
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October 22, 2026
Artificial intelligence (AI) is rapidly moving beyond experimentation and into broad enterprise adoption at remarkable speeds. Once confined largely to niche technology companies, research institutions and startups, AI now sits at the centre of many traditional industries, reshaping sectors such as financial services, health care, manufacturing, logistics, energy and professional services, while creating ripple effects across global markets. Statistics Canada reported that AI adoption among Canadian businesses increased from 6.1 per cent in the second quarter of 2024 to 12.2 per cent a year later. By Q2 2026, adoption rates had reached 19.2 per cent.
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October 21, 2026
Manitoba has set new limits on “above-guideline” residential rent increases landlords put in place for capital expenses. The provincial government is “changing regulations” to cut above-guideline rent increases by up to 40 per cent in a bid to “strengthen protections for renters.”
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October 21, 2026
The federal government has announced a new Cabinet Directive on Regulatory Competitiveness and Red Tape Reduction, requiring regulators “to reduce regulatory burden costs by $2 for every $1 added.”
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October 21, 2026
Estate litigation can take months or years to resolve, but mortgage obligations do not wait. For estate trustees and beneficiaries, the core challenge is preserving the value of estate property while competing claims are litigated.
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October 21, 2026
For decades, the estate freeze has been a staple of succession planning for Canadian business families. The mechanics are familiar to any tax or estate practitioner: the owner exchanges growth shares for fixed-value preferred shares, and a newly settled family trust subscribes for fresh common shares that will capture all future growth. The tax benefits are well understood.