I am writing this on December 15^th. You may not read this until after Christmas but I hope it will still be timely!

If you have had enough Hallmark movies, or podcasts highlighting the latest twists in US politics, I have a suggestion for you. Tune in to the CBC’s See you in Court podcast. It tells the stories behind legal cases that changed Canada. Host Falen Johnson teams up with a journalist to dig into a case that challenged the status quo and reshaped the law.

The series begins with the story of Henry Morgantaler, and continues . . . [more]

Have you ever felt like running away?

In the middle of doing work or going through a stressful moment, you imagine how wonderful it would be to just go somewhere far away. Perhaps the image of a desert is something that you are imagining now as you read this. No one to bother you; just you, the ocean, white soft sand, and maybe someone to serve you a delicious meal?

Escaping the moment that is causing us stress or anxiety is something that the mind does in order to cope. When we go on vacation, we are giving our minds . . . [more]

Recently, the law societies across Canada came together to launch Ours to Protect, a national campaign to raise awareness about the importance of the rule of law. In Canada, when we talk about threats to the rule of law, we tend to glance nervously at chaos in other countries, especially the United States. The United States has provided a dramatic study in how quickly respect for legal norms can erode. The Trump White House openly vilified judges who ruled against it – accusing them of abusing their powers and even suggesting they be impeached or prosecuted. Some years . . . [more]

As artificial intelligence becomes embedded in commercial, administrative, and professional decision-making, disputes involving opaque or unpredictable system behaviour are becoming increasingly common. Traditional litigation struggles to address these conflicts, which blend technical uncertainty with evolving legal and regulatory principles. Mediation offers a proportional, flexible, and forward-looking process capable of bringing clarity to the “unexplainable” and helping parties navigate accountability in an AI-driven environment.

Although the term AI was originally used in 1955, our awareness and use of it have rapidly accelerated through the launch of OpenAI’s GPT series. OpenAI released the GPT-3.5 model in November 2022, and its latest . . . [more]

One Sunday each month we bring you a summary from Supreme Advocacy LLP of recent decisions at the Supreme Court of Canada. Supreme Advocacy LLP offers a weekly electronic newsletter, Supreme Advocacy Letter, to which you may subscribe. It’s a summary of all Appeals, Oral Judgments and Leaves to Appeal granted from November 13 – December 31, 2025 inclusive.

Appeals

Class Actions: Securities; Secondary Market Disclosure
Lundin Mining Corp. v. Markowich, 2023 ONCA 359; 2025 SCC 39 (40853) Nov. 28, 2025

The motion judge herein erred by relying on restrictive definitions of “change”, “business”, “operations”, and “capital”, and . . . [more]

Recently, some folks have asked me about my views on whether government lawyers can strike. A full legal analysis, including labour law and constitutional considerations,[1] is not something I am able to provide here.[2] I offer instead some reflections from my individual and idealistic perspective – which some may well consider romantic or unrealistic. This perspective draws on what I consider to be the spirit, if not necessarily the letter, of the rules of professional conduct,[3] given that those rules themselves cannot address every situation.[4] In doing so, I assume that such a strike would be . . . [more]

The Canadian Radio-television Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) took action^[1] to establish a framework to limit botnet traffic before they reach consumers’ devices.

The CRTC plays a limited role in regulating telecommunications service providers (TSPs) under the Telecommunications Act and protects Canadians from online harms under the Canadian Anti-Spam Legislation (CASL).

Botnets are networks of computers, cellular phones, and other devices that have been infected with malware, allowing third parties to control the devices without the knowledge or consent of the owners.

After consulting with various organizations, the CRTC gathered input on blocking techniques and which activities to block to establish . . . [more]

Among immigration professionals, there is a joke that if you go to the washroom, you will miss a change in policy. The amendments to legislation and changes to IRCC programs are so prevalent, we have to work in an environment of uncertainty and unpredictability. I regularly meet with individuals who apply to defunct programs, and they are frustrated after IRCC has refused their application. With a huge disclaimer that we have no inside knowledge, here are our predictions for the Canadian immigration system for 2026.

Prediction #1: Closing Doors for Temporary Residents

Minister Diab’s Immigration Levels plan for 2026-2028, . . . [more]

When I sat down with lawyer and author Katherine Reilly to talk about her new book Legally Zen, I surprised her by starting at the end. It felt right: the final chapter is where she introduces the idea that has stayed with me most—the concept she calls “Gen Zen.”

Reilly is not the stereotype of a mystical explorer. She is a senior civil litigator with almost twenty years in practice: formerly a partner at a national law firm in Vancouver, later counsel with the Ministry of the Attorney General in Victoria, and now back in private practice. She has . . . [more]

Every week we present the summary of a decision handed down by a Québec court provided to us by SOQUIJ and considered to be of interest to our readers throughout Canada. SOQUIJ is attached to the Québec Department of Justice and collects, analyzes, enriches, and disseminates legal information in Québec.

PÉNAL (DROIT) : Dans le contexte où la seule question en litige concernait la preuve d’identification de l’intimé, le juge d’extradition n’a pas outrepassé son rôle en appréciant la fiabilité de celle-ci; estimant cette preuve insuffisante et manifestement peu digne de foi, le juge n’a pas commis d’erreur en n’ordonnant . . . [more]

As a supplement to our Sunday Summary each month, Supreme Advocacy LLP in Ottawa presents Supreme One-Liners, a super-short descriptive guide to the most recent decisions at the Supreme Court of Canada. Supreme Advocacy LLP offers its more comprehensive weekly electronic newsletter, Supreme Advocacy Letter, summarizing all Appeals, Oral Judgments and Leaves to Appeal granted.

Appeal

Municipal Law/Contracts: Novation
Sainte-Julie (City) v. Investissements Laroda inc., 2025 SCC 44 (41036)

Clarification re Civil Code law re contracts and novation. . . . [more]