Justice Hamilton (BC SC) recently issued a scathing decision against an unauthorized immigration representative, including a judgment that included more than $80k USD in damages. This decision may become a powerful precedent for other victims of ghost representatives to obtain financial compensation and damages. In my office, we have seen an increase in public interest in pursuing litigation against fraudulent misrepresentation and negligence. I do not practice litigation so I refer these individuals to competent counsel. Justice Hamilton’s decision represents a small step in the right direction and underscores how difficult it can be to hold scammers to account. . . . [more]

In just a few weeks, the Legal Design Journal (the LD Journal)[1] will launch its second edition. Published online and free via open source, the journal is gaining in popularity and success since its maiden voyage in June of 2025.

Unlike some open-access academic journals, the LD Journal does not charge its authors publication fees or its readers a viewing/downloading fee – it is known as “diamond open-access”.

The LD Journal is the first of its kind. An academic journal that connects academics and practitioners of legal design by combining three separate elements: articles, a studio showcase, and . . . [more]

If you’ve been adrift on the internet desperately trying not to drown in the flood of legal information, great news! You’ve found a raft!

No, that’s not really funny. When you’re representing yourself, trying to get to the information you want does often feel like drowning. There’s so much info, mostly not what you need, so you wind up flailing about desperate to stay afloat while the currents try to pull you under. Or you get caught in whirlpools of misinformation. Or weighted down by too much case law.

Few make an intentional choice to dive in and go DIY-lawyering. . . . [more]

INTRODUCTION

The relationship between “hate expression” and religion and religious belief in Canada has always been a tangled one: the source of hatred can be grounded in religious belief and hatred can be directed against individuals or a group on the basis of their religion.

The current hate provisions in the Criminal Code of Canada (“the Code”) acknowledge this dual role of religion in both its offences and defences. The proposed amendments to the Code, Bill C-69, the Combatting Hate Act, add offences and defences that bear a distinct resemblance to activities that have occurred across Canada since Hamas’s . . . [more]

When starting a PhD thesis or other long piece of writing (any substantial intellectual project really), choosing the right topic is a significant part of whether the end result will be successful. Graduate students choose their topics in many ways. Some see postings for PhD positions within research groups and apply to work on a project with a particular researcher. Some may start a degree program and decide on a topic after they’ve spent time with the subject. And some have a passion for a particular topic and want to spend several years working deeply on it to move the . . . [more]

In a bizarre procedural twist, the Ontario Divisional Court issued two contradictory decisions on consecutive days in the same case. Two written motions for leave to intervene in Dosu v. Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario was sent to two different judges – Justice Sharon Shore and Justice Shaun Nakatsuru – who rendered opposite rulings. Justice Shore dismissed the would-be intervenors; the next day, in a separate ruling, Justice Nakatsuru granted them intervention, setting the stage for what appears to be an embarrassing judicial outcome for the court.

The anomaly in the motions outcome – essentially a legal coin flip yielding . . . [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) : Si, après avoir fait le constat de la possibilité que l’accusé n’ait jamais dormi chez sa nièce durant les années 1970, la juge de première instance s’était employée à démêler adéquatement la preuve, elle n’aurait pu raisonnablement conclure que le problème de fiabilité était limité à la . . . [more]

In September, 2025, the Commonwealth formally adopted theCommonwealth Model Law on Digital Trade. It replaces the Model Law on Electronic Transactions from 2002.

The 2002 Model Law essentially provided a consistent method for Commonwealth states to implement the UNCITRAL Model Law on Electronic Commerce(MLEC)(1996). The MLEC has now been adopted in over 100 jurisdictions worldwide and underpins the global legal use of e-communications.

All Canadian jurisdictions have had a version of the MLEC since the early 2000s, all but Quebec through adoption of the Uniform Electronic Commerce Act created by the Uniform Law Conference of Canada in . . . [more]

Every lawyer who hangs that metaphorical shingle must ask themselves a key question: which is the most appropriate business structure for my firm? This question may be posed at various points in a lawyer’s career. I remember when I was at law school (Queen’s Law, Class of 2007), there were intrepid students who were already laying plans. For myself, I started my business in 2015, after articling at a big firm on Bay Street, working as Staff Lawyer for a community legal clinic and then at a boutique law firm (under a truly terrible owner). For the . . . [more]

The Condominium Authority Tribunal is experiencing a trend. There has been an increase in the number of applications filed that do not fit within its jurisdiction. The parties in these cases are often neighbours who live in a community while they continue looking for ways to resolve their dispute.

In such situations, people can often find guidance on how to escalate matters, but what happens when a situation does not warrant that time and cost?

Let’s look at a couple of examples and explore ways the parties can address their issue without resorting to escalation…

Ramadhin v. Niagara South Standard . . . [more]

Each month, we tell you which three English-language cases and French-language cases have been the most viewed* on CanLII in the previous month and we give you a small sense of what the cases are about.

For this past month, the three most-consulted English-language decisions were:

1 . Nootchtai v. Nahwegahbow Corbiere Genoodmagejig Barristers and Solicitors, 2025 ONSC 6071

[11] The issue before me in this proceeding is whether the Legal Team, as licensed legal professionals and members of the bar of Ontario, are entitled to a whopping $510,000,000.00 as a 5% contingent fee on the $10 billion settlement . . . [more]