As of May 2026, millions of Canadians are navigating a significant legal deadline. They have until June 25 to file claims in the finalized 23andMe Canadian Data Breach Settlement—a multimillion-dollar resolution to one of the most consequential privacy failures in recent history. But as the legal files are closed, a more fundamental question remains: Can a single person’s consent ever truly be ethical when the data being signed away belongs to an entire family tree?

We are taught early on in law school that the individual is the ultimate unit of the law. We draft retainer agreements for individuals, . . . [more]

Each Monday we present brief excerpts of recent posts from five of Canada’s award­-winning legal blogs chosen at random* from more than 80 recent Clawbie winners. In this way we hope to promote their work, with their permission, to as wide an audience as possible.

This week the randomly selected blogs are 1. Official Clio Blog 2. Meurrens on Immigration 3. ABlawg.ca 4. Great LEXpectations 5. Canadian Class Actions Monitor

Official Clio Blog
How Time-Strapped Solo and Small Law Firms Can Get More Out of AI

Today, AI can do meaningful work in your practice. A demand letter can take . . . [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) : La Cour ordonne la tenue d’un nouveau procès dans une affaire d’infractions de nature sexuelle; elle est incapable de conclure que la preuve nouvelle, qui comprend 2 déclarations vidéo de la victime, n’est pas plausible, cette dernière livrant avec assurance les versions contradictoires contenues dans les 2  . . . [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

Constitutional Law: Charter; Language Rights
Société de l’Acadie du Nouveau-Brunswick v. Canada (Prime Minister), 2024 NBCA 7, 2026 SCC 22 (41398)

Charter s. 16(2) requires N.B. Lieutenant Governor be bilingual. . . . [more]

Ten or fifteen years ago, the professional who sent a newsletter, mailed a holiday card, and maintained an updated LinkedIn profile was considered ahead of the curve.

The bar was low. Showing up, in almost any form, was enough.

Today, that communication strategy blends into the background. This is not because newsletters stopped working, direct mail disappeared, or LinkedIn became oversaturated. It was because client expectations changed, attentions changed, the way we build trust changed. The shift was gradual, then sudden, and now permanent.

Where We Were Five to Ten Years Ago

In the mid 2010s, most mass communication followed . . . [more]

Several times each month, we are pleased to republish a recent book review from the Canadian Law Library Review (CLLR). CLLR is the official journal of the Canadian Association of Law Libraries (CALL/ACBD), and its reviews cover both practice-oriented and academic publications related to the law.

Fundamental Principles of Canadian Unjust Enrichment. By Mitchell McInnes. Toronto: LexisNexis, 2025. xvii, 422 p. Includes table of cases, table of statutes, and index. ISBN 9780433527749 (softcover) $120.00.

Reviewed by Melanie R. Bueckert
Legal Research Counsel
Manitoba Court of Appeal

For readers unfamiliar with the topic of unjust enrichment, it . . . [more]

The Alberta legislature passed two bills in December 2025 that are particularly important to the regulation of the legal profession. The many separate ramifications of the Justice Statutes Amendment Act, 2025, some of which I have previously written about,[1] are important though perhaps not immediately obvious. The Regulated Professions Neutrality Act, in contrast, has a clearly unifying purpose that is readily apparent – but its nuances and details deserve more attention.[2]

My view has long been that the regulation of the extra-professional conduct of lawyers, including their expression, is an important aspect of the role of . . . [more]

Back in the day, when I was starting my mediation practice, I received the worst advice ever. It came from someone who, I believe, meant well. The advice was that I should let the world know I was a mediator by modelling neutrality. In everything I did.

Why was this bad advice? Because that is impossible! No human being can be neutral about everything, nor should they pretend that they can be.

Also, how can someone expect to successfully market themselves absent any personality? The individual who gave me the advice may have meant well but failed to grasp what . . . [more]

Each Monday we present brief excerpts of recent posts from five of Canada’s award­-winning legal blogs chosen at random* from more than 80 recent Clawbie winners. In this way we hope to promote their work, with their permission, to as wide an audience as possible.

This week the randomly selected blogs are 1. Condo Adviser/STACK Condo Law 2. SOQUIJ | Le Blogue 3. Welcome to the Food Court 4. BC Injury Law Blog 5. Know How

Condo Adviser/STACK Condo Law
Are Condo Owners Entitled to Access Legal Invoices?

Condo owners often want to know where their money is going. That . . . [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.

RESPONSABILITÉ : Le fait qu’Air Canada ait contrevenu à l’article 6 (1) d) de la Loi sur la participation publique au capital d’Air Canada ne peut constituer, au sens de l’article 1457 C.C.Q., une faute dont elle serait redevable envers les membres du groupe qui étaient en poste dans ses . . . [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

Criminal Law: Sexual Assault; Conflicting Evidence
R. v. Berg, 2026 SCC 21 (41980)

Clarification re judges considering conflicting evidence. . . . [more]

In late April, two groundbreaking decisions concerning legal regulators in Canada were announced — one by a court, and one by a law society.

The first decision came from the British Columbia Supreme Court, which ruled that the provincial government’s proposed overhaul of legal regulation in BC was constitutional and could proceed. I thought this was the obvious outcome from the outset, as I wrote here at Slaw two years ago, and I’m very glad to see the issue resolved — for the moment, anyway.

At the heart of BC’s legislative overhaul (and the lawsuit that challenged its . . . [more]