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) : L’accusé qui, après avoir consommé de l’alcool, a effectué le raccompagnement rémunéré de 2 préposées aux bénéficiaires qui ont été blessées lorsqu’il a perdu la maîtrise de son véhicule, est condamné à une peine d’emprisonnement avec sursis; le tribunal a considéré le parcours personnel difficile de l’accusé . . . [more]

A few weeks ago, I went to the dentist for the first time in years—thanks to finally having work benefits. I expected a routine cleaning, some X-rays, and maybe a reminder to floss more. Instead, the appointment took an unexpected turn when the dentist launched into a sales pitch for Invisalign.

At 29, with relatively straight teeth, I’d never been told I needed any kind of teeth straightening. Yet, almost immediately, I was shown an AI-generated “after” image that looked nearly identical to my current teeth. The dentist admitted the difference was minimal but claimed it might help protect my . . . [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. R v Cichacki, 2025 ABKB 96

Recently I was asked to speak to a group of individuals about how to get involved in business development in the legal space. It is not a career that necessarily has a straight path like other professions and many of the best doing it, fell into the profession and then fell in love with the profession.

What Is Legal Business Development?

At its core, business development in law firms bridges the gap between legal expertise and client needs. It can include identifying opportunities, understanding relationships, and creating value propositions that resonate with clients. Unlike traditional sales, legal business development requires . . . [more]

At first glance, access to justice (A2J) might seem more relevant to areas like family, criminal, or poverty law. But through my unique position as both an Osgoode Hall Law School JD/MBA student and a research assistant for the Canadian Forum on Civil Justice (CFCJ), I’ve come to recognize a crucial and sometimes overlooked intersection between A2J and business law. That is: the challenges people face in accessing justice are not confined to traditionally “personal” legal matters. Everyday legal problems—ranging from contract disputes to consumer rights challenges—are deeply intertwined with business law, shaping both individual experiences and the broader economy. . . . [more]

The Rule of Law is like the oxygen in the air: we don’t notice it until we are having trouble breathing. Today, we watch as Americans struggle to breathe as the Rule of Law is under threat. It is time for all Canadian legal organizations to take stock and reinforce our protections of the Rule of Law.

Here in Canada, most Canadians likely either do not know or may not appreciate the role that CanLII plays in maintaining the Rule of Law in our country.

In the Quebec Secession Reference (1998), the Supreme Court of Canada identified the Rule of . . . [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 rejette l’appel du verdict de culpabilité prononcé à l’endroit de la belle-mère de la «fillette de Granby» et l’appel de l’ordonnance ayant porté à 13 ans la période préalable à l’admissibilité à la libération conditionnelle.

Intitulé : A c. R., 2025 QCCA 300
Juridiction :  . . . [more]

When a stranger breaks the rules in a scary way, it is always tempting to banish them.

This old-fashioned word might suggest disgraced medieval nobles driven from of their kingdoms. But banishment occurs whenever a person is cast out from what used to be their home or social group.

A few examples of modern-day banishment:

• Expelling high school students who have committed acts of violence is a straightforward way to show “zero tolerance” for their misbehaviour. Doing so is often welcomed by other students and parents who have suffered from the misbehaviour.
• If unhoused people are or might

Civility and its importance are contested in the Canadian legal profession and the Canadian legal academy. [1] Moreover, civility and the broader concept of professionalism have a shameful history as exclusionary concepts with significant negative impact on the ability of members of equity-seeking groups to join the legal profession and succeed in the practice of law. [2] The contemporary complexities of civility and professionalism remain problematic.[3] And even at its pinnacle, the civility movement had its critics as well as its supporters.[4] In the aftermath of Law Society of Upper Canada v Groia, the movement may not . . . [more]

Whatever its faults (and there are more than a few), “the rule of law” underpins democracy as a bulwark against authoritarianism. It is not only the system of laws that does this, but the actors who are most closely aligned with ensuring that the rule of law works: the judges and lawyers.

Nothing makes the intent of creating an authoritarian system more evident than undermining the judiciary and lawyers. That the judiciary must be independent is well-known. Less so lawyers.
The well-known phrase from William Shakespeare’s Henry VI, Part II, Act IV, Scene II, “the first thing we do is, . . . [more]

If you had asked both a Canadian and an American, in the last several weeks, “What do you think about the mess at the country’s largest legal regulator?”, you would’ve had two separate conversations about two separate messes, which together speak to a single big problem for lawyer self-regulation.

The Canadian would assume you were speaking about the March dismissal of Law Society of Ontario CEO Diana Miles, following the submission of a confidential report to the LSO’s Board of Directors (Convocation) from a retired judge into a significant and unapproved salary hike arranged without the knowledge or approval . . . [more]