The Complete Brief
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April 14, 2025
Winning litigation: Securing home-court advantage
During March Madness, the U.S. college basketball tournament, games are played at neutral venues — no team competes on its home court. This decision isn’t surprising. In sports, home-court, home-ice and home-field advantage is real, backed by extensive research.
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April 14, 2025
From crisis to reform: Understanding Ontario’s new civil procedure framework
The Ontario civil justice system is on the brink of its most significant transformation in decades. Having spent nearly two weeks analyzing the Civil Rules Review: Phase 2 Consultation Paper, attending the civil procedure overhaul meeting led by Justice Cary Boswell and Allison Speigel, and reflecting on how these changes will reshape litigation, I can affirm: this is not incremental tweaking.
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April 14, 2025
Limitless? When employees become disabled during the notice period
In Saskatchewan Indian Gaming Authority Inc. v. Pasap, 2025 SKCA 15, the court considered the case of an employee who sued for both reasonable notice damages, as well as damages for lost disability insurance benefits, when he became disabled during his claimed notice period. The court of appeal, in its majority and dissenting reasons, demonstrates the tension around determining whether a worker is disabled from all occupations.
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April 14, 2025
The greatest golfer ever
There have now been several reports in Canadian media about travellers being asked at the border what they think of the U.S. president and being denied entry when they did not express their unqualified approval of Donald Trump. (Apparently, American citizens returning from abroad have also been asked this question, which is even more shocking.)
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April 11, 2025
Housing boom could exacerbate tax fraud in construction industry, warns union
One of Canada’s largest construction unions is warning that a major push by governments to build more homes to address the housing affordability crisis could also raise the risk of increased tax fraud in the construction industry.
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April 11, 2025
B.C. Court of Appeal: Labour arbitration appeals lie with labour board barring exceptional cases
The British Columbia Court of Appeal has clarified that its jurisdiction over labour arbitration decisions is strictly limited to matters of general law entirely unrelated to labour relations, collective agreements or fact-based determinations tied to workplace disputes.
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April 11, 2025
McGill faces proposed class action over alleged failure to address campus antisemitism
McGill University is facing a proposed class action over allegations that it failed to protect its Jewish students from discrimination and harassment during campus protests related to the conflict in Gaza.
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April 11, 2025
Competition Bureau obtains court order in investigation into pharmacy firm Express Scripts Canada
The Competition Bureau has obtained an order from the Federal Court to advance an investigation into Mississauga, Ont.-based Express Scripts Canada, a company that provides prescription drug claim processing services, along with additional services for insurance providers and pharmacists.
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April 11, 2025
Quebec bolsters secularism rules as Supreme Court hears challenge to controversial law
Barely two months after the Supreme Court of Canada agreed to hear a challenge to Quebec’s controversial secularism law, widely known as Bill 21, the Quebec government tabled a contentious bill that will tighten secularism rules, extending the province’s ban on the wearing of religious symbols to support staff, including volunteers, in schools.
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April 11, 2025
OBA award winners announced ahead of June 19 gala
The Ontario Bar Association (OBA) has announced the winners of this year’s association awards. The recipients will be honoured at the OBA Awards Gala on June 19 in Toronto.