In-House Counsel
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December 16, 2024
Federal fiscal update after Freeland’s shock departure features tax, legal changes of note to bar
Boosting the number of judges in Ontario’s Unified Family Court and Court of Appeal, making “bail and sentencing laws stricter,” and new civil remedies — and criminal penalties of up to $1 million for corporations — under the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act, were among the new measures proposed in the 2024 fall fiscal update by the minority Liberal government after Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland stunned Ottawa by resigning from the Cabinet a few hours earlier.
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December 16, 2024
Alberta Court of Appeal upholds default judgment in mortgage action, affirms property sale
The Alberta Court of Appeal has upheld a default judgment in a mortgage enforcement action and affirmed a third-party property sale, finding that the mortgagor did not have a reasonable prospect of successfully defending the action.
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December 16, 2024
Class action certified against Airbnb for alleged breach of consumer protection laws
The British Columbia Supreme Court has certified a class action against short-term rentals giant Airbnb alleging breach of provincial consumer laws, claiming it is not licensed to provide real estate or travel agent services, nor can it transfer funds between customer and host.
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December 13, 2024
Feds to remove 30% Canadian pension fund investment cap, boost R&D in Fall Economic Statement
In a bid to boost domestic investment by Canadian pension funds, the federal government is set to remove a cap that restricts pension funds from owning more than 30 per cent of the voting shares of a Canadian entity, according to a release.
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December 13, 2024
Meta agrees to pay $9M to settle Quebec class action over unauthorized sharing of user data
Tech giant Meta has agreed to pay $9 million to settle a Quebec class action concerning allegations that Facebook shared the personal and private information of its users with third parties without their consent.
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December 13, 2024
Federal government intervenes to end postal strike as early as next week
In what one labour lawyer calls a significant challenge to legal norms, the federal government has announced that the Canada Industrial Relations Board (CIRB) will intervene to potentially bring an end to a strike by 55,000 members of the Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) as early as next week.
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December 13, 2024
The application of the last antecedent rule with contractual interpretation
In the recent Ontario Court of Appeal decision, 1797472 Ontario Inc. v. Independent Electricity System Operator, 2024 ONCA 808 (179 Ontario Inc.), the court reaffirmed the application of the “last antecedent rule” but emphasized the broader principle of contractual interpretation that each provision must be interpreted within the context of the contract.
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December 12, 2024
Supreme Court denies leave to appeal stay of Google ad price-fixing class action
The Supreme Court of Canada has declined leave to appeal a B.C. Court of Appeal decision that stayed in favour of arbitration a proposed class action against Google over allegations that it conspired with Apple to artificially inflate the price of Google search ads.
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December 12, 2024
Trademark registrar announces pilot project in January to address issue of ‘deadwood’ marks
Beginning in January, Canada’s registrar of trademarks will start proactively issuing a limited number of section 45 notices in a bid to tackle the growing problem of deadwood trademarks in the Canadian marketplace.
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December 12, 2024
Court approves $70.25M settlement of TD Asset Management trailing commissions class action
The Ontario Superior Court has approved a $70.25 million settlement in a class action against TD Asset Management Inc. (TDAM) over allegations that it paid unearned or excessive trailing commissions to discount brokers out of mutual fund assets.