In-House Counsel
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October 23, 2025
Court affirms narrow interpretation of leave requirement in certification orders
The Ontario Court of Appeal has ruled that leave provisions in two mutual-fund class action certification orders did not bar new investor class actions, finding the requirement to seek court permission applied only to existing class members, not unrelated plaintiffs.
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October 23, 2025
Federal Court of Appeal overturns patent ruling over claim differentiation error
The Federal Court of Appeal has partly overturned a ruling on a fracking tool patent, finding the trial judge misapplied the principle of claim differentiation by concluding that the limitations of a dependent claim must be excluded from its corresponding independent claim.
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October 22, 2025
Defamation claim by Thunder Bay police officer against law student dismissed
While the current version of Ontario’s anti-SLAPP regime is not without procedural issues, it continues to provide reasonable protection to litigants against defamation claims that involve communications that are based upon publicly available sources.
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October 21, 2025
B.C. Supreme Court strikes sweeping COVID class action as abuse of process
The B.C. Supreme Court has struck a proposed class action against provincial COVID-19 health measures in B.C., calling it “the largest and most complex” proposed class proceeding in Canadian legal history and finding the claim to be an abuse of process that disclosed no cause of action.
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October 21, 2025
CRA call centres often fail to deliver accurate, timely help, says auditor general
The Canada Revenue Agency’s (CRA) call centres, which are supposed to help individuals and businesses with their tax queries, frequently dispense inaccurate and/or incomplete information and make Canadians wait unacceptably long times to get it, according to the latest review by the auditor general of Canada.
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October 21, 2025
Michelle Cook new Aird & Berlis associate
According to an announcement from the firm, Michelle Cook has joined Aird & Berlis as a member of the workplace law group. Before joining Aird & Berlis, Cook held positions in both the professional services industry and at a prominent regional law firm in Toronto.
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October 21, 2025
Rental, lease agreements must be in writing to qualify for COVID-19 Canada Emergency Rent
In Hutchings v. Canada, 2025 TCC 108, the Tax Court of Canada reaffirmed a core statutory principle: in the context of the Canada Emergency Rent Subsidy (CERS), rent must be “paid under a written lease” to qualify. Even long-standing verbal arrangements, supported by consistent rent payments, were held insufficient to satisfy the strict requirements of the Income Tax Act.
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October 21, 2025
Parliamentary privilege, Indigenous sentencing, spoliation among highlights of SCC’s fall session
The Supreme Court of Canada’s busy and diverse fall session includes weighty constitutional, criminal and Aboriginal law appeals that have attracted the participation of dozens of interveners. By the time the top court’s fall session ends on Dec. 12, 2025, the court will have heard some 20 cases, split between civil and criminal appeals.
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October 20, 2025
Federal Court of Appeal affirms GST exemption in $98-million tobacco sale case
The Federal Court of Appeal has upheld a decision vacating reassessments against a tobacco distributor that made over $98 million in sales without charging goods and services tax (GST), ruling that the sales were made to individuals exempt from taxation under the Indian Act.
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October 20, 2025
The Major Projects Office, Bill C-5 and the limits of Indigenous ‘advisory’
Bill C-5 received royal assent in June 2025. The process was swift and not without criticism. Now, the implementation of this new legislation, the Building Canada Act, raises more questions and concerns about what is lost at the sake of expediency.