Civil Litigation
-
June 24, 2024
British Columbia first province to launch class action targeting makers of ‘forever chemicals’
The government of British Columbia has launched what it is hailing as the first class action lawsuit by a Canadian province against manufacturers of so-called forever chemicals, alleging they knew the products would contaminate the environment indefinitely and jeopardize human health.
-
June 24, 2024
Alberta court orders garnished funds to be distributed under BIA, not to judgment creditors
An Alberta court has ordered that funds from garnishees, found liable for payments owed by the bankrupt judgment debtor, be distributed in accordance with the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act (BIA) rather than be used to satisfy the judgment debts.
-
June 24, 2024
Liberal government’s ‘intransigence’ and undue secrecy spurs litigation: information commissioner
A recent ruling from the Federal Court affirming a disclosure-of-government records order by Canada’s Information Commissioner illustrates the growth in litigation highlighted by the commissioner's 2023-24 annual report to Parliament, a litigation trend she says is fuelled by the Trudeau government’s court challenges and flouting of her legally binding orders.
-
June 24, 2024
Kent Davidson named Chief Justice of Alberta Court of King’s Bench
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has appointed a new chief justice for Alberta’s Court of King’s Bench, replacing Mary Moreau who was elevated to the Supreme Court last year.
-
June 24, 2024
How to use state of the register evidence
A decision of the Federal Court illustrates the impact of the state of register use in opposition proceedings (Mécanique de performance Panthera Motorsports Inc. c. Jaguar Land Rover Limited 2024 CF 764.)
-
June 24, 2024
Judicial appointment announced for Alberta
Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada Arif Virani announced in a June 24 press release the appointment of Karan M. Shaner as a justice of appeal of the Court of Appeal of Alberta in Edmonton.
-
June 24, 2024
Manitoba Crowns had ‘many opportunities’ to abandon alleged ‘junk’ DNA case: lawyer
Crown prosecutors had “many opportunities to abandon” a shaky case against a Manitoba man wrongly jailed for murder — but “kept pressing on and pressing on” despite faulty DNA evidence, says his lawyer. The recent Manitoba King’s Bench ruling in Grant v. Government of Manitoba et al, 2024 MBKB 77, involves 61-year-old Mark Grant, who is suing Manitoba’s government and local police for being wrongly accused, convicted and imprisoned for the killing of a teen girl in 1984.
-
June 24, 2024
Ontario anti-SLAPP law has strayed too far away from its original intention, lawyer says
Ontario’s top court has overturned a decision that dismissed a man’s defamation case as a strategic lawsuit against public participation, or SLAPP, but a legal expert is saying the ruling once again demonstrates the failings of the province’s current anti-SLAPP legislation.
-
June 24, 2024
Earthco Soil Mixtures Inc. v. Pine Valley Enterprises Inc.: Interpreting exclusion clauses, part two
Last article, we provided the background regarding Earthco, a case regarding express agreements Earthco Soil Mixtures Inc. v. Pine Valley Enterprises Inc., [2024] S.C.J. No. 20. In today’s article, we discuss the litigation history and Supreme Court of Canada Decision.
-
June 21, 2024
Public school boards are bound by Charter; tribunals’ Charter rulings reviewed for correctness: SCC
In an important Charter and standard of review case, the Supreme Court of Canada has ruled that labour arbitrators and other administrative tribunals “should play a primary role” in deciding Charter issues within their bailiwicks — which Charter determinations courts should review on a “correctness” rather than “reasonableness” standard — and that the Charter applies to Ontario public school boards, thereby protecting board employees’ reasonable expectations of privacy in their workplaces and shielding employees from unreasonable search or seizure by their employers.