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Canada Sanctions Iranian Officials for ‘Systematic Human Rights Violations’

Introduction On October 3, 2022, the Honourable Melanie Joly, Canada’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, announced that Canada was imposing sanctions on 25 Iranian officials and 9 Iranian entities/organizations that are directly involved with implementing “repressive measures [to] violate human rights and spread the Iranian regime’s propaganda and misinformation.”[1] This announcement comes just one week after …

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The Dire Consequences of Failing to Immediately Disclose a Settlement Agreement

If you ask most litigators which aspect of their practice keeps them awake at night, nine times out of ten, the answer will be missing a limitation period. This is a valid worry, of course. After all, if the deadline to commence a claim is missed, even by a short window, not only do our …

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US and Canada Request USMCA Dispute Settlement Consultations Over Mexico’s Energy Policies

Introduction On July 20, 2022, the United States (“US”) and Canada requested dispute settlement consultations with Mexico under Article 31.4 of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (“USMCA”). The US and Canada’s request for consultations arises from Mexico’s new energy policies, which the US and Canada allege favours Mexican state-owned enterprises, Federal Electricity Commission (“CFE”) and Petróleos …

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Coming to Canadian Patents on October 3, 2022: Excess Claims and Continued Examination Fees

The Canadian government has now announced that October 3, 2022, is the date on which significant changes to the Canadian Patent Rules, which we had previously reported, will come into force. The changes will streamline examination procedures by instituting excess claims fees, by instituting a procedure for requesting continued examination, and by introducing conditional notices …

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Snowbirds Purchasing United States Real Estate

Given our winter climate, many Canadians choose to be “Snowbirds” and buy a property to spend the winter in warmer climates in the United States (“US”). Once that decision is made as to where and what, the structure of the purchase must be considered, so as not to run afoul of or be adversely impacted …

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Canada Denounces Russian Military Actions and Announces New Sanctions on Russia in Response to Escalation in Ukraine (Updated as of March 4, 2022)

On February 22, 2022, the Government of Canada announced that it was enacting new sanctions against Russia, one day after Russian President Vladimir Putin sent Russian troops into Donetsk and Luhansk (two separatist regions in Eastern Ukraine) and Russia’s Parliament (“Russian State Duma”) formally recognized the independence of Donetsk and Luhansk. The new sanctions under the Special …

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Defamation Claim Against Premier Ford Slapped Down

In Blair v. Ford, 2021 ONCA 841, Brad Blair (“Blair”) appealed the decision of Justice Belobaba to dismiss Blair’s action against Premier Doug Ford (“Ford”) on the basis that it was a strategic lawsuit against public participation (“SLAPP”).  The Court of Appeal dismissed Blair’s appeal and upheld the decision of Justice Belobaba.  This is another …

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Egregious Contempt Punished Severely

A. Introduction In Paramount Fine Foods v Johnston,[1] the Ontario Superior Court of Justice (the “Court”) sentenced the defendant, Kevin J. Johnston (“Johnston”), to 18 months in prison for six acts of contempt arising from his breaches of a permanent injunction.  This decision demonstrates that Ontario judges are not reluctant to impose severe penalties for …

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Damages for Identity Theft? Think Again.

In today’s day and age, data breaches are common. Digital extortionists will use sophisticated techniques to obtain confidential and private information of millions of individuals from well-known platforms like Yahoo and Shopify. If you are a victim of such an attack, the question becomes: what damages are you entitled to? Unfortunately, a recent decision by …

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