Cheryl Hodder Joins Board of Directors of Compute Canada

On May 22, 2010 (affectionately known as “Bitcoin Pizza Day”), a Floridian bought two Papa John's pizzas with Bitcoin. The day is famous…

On March 18, 2022, the Supreme Court of Canada confirmed that an Indigenous government can still satisfy the impecuniosity requirement for an…

On December 17, 2021, New Brunswick’s Local Governance Reform Act (Bill 82) amending the N.B. Local Governance Act (and other related acts and…

On April 1, 2022, changes to the Newfoundland and Labrador Corporations Act proposed in Bill 24 An Act to Amend the Corporations Act will take…

On May 17, 2022, the P.E.I. Non-Disclosure Agreements Act (currently, Bill 118) will take effect, significantly restricting the use of…

On January 26, 2022, the British Columbia Court of Appeal extended an injunction preventing protesters from interfering with a logging…

More and more people are using smart contracts: the global smart contracts market was valued at USD $145M in 2020; it’s projected to be valued…

The name of the game is to have a plan to mitigate the risk that a data breach will happen - but be ready when it does. According to the…

On November 4, 2021, the Supreme Court of Canada clarified the law regarding when a judgment debtor “carries on business” for the purpose of…

On July 29, 2021, the Supreme Court of Canada refined the test for determining when a plaintiff has discovered a claim for the purpose of a…

The Supreme Court of Canada continues to develop and clarify the organizing principle of good faith performance in contract law. In its 2014…

The Supreme Court of Canada, in the 2014 case of Bhasin v. Hrynew, recognized a general organizing principle of good faith performance in…

This publication has been updated as of December 1, 2021. Recent incidents in Canada and the U.S. have impinged that the impact of systemic…

On June 26, 2020, the Supreme Court of Canada released Uber Technologies Inc. v. Heller, a much-awaited decision regarding the enforceability of…

The financial technology (Fintech) industry uses technology to support and enhance financial and banking services.

McInnes Cooper partner Michael Melvin and Student-at-Law Myriam Whalen provide a detailed Legal Digest in the Spring 2020 Edition of The…

The Supreme Court of Canada recently released a much-awaited decision regarding the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act (CCAA). The CCAA is…

Parenting during this unprecedented COVID-19 public health crisis is stressful for families. In response to this global pandemic, Federal and…

Business corporations laws and stock exchange policies mandate that issuers hold annual general meetings (AGM) and set requirements for when and…

The global COVID-19 (a.k.a. Coronavirus or SARS-CoV-2) outbreak has implications for many commercial relationships, its evolving nature and…

NOTE: On July 23, 2021, the Supreme Court of Canada agreed with the Newfoundland & Labrador Court of Appeal’s decision respecting the law,…

All issuers must comply with both periodic and ongoing securities law corporate governance (and other) disclosure requirements. This can,…

On December 23, 2019, the Newfoundland and Labrador Court of Appeal effectively eliminated the category of “knowledgeable fact witness” in…

Effective December 1, 2019, the New Brunswick government will finally finalize the reform of N.B.’s money judgment enforcement regime with the…

Public companies incorporated under the Canada Business Corporations Act (CBCA) escaped the new “register of individuals with significant…

Canadian provinces are looking to immigration as a solution to labour market shortages, and the health sector is no exception. Recruitment of…

Information disclosure is a key theme that emerges from Canada’s new cannabis regulatory regime: the government wants lots of information from…

As of June 13, 2019, private companies incorporated under the Canada Business Corporations Act (CBCA) must prepare and maintain a register of…

On November 30, 2018, a majority of the judges of the Supreme Court of Canada decided the media doesn’t get any special protection from the…

As of January 2019, incorporating a limited company in N.S. will be more economical. On September 7, 2018, the N.S. government announced it’s…

P.E.I. corporations are currently governed by the P.E.I. Companies Act – legislation that’s substantially unchanged since it was enacted in…

The Crown’s duty to consult Indigenous Peoples has evolved considerably since the Supreme Court of Canada’s first detailed articulation of…

Businesspeople (and their legal counsel) are on the road more than ever before: according to Statistics Canada, while Canada-U.S. traffic is…

The Canada Business Corporations Act (CBCA) is catching up with the times. On May 1, 2018, amendments to the CBCA proposed in Bill C-25, An Act…

On June 6, 2018, the Supreme Court of Canada considered the test for jurisdiction over an allegedly defamatory Internet article – the…

The N.S. Court of Appeal has reached two decisions ending one employee’s quest for coverage of the costs of his medical marijuana – at least…

There’s no shortage of media coverage about a doctor shortage in Canada and the resulting impact on Canada’s healthcare system. Most…

Mandatory interlocutory injunctions - court orders, made in the context of a lawsuit, that a party take positive action as opposed to refrain…

Insurers have generally been leery of coverage for medical cannabis in both the health benefit claims and in cost of care claims in the personal…

The future of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), including NAFTA’s immigration-related provisions allowing cross-border mobility…

Whether a provincial court will grant police a “production order” under the Criminal Code of Canada requiring a non-Canadian company to…

Parents often threaten their children that if their behaviour did not improve they will get a lump of coal in their Christmas stockings. On…

Blockchain technology has already been a transformative force in a number of sectors. Its most prominent use to date has been as the…

October 2, 2017 marked the end of the consultation period relating to the taxation of private corporation proposals the Department of Finance…

It’s official: as of October 31, 2017, “facilitation payments” contravene Canada’s Corruption of Foreign Public Officials Act (CFPOA).…

On October 19, 2017, the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX) announced it had adopted amendments to its Company Manual. Originally proposed in Spring…

In the not-so-distant past, Canadian enforcement of its anti-corruption and anti-bribery legal regime has been relatively laid-back. But the…

On July 18, 2017, Canada’s Minister of Finance released proposed changes to the Income Tax Act (Canada) that, if implemented, will mark one of…

All stakeholders in any major project development already know that adequate consultation before - rather than after - a project is approved is…

On July 12, 2017, the Federal Court of Canada made it clear that there are but two ways to avoid a tariff set by the Copyright Board of Canada…

A corporation does not always sail in calm or safe waters. Cash shortages, unattainable or unmet goals, Board disagreements over the best course…

When growing your business, you face many decisions, including choosing the business structure that is right for you. Your legal team can be…

The legal landscape of cannabis (a.k.a. marihuana, weed, pot …) is changing, both reflecting - and contributing to - more relaxed attitudes…

On June 28, 2017, the Supreme Court of Canada confirmed a Canadian court can issue an interlocutory injunction (an order requiring an entity or…

On June 23, 2017, the Supreme Court of Canada decided that in a contest between the choice of forum clause in Facebook’s online terms of use…

On June 2, 2017, the Supreme Court of Canada decided that where a plaintiff advances a claim for negligently caused psychological or psychiatric…

On May 19, 2017, the Supreme Court of Canada agreed to hear the appeal of the Federal Court of Appeal’s 2016 decision in Canada v Mikisew Cree…

The family (whatever that looks like for you) is the fundamental unit of our society, and the family business a fundamental cog of our economy.…

In three years (lightning speed in the law), medically assisted dying went from being illegal to being legal. A great deal has changed, a great…

On April 13, 2017, Canada’s federal government introduced legislation that, if passed into law, will legalize recreational cannabis in Canada.…

Adding a third jurisdiction to Gard Update’s comparison between privilege in the corporate context under U.S. and English law, McInnes Cooper…

Note: Consultants who were already lobbying and in-house lobbyists already employed by an organization when the new Act took effect were…

Social media platforms, like Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube, Facebook and GooglePlus, arguably have more followers and are more closely…

There are very few examples of a Canadian court interpreting and opining on the provisions of an information technology contract. So the Ontario…

On March 9, 2017, the N.S. Court of Appeal stopped building inspection claims in their tracks when it decided that a defence based section…

This publication has been updated as of December 16, 2021. Many organization (66%) store the personal information of customers. employees,…

Doing business with the public sector creates an often overlooked – but very real – risk that the confidential information a business…

On December 9, 2016, the Supreme Court of Canada clarified when a court can rectify a transaction that has had unintended tax consequences for…

It’s been a long time coming, but Newfoundland and Labrador is finally getting new public procurement legislation. On November 29, 2016, Bill…

On November 25, 2016, the Supreme Court of Canada decided privilege wins again - twice. In two separate decisions - Lizotte v. Aviva Insurance…

On September 9, 2016, the Supreme Court of Canada decided in Musqueam Indian Band v. Musqueam Indian Band (Board of Review) that an Indian band…

The Newfoundland and Labrador Court of Appeal recently affirmed the test for confirming a cause of action and thus resetting a limitation period…

The standards expected of market participants are steadily increasing in response to demand to address white collar crime – including…

A key legal decision in starting or growing your business is choosing the business structure that’s right for you. If you incorporate,…

On July 15, 2016 the Supreme Court of Canada, in a long-awaited decision, resisted the invitation to re-write the traditional rules for the…

The Ontario Court of Appeal has re-ignited the discussion about when a municipality will be held liable for its shoddy bylaw enforcement…

On June 16, 2016, the Supreme Court of Canada decided a municipality’s “notice of reserve”, a mechanism to prevent construction, on land…

On June 3, 2016, the Supreme Court of Canada, in two related decisions, strengthened the legal protection of solicitor-client privilege in…

It’s now certain: in Newfoundland & Labrador, liens can’t be placed on Crown land or holdbacks with the possible exemption allowing for…

On May 6, 2016, the Supreme Court of Canada generally affirmed the common law rule that positive covenants do not run with the land. More…

On May 6, 2016, the Supreme Court of Canada decided that a mortgage imposing a higher interest rate in the event of default and reserving a…

Amendments changing the early warning reporting system take effect on May 9, 2016, provided all necessary approvals are obtained (except in…

On April 14, 2016, Canada’s federal Justice Minister proposed legislation setting out the conditions that a person wishing to undergo…

Federal Budget 2016 proposed to significantly reduce the benefit of and access to the Small Business Deduction. The Small Business Deduction…

When a business responds to a public sector Request for Proposal or Expression of Interest (both of which we’ll refer to as an RFP for these…

In what appears to be the first case of the conviction of a front line supervisor under section 217.1 of the Criminal Code and sentencing to a…

On July 27, 2015, the Federal Court of Canada decided a lawsuit by medical marijuana program participants against the Federal Government…

On July 16, 2015, the New Brunswick Court of Appeal ordered an insurer to produce a significant amount of its financial and business information…

Most people know that a company itself has OHS obligations, and that it risks corporate liability if it violates those obligations. However, not…

Effective April 22, 2015 the NS Government enacted the NS Missing Persons Act, lowering the threshold for police to get an order to access…

On April 15, 2015 the Supreme Court of Canada decided the City of Saguenay’s recitation of a religious - though non-denominational – prayer…

On March 3, 2015 Canada’s Privacy Commissioner determined that Health Canada breached privacy laws by mailing letters to over 40,000 Marihuana…

Effective for the 2015 proxy season, all non-venture issuers reporting in nine Canadian Provinces and Territories must disclose the…

The new NS Limitations of Actions Act – the legislation that determines the limitation period (time limit) in which a lawsuit must be started…

NOTE: On April 14, 2016, the federal government proposed legislation setting out the conditions that a person wishing to undergo…

On January 30, 2015 the Supreme Court of Canada decided that the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedom’s protection for freedom of…

“Corporate Social Responsibility” (CSR) as a concept has been floating around in business-speak for years – but stakeholders in the mining…

On November 13, 2014, the Supreme Court of Canada (SCC) effected a significant development in Canadian contract law by recognizing the…

Note: On November 20, 2014 the NS Government passed the final form of Bill 64, Limitations of Actions Act into law. The final form of the Act…

CASL’s anti-spam sections came into force on July 1, 2014. Every organization that CASL affects should now be complying with it – and their…

Many believe that only public companies or large, established companies with many shareholders need to be concerned about, or can benefit from,…

Effective October 1, 2014, the New Brunswick Rules of Court will change – some Rules for the first time since they came into effect in 1982.…

On May 23, 2014 the Federal Court of Canada decided the Federal Treasury Board Secretariat’s interpretation of the policy for compensating…

Recent decisions of securities regulators and amendments to Canadian securities laws demonstrate regulators' lowered tolerance for insiders who…

A general security agreement (GSA) is the most common form of personal property security used in the Atlantic Provinces to secure commercial…

In Franchise Canada’s Spring 2013 “Viewpoints” feature, McInnes Cooper franchise lawyer Michael Melvin answers this question for…

In its April 2013 decision in Re Stan, the Alberta Securities Commission provides issuers with a practical approach to the assessment of both a…

On November 19, 2012, the Supreme Court of Canada (SCC) unanimously ruled a B.C. public school system’s failure to provide adequate and…

Mr. Cole was a high school teacher with an employer owned and issued laptop computer.  He also used it for incidental personal purposes, which…

In March 2011, the Ontario Court of Appeal found that an employee had a limited expectation of privacy in the contents of a work computer. The…

McInnes Cooper franchise lawyer Michael Melvin highlights some of the significant features of the Disclosure Documents Regulation and the…

In Franchise Canada’s May/June 2010 “Ask A Legal Expert” feature, McInnes Cooper franchise lawyer Michael Melvin answers this question for…

“Contamination Claims: Long Tails or Just Dogs? Practical and Legal Issues of Litigating Contaminant Slow-Leak Cases”, Cdn Journal of…