Resources, Articles, & Advocacy
Legislative Update | June 27, 2025
Your OBA LegUp Policy and Legislative Update Week of June 23
Crime Bill with Tougher Bail, Sentencing Provisions Coming in Fall: The federal government will table a bill this fall introducing stricter bail conditions and sentencing for some crimes, particularly those involving organized crime, human trafficking, home invasion and car theft. Justice Minister Sean Fraser says the government will “at minimum” implement the crime policies the Liberals promised during the spring federal election. These include making bail more difficult to get for some offences. They also promised tougher sentencing guidelines for repeat car thieves and violent and organized crime, and to allow for consecutive sentencing for some cases of car theft and for serious and violent offences.
Article | June 26, 2025
Who Let the Dogs Out? Quebec Court Denies Dogs’ Representative Plaintiff Status — But Opens the Door to Deeper Questions
In Lemieux c. Sanimax Lom inc., 2025 QCCS 371, the Superior Court of Quebec’s Chief Justice rejected an unconventional request: to allow four dachshunds to serve as parties and representative plaintiffs in a proposed environmental class action.
Advocacy | June 11, 2025
Your OBA LegUp Policy and Legislative Update Week of June 9
Article | June 09, 2025
"Not Litigation in the Ordinary Course": New Brunswick Court Comments on Individual Issues Procedures in Historical Abuse Class Action
After liability has been established in common, how far does the court's authority go to attenuate the ordinary litigation process in determining the damages to be awarded to individual class members? In Hayes v. The City of Saint John, 2025 NBKB 58, the New Brunswick Court of King's Bench held that the vulnerable nature of the class in a historical sexual abuse class action demanded that the individual issues phase of the litigation be dealt with on an expeditious basis.
Article | June 09, 2025
On One Condition: Ontario Court of Appeal confirms no “conditional” certification of class proceedings
The Ontario Court of Appeal in Knisley v. Canada (Attorney General), 2025 ONCA 185, has confirmed that a class proceeding cannot be certified on a conditional basis. On a motion for certification, a motion judge must either certify an action as a class proceeding where the certification test has been met or must deny certification where the criteria for certification have not been met.
Article | June 09, 2025
Jurisdictional Gymnastics: Territorial Competence in Cline
Cline v Gymnastics Canada, 2025 BCSC 146 is a pre-certification jurisdictional application brought by the Fédération de Gymnastique du Québec in a proposed historical abuse class action commenced in B.C. The Court reasoned that common issues standing alone do not create territorial competence for the purpose of a national class action. Territorial competence findings in prior product liability cases will not be instructive if the factual underpinnings of those decisions involve “something more”.
Legislative Update | June 06, 2025
Your OBA LegUp Policy and Legislative Update Week of June 2
Ford Government Passes Mining Legislation: Bill 5, or the Protect Ontario by Unleashing our Economy Act, passed third reading this week and has been granted royal assent by the lieutenant governor. The legislation will create so-called special economic zones where laws, ranging from municipal approvals to environmental rules or even labour law, won’t apply. At Queen’s Park on Wednesday, cries of protest rang out from the galleries inside the legislature as MPPs voted. Indigenous leaders have vowed to keep fighting against the legislation.
Article | June 04, 2025
Parkin v. The Toronto-Dominion Bank: Carriage Considerations under the Amended Class Proceedings Act, 1992
In Parkin, one of only a handful of decisions interpreting the new statutory carriage test under the amended Class Proceedings Act, 1992, Justice Leiper granted carriage of a proposed securities class action against TD Bank for alleged misrepresentations with respect to its systemically deficient anti-money laundering controls to the Parkin action. The court found the Parkin action was superior to two competing actions as it avoided both potential concerns relating to contingency-fee splitting with a US firm and limitation period issues.
