Resources, Articles, & Advocacy
Article | July 24, 2025
Court of Appeal Summary (July 7 – 11)
Following are our summaries of the civil decisions of the Court of Appeal for Ontario for the week of July 7-11, 2025. It was a light week.
Article | July 24, 2025
Municipal Discretion, Not Obligation
Municipalities in Ontario are often entrusted with broad legislative and administrative powers, including the creation and enforcement of local bylaws. However, the discretion afforded to them in how and when they enforce these by-laws can sometimes give rise to legal disputes. For plaintiffs contemplating a claim against a municipality for non-enforcement, however, the road ahead is steep. Unless the facts show more than a mere policy disagreement or dissatisfaction with local priorities, the courts are unlikely to interfere. The message from the judiciary is clear: discretion, when exercised reasonably and in good faith, remains a power of the Canadian municipal system.
Legislative Update | July 21, 2025
Your OBA LegUp Policy and Legislative Update Week of July 14
First Nations Groups File Legal Challenge to Ontario’s Bill 5, Feds’ Bill C-5: A coalition of Ontario First Nations is taking legal action to try and throw out provincial and federal legislation designed to fast-track major projects, saying the two laws threaten their rights and “ways of life.” Nine First Nation groups are bringing urgent litigation to the Ontario Superior Court of Justice to try and kill Ontario’s Bill 5 and the federal government’s Bill C-5. The Ford government passed Bill 5 in June, which allows it to create special economic zones where municipal and provincial laws can be suspended. Similarly, the federal Bill C-5 allows cabinet to quickly grant federal approvals for big projects deemed to be in the national interest, such as mines, ports and pipelines, by sidestepping existing laws.
Article | July 15, 2025
A Foreign-Trained Lawyer’s Summer Program Experience
Originally from Nigeria, Tomiwa Ogundipe obtained her LLB from the University of Lagos and her first LLM from Harvard Law School. Currently an LLM Candidate at Osgoode Hall Law School, she has practiced law in both Nigeria and the US. With an interest in business law, she summered at Borden Lardner Gervais LLP last year and will be articling there in 2025. In this Q&A, she offers insights, anecdotes and advice from her summer program experience.
Article | July 10, 2025
Court of Appeal Summaries (June 30-July 4)
Following are our summaries of the civil decisions of the Court of Appeal for Ontario for the week of June 30, 2025.
Article | July 08, 2025
Alberta Court Finds Sections of Privacy Law Unconstitutional
On May 8, 2025, the Court of King’s Bench of Alberta released its decision in Clearview AI Inc. v Alberta (Information and Privacy Commissioner) (the Decision). The Decision found that certain provisions of Alberta’s private-sector privacy law which limit the scope of “publicly available” information violate subsection 2(b) of the Charter and are therefore unconstitutional. The Decision is noteworthy since it is the first time the constitutionality of certain sections of the Personal Information Protection Act (PIPA) has been considered.
Article | July 08, 2025
2025 Mid-Year Year Update: 5 Privacy Law Developments
We are at the mid-year point of 2025 and the privacy landscape in Canada continues to evolve. This article highlights Canada’s top five notable developments in the privacy space in 2025 so far.
