Resources, Articles, & Advocacy
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.
Advocacy | July 07, 2025
Your OBA LegUp Policy and Legislative Update Week of June 30
New Regional Senior Justice Appointed to the OCJ: Justice Anthony Frederick Leitch has been appointed regional senior justice for the Central West Region of the Ontario Court of Justice (OCJ), effective September 1. He had been the acting senior judge in the region since 2023.
Article | June 24, 2025
Foreign Expertise, Local Impact: The Quiet Necessity of Foreign Legal Consultants
Where legal practice intersects with immigration, international families, and global financial matters, foreign law is not a complication; it is the context. Canadian courts have always operated with the understanding that foreign law, when relevant, must be treated as a question of fact. But as our legal and social realities evolve, so too does the need for clarity, structure, and cultural literacy when presenting those facts. This is where Certified Foreign Legal Consultants (FLCs) become indispensable.
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.
Advocacy | May 16, 2025
Your OBA LegUp Policy and Legislative Update Week of May 12
Province Tables Tariff-Era Budget: The Ford government plans to run a substantial deficit of almost $15 billion and spend more than $230 billion this year. On Thursday, Finance Minister Peter Bethlenfalvy presented the government’s 2025 budget, a document dominated by the tariff response and how it will impact the economy.
