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How a social enterprise is legally structured can greatly influence the types of capital available to it and how the organization can operate…

Understanding the taxation of Indigenous Peoples’ governments and structuring of their economic development initiatives is more relevant than…

Disputes between shareholders of a corporation, and shareholders and their corporation, are stressful and complicated, and often attract…

In early April 2024, Nova Scotia’s Energy Reform (2024) Act (Bill 404) passed, marking the beginning of a new direction for Nova Scotia’s…

The nature of the construction industry, especially when it comes to seasonal work and where the labour needs and costs must be estimated in…

In a typical construction project, the owner has a contract with the prime contractor, the prime contractor has a contract with the…

Canadian provinces and territories continue to swiftly legislate prompt payment requirements – though not all are taking effect quite so…

Updated February 4, 2025. By May 31, 2024 (or possibly earlier for federally incorporated Reporting Entities), Reporting Entities under the…

On October 13, 2023, the Supreme Court of Canada issued its judicial reference opinion: a significant portion of Canada’s federal…

Updated February 28, 2025. On December 15, 2023,  the Affordable Housing and Groceries Act became law, giving developers of specific types…

There’s a new scam on the web: Electronic Fund Transfer (EFT) scams. Most are familiar with established scams like phishing and ransomware and…

Owning your own business offers many opportunities. But it also carries inherent risks, including exposure to personal liability. These three…

Effective June 23, 2023, Section 45(1.1) of the Competition Act makes it a criminal offence for all unaffiliated employers to enter into…

Updated February 4, 2025. On January 1, 2024 the federal Fighting Against Forced Labour and Child Labour in Supply Chains Act (Bill S-211)…

Effective April 27, 2023 the federal Pension Protection Act (Bill C-228), granting pensions “super priority” status over other secured and…

The Supreme Court of Nova Scotia has made it clear that, while the burden is high, pre-emptively vacating or discharging a builders’ lien is a…

All businesses need written contracts. Determining what written contracts are essential depends on many factors, including the nature of the…

Updated July 7, 2023. Bill 24 An Act to Amend the Business Corporations Act effected significant amendments to the New Brunswick Business…

On November 10, 2022, the Supreme Court of Canada examined the interaction of arbitration and bankruptcy and insolvency proceedings, deciding a…

Finally closing on October 27, 2022, the tumultuous Elon Musk/Twitter M&A deal drama has been unfolding for months, with both sides making…

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 April 14, 2022, the New Brunswick Court of Appeal released its decision in Royal Bank of Canada v. Estate of Susan Lynn Williams, revisiting…

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…

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…

On November 5, 2021, the Province of Nova Scotia passed the Environmental Goals and Climate Change Reduction Act. The Act will serve as the…

Updated February 28, 2024. The New Brunswick Construction Remedies Act substantially came into effect on November 1, 2021, and took full…

On July 28, 2021, the Supreme Court of Canada issued a decision protecting the status of the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act (CCAA) as a…

In the first update to the CCDC 2 since 2008, in December 2020 the Canadian Construction Documents Committee (CCDC) published the CCDC 2 (2020).…

An economic downturn can result in an M&A uptick: there can be more attractive targets on the market, and sellers can be more motivated to…

Updated January 16, 2025. Spurred by the COVID-19 Pandemic and bricks-and-mortar closures, businesses – from SMEs to multinationals,…

Updated November 21, 2024. The rapid adoption of ESG (Environment, Social and Governance) principles and the growth of mandatory disclosure…

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

Intellectual property (IP) can be a business’s most valuable (even only) asset. Once you’ve taken steps to understand what the five main IP…

Intellectual property (IP) can be an important source of revenue to a business. There are three main ways intellectual property (IP) owners…

Canada’s construction industry is abuzz with the latest innovation in lien legislation. Prompt payment requirements are being added to…

The Environmental Emergency Regulations, effected under section 200(1) of the Canadian Environmental Protection Act (CEPA) and in force since…

Updated July 10, 2024. If you “own” a company incorporated under either the Canada Business Corporations Act or under the corporate…

Updated January 26, 2023. Prince Edward Island corporations were formerly governed by the P.E.I. Companies Act – legislation that was…

This publication has been updated as at July 8, 2022. Changes to the Canada Business Corporations Act (CBCA) over the past several years have…

On October 27, 2017, the Supreme Court of Canada confirmed that a bank that pays out on a fraudulent cheque has the protection of section 20(5)…

Intellectual Property (IP) can be a valuable asset – even the most valuable asset – of a business. So it’s worth making sure the business…

Recently, the Federal Court of Appeal confirmed that a tax debtor’s bankruptcy does not extinguish the federal Crown’s priority to proceeds…

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…

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…

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

Updated January 29, 2025. Most organizations (72%) store the personal information of customers. employees, suppliers, vendors or partners,…

On November 17, 2016 the Supreme Court of Canada decided a mortgagee has the mortgagor’s implied consent to disclose its discharge statement…

The balance between the public’s interest in accessing offshore petroleum resources data and operators’ commercial interests is at the heart…

Updated August 19, 2024. All shareholders – whether in a startup, a small or large business or a family-owned business – can benefit from…

We updated this publication on January 17, 2023. For many businesses, large and small, their “Intellectual Property” (IP) is one of their…

Updated January 27, 2023. A key legal decision in starting or growing your business is choosing the business structure that’s right for…

The condo real estate market, both retail and commercial, is hot. But condo developers and unit buyers need funding. Here’s the legal…

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…

Updated October 4, 2023. Workplace accidents regularly lead to charges under occupational health and safety (OHS) law. These charges can be…

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…

On January 11, 2016, the Ontario Superior Court of Justice sentenced a front-line supervisor to imprisonment for 3½ years for four counts of…

A practical and current guide created to help you navigate the increasingly important issues surrounding offshore decommissioning and…

Updated October 4, 2023. Most people know a company itself has occupational health and safety (OHS) obligations and risks corporate liability…

We updated this publication on July 21, 2022. Every party to a Right of Way has some idea of what that Right of Way is – but many times,…

Snow can be a big nuisance at this time of year, but snow load - the weight of the snow, usually measured in pounds per square foot - can be…

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…

Updated August 25, 2022. Many believe that only public companies or large, established companies with many shareholders need to be concerned…

On June 26, 2014, in its groundbreaking decision on Aboriginal title in Tsilhqot’in Nation v. B.C., the Supreme Court of Canada …

Updated June 5, 2024. A general security agreement (GSA) is the most common form of personal property security to secure commercial loans and…