A Legal Structures Guide for Social Entrepreneurs in Canada

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…

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

Canada’s first Tech Talent Strategy aims to aggressively attract tech talent to “fuel innovation and drive emerging technologies forward”.…

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…

If you’re at the stage in the financing lifecyle where venture capital is the right route to grow your business, here are five tips to help…

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

Climate migrants aren’t yet arriving on Canadian shores en masse - but the growing number of extreme weather events in Canada and around the…

The New Brunswick Court of Queen’s Bench has issued a court order to stop Indigenous fishers (all apparently members of the Wolastoqey Nation)…

Updated July 28, 2023. Effective June 1, 2022, Bill 119 amended the P.E.I. Employment Standards Act to add new pay transparency provisions.…

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

If you’ve reached the stage in your financing lifecycle where you’re ready to take your company public, you might think you’ve only got…

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…

Many employers use equity compensation plans like employee stock option plans to attract, motivate, and retain talent. One reason stock options…

Your startup idea has blossomed into a viable business: you’ve incorporated a company, it’s been growing steadily, and you’re at the stage…

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

Updated March 4, 2022. Privacy is critical to every business in every sector, including startups and growing businesses: to comply with the…

We updated this publication on July 8, 2022. 2020 was a year filled with challenges, including in the relationship between Indigenous…

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

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…

We updated this publication on July 11, 2023. Spurred by the COVID-19 Pandemic and bricks-and-mortar closures, businesses – from SMEs to…

Properly incorporating and structuring is key to position a startup to attract investors and strategic partners and, if desirable, achieve a…

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

This publication has been updated as of May 5, 2021. The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has led many employees to continue working from home, by…

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…

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

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…

NOTE: The new tax rules for employee stock option plans take effect on July 1, 2021. Learn more at Limited Options: New Employee Stock Option…

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

Updated September 6, 2024. Growing a business takes people. In early days, many companies have just one “employee”: the owner or founder.…

Most businesses – from startups to SMEs to multi-nationals, and from private family-owned businesses to public corporations – will use…

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…

Equity compensation plans are a valuable and versatile tool for many corporations, from early-stage startups to established blue-chips.…

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

Corporations are the leading business vehicle in modern commerce. For startups, properly structuring and incorporating is critical to avoid…

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

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…

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

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

Note: On January 1, 2022, the Atlantic Immigration Pilot Program became the permanent Atlantic Immigration Program (AIP). Learn more at From…

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

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…

Business owners wear many hats – including employer. Your employees may be your business’s greatest asset, but they could also be your…

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

This publication has been updated as at April 18, 2022. Access to sufficient capital is always a business issue, from the startup stage right…

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…

The market for the sale and the supply of goods is a global one for many businesses in today’s economy. Both exporting goods from Canada and…

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

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

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