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The Office of the Commissioner of Lobbying of Canada (the OCLC) has changed its interpretation of the registration threshold for corporations engaging in lobbying. The new threshold is much lower and only allows for eight hours of lobbying before a corporation is required to register with the OCLC. By contrast, the previous “20 per cent rule” allowed for an organization to engage in approximately 32 hours of lobbying in any…

On December 2, 2025, the Québec Minister of Justice tabled Bill 10, An Act to protect consumers against abusive practices in ticket reselling and online subscription renewal (the Bill), which proposes multiple amendments to the Consumer Protection Act (CPA). The Bill targets key areas that have seen a rise in consumer complaints, including online subscription renewals, ticket reselling practices, and the right of consumers to post reviews or share feedback.…

The Federal Financial Institutions Legislative and Regulatory Reporter (the Reporter) provides a monthly summary of Canadian federal legislative and regulatory developments of relevance to federally regulated financial institutions. It does not address Canadian provincial financial services legislative and regulatory developments. In addition, purely technical and administrative changes (such as changes to reporting forms) are not covered. August 2025 Published Title and Brief Summary Status (if applicable) Office of the Superintendent…

The Federal Financial Institutions Legislative and Regulatory Reporter (the Reporter) provides a monthly summary of Canadian federal legislative and regulatory developments of relevance to federally regulated financial institutions. It does not address Canadian provincial financial services legislative and regulatory developments. In addition, purely technical and administrative changes (such as changes to reporting forms) are not covered. September 2025  Published Title and Brief Summary Status (if applicable) Office of the Superintendent…

Unveiled at last On Dec. 10, 2025, the Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA) and Canadian Investment Regulatory Organization (CIRO) published their much-anticipated findings from recent regulatory compliance sweeps of 105 registered firms in Staff Notice 31-368 Client Focused Reforms: Review of Registrants’ Know Your Client, Know Your Product and Suitability Determination Practices and Additional Guidance (the Report).   Casting a spotlight on compliance programs The Report summarizes findings and provides guidance…

The Federal Financial Institutions Legislative and Regulatory Reporter (the Reporter) provides a monthly summary of Canadian federal legislative and regulatory developments of relevance to federally regulated financial institutions. It does not address Canadian provincial financial services legislative and regulatory developments. In addition, purely technical and administrative changes (such as changes to reporting forms) are not covered. October 2025 Published Title and Brief Summary Status (if applicable) Office of the Superintendent…

Maritime law practitioners and industry stakeholders gathered in Montréal on Dec. 5, 2025, for BLG's flagship maritime event BLG's Shipping Group recently hosted its 37th Annual Maritime Law Seminar in Montréal, bringing together leading maritime law practitioners, industry representatives, and government officials to discuss the latest legal developments affecting Canada's shipping sector. The seminar featured four focused sessions covering critical topics from marine casualty response to evolving trade regulations, container…

In Carcillo v. Ontario Major Junior Hockey League, the Court of Appeal for Ontario upheld the motion judge’s decision refusing certification of a proposed class action alleging systemic abuse of young players in major junior hockey leagues. The Court of Appeal held that the proposed class action was of “an unprecedented scale and complexity” and that the lack of a workable litigation plan meant that the motion judge was justified…

Introduction Infringement by common design was established for the first time in Canada by the Federal Court (FC) in the decision Adeia Guides Inc. v. Videotron Ltd, released on Nov. 14, 2025. The FC found Videotron liable for infringement of two patents on the theory of common design. Discussing the concept of infringement by common design, the FC stated at paragraph 476: The concept stems from the principle of holding…

On November 27, 2025, the Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA) published for comment proposed amendments to National Instrument 81-102 Investment Funds (NI 81-102) and its Companion Policy, and issued a related consultation paper. Why now? In 2020, the CSA issued CSA Staff Notice 81-333 Guidance on Effective Liquidity Risk Management for Investment Funds (LRM Guidance). In 2022, the International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) published a report assessing how IOSCO’s member…

Further to our recent article discussing the Building Canada Act and the announcement by the federal government to launch the Major Projects Office (MPO) to facilitate the advancement of major infrastructure and energy projects that are of national interest, the federal government has announced the first and second tranches of nation-building projects that have been referred to the MPO. Per the federal government’s recent statement, the projects referred to the MPO…

In November 2025, Alberta’s Superintendent of Insurance (the Superintendent) updated two important guidelines related to licencing and capital requirements for the captive insurance industry in Alberta: the Captive Insurance Company Licensing Guide and the Capital Guideline for Captive Insurance Companies. For those unfamiliar with captive insurance companies (Captives), these entities can be established as an alternative to traditional insurers, providing strategic insurance coverage for the organizations that create and own…

ISS Guidance (ISS) has published policy updates for its 2026 Global Proxy Voting Guidelines (Guidelines) which include key clarifications specifically for Canadian issuers with respect to (i) advance notice provisions (ANPs), (ii) amendments to equity-based compensation plans, and (iii) non-employee director (NED) deferred share unit (DSU) plans. The updated Guidelines also provide general policy updates applicable to all global issuers with respect to environmental and social-related (E&S) shareholder proposals and…

On November 17, 2025, the Ontario Information and Privacy Commissioner (IPC) released a complaint report arising from the December 2024 cyberattack against the PowerSchool Student Information System (SIS). The report is the IPC’s most current guidance on the obligations of Ontario public sector institutions that outsource systems for processing personal information. The findings Twenty public school boards reported the PowerSchool incident to the IPC. A threat actor used compromised credentials…

Canada’s minority Liberal Government presented Federal Budget 2025 – some eight months later than usual – on November 4. Having survived a Confidence vote, on November 18, the Government tabled Bill C-15, its first omnibus Budget implementation bill. We will have more to say on the bill as it moves through the House. For now, we offer brief comments on key elements of the Budget Plan. This is not a…

BLG was recently successful at the Court of Appeal for Ontario in McCormack v. Evans, 2025 ONCA 767. McCormack was a unanimous decision, upholding the dismissal at trial of the plaintiff’s action against several police defendants, including claims for negligent investigation, malicious prosecution, misfeasance in public office, and Charter damages. Finding no error in the trial judge’s reasoning, the Court reaffirmed and clarified how judges must approach questions of evidentiary…

Globally, attempts at AI governance continue to evolve: On September 26, 2025, Canada’s federal government announced the launch of a new AI Strategy Task Force, whose preliminary recommendations are expected to be released later this month and are expected to inform Canada’s anticipated federal AI legislation. South of the border, California became the first U.S. state to enact a comprehensive suite of AI laws, which will govern a wide range…

The Ontario Superior Court of Justice recently released its decision in His Majesty the King v RSA, confirming a duty to defend on the part of two insurers that provided historical comprehensive general liability (CGL) coverage to the Province of Ontario from 1975 to 1984, notwithstanding that the bridge collapse at issue did not occur until 2018. The allocation of defence costs was based on time on risk, thereby limiting…

What you need to know On Nov. 12, 2025, in one of the most consequential cases in the Canadian gaming sector in decades, the Court of Appeal for Ontario (the Court) released its long-awaited decision on Ontario’s reference question regarding international “pooled liquidity”. A strong majority of the Court (4:1) ruled in favour of Ontario’s position and agreed that legal online gaming (or iGaming) would remain lawful under the Criminal…

This article was originally published in the Ontario Expropriation Association’s Newsletter. Introduction Few decisions in recent times have meaningfully challenged long-held assumptions about the security of public land as Kosicki v. Toronto (City), 2025 SCC 28 ("Kosicki").1 For generations, municipalities, conservation agencies and the provincial Crown have acted on the assumption that once land had been expropriated or otherwise dedicated for public use, it was effectively immune from private use through…

On Nov. 4, 2025 (Budget Day), the Honourable François-Philippe Champagne tabled the federal budget titled “Budget 2025: Canada Strong” (Budget 2025). Budget 2025 includes several notable tax changes, which are more fully described in our main budget analysis. This Insight focuses only on the proposed changes to the qualified investments regime that were announced in Budget 2025. The proposed changes arose from the consultation (Consultation) that was initiated by “Budget…

A conversation with Melinda Park, Marina Paperny and Sonya Savage In October, BLG and the Association of Corporate Counsel (ACC) Alberta hosted an engaging session titled: Boardroom Evolution: Strategy, Law and Governance in 2025, drawing on the diverse perspectives of BLG leaders, Melinda Park K.C., Hon. Marina Paperny K.C., and Hon. Sonya Savage K.C., moderated by Makiko Hata, Assistant General Counsel, ATB Financial. The panel explored timely issues shaping Alberta and beyond,…

The Government of Alberta has reaffirmed its commitment to its Artificial Intelligence & Data Centre Strategy (Strategy), doubling down on its ambition to make Alberta a leading North American hub for AI and AI infrastructure by leveraging Alberta’s strengths in power capacity, sustainable cooling, provincial wide fibre-optic, and economic growth. To advance implementation, the Province has committed to several initiatives, including modernizing regulatory frameworks, establishing a purpose-built data centre concierge,…

Canadian businesses are enhancing their approaches to preventing and reducing the risk that forced or child labour is used in their activities and supply chains by taking additional steps to assess and manage those risks. Public Safety Canada’s 2025 annual report to Parliament on the Fighting Against Forced Labour and Child Labour in Supply Chains Act (the Act)1 provides insights into the risks of forced or child labour that reporting…

The 2024 Annual Compliance Report Card (the Report Card) published by the British Columbia Securities Commission (BCSC) summarizes the findings of the BCSC compliance teams arising from their reviews of the compliance programs of B.C.-based portfolio managers, investment fund managers, and exempt market dealers in 2024. The Report Card provides guidance to firms and chief compliance officers to improve their compliance programs. Of note, the Report Card provides an early…

Under Canadian privacy law, “de-identified” data can be used for research, product development and other such “secondary purposes” without individual consent and without the normal protections that apply to personal information. On October 15, 2025, the Information and Privacy Commissioner/Ontario updated its guidance on the de-identification of personal information. The new guidance is set out in a 96-page document entitled De-Identification Guidelines for Structured Data; Updated and Expanded. This new…

The Ontario Not-for-Profit Corporations Act, 2010 (the ONCA), proclaimed in force on Oct. 19, 2021, is now the foundational corporate governance legislation for most Ontario Hospitals. In 2021, BLG worked with the Ontario Hospital Association to create new ONCA-compliant prototype governance documents to assist Hospitals in transitioning to ONCA, and to take advantage of flexibility and protections provided by ONCA. Most hospitals used these templates to assist in completing their…

Are you looking for guidance on a tenant request to assign its lease or sublet a portion of its premises? This article sets out what each landlord should know in preparation for such a request. Commercial landlords select their tenants carefully, often after a robust due diligence process on the tenant’s financial covenant, as well as how this tenant fits within landlord’s leasing strategies for the property. By the time…

On June 30, the Patented Medicine Prices Review Board (PMPRB) published new Guidelines for PMPRB Staff (the Guidelines) that will take effect on Jan. 1, 2026. These new Guidelines are described as non-binding, and were developed to address both amendments to the Patented Medicines Regulations and new case law. In June 2019, amendments to the Patented Medicines Regulations were announced; BLG published a previous Insight summarizing them. These amendments were…

Large-scale projects requiring environmental or impact assessments in Canada are not static: as projects commence and develop, their needs can shift, or plans change. A key question for project proponents is how those changes will impact existing environmental permits, and what the amendment process will look like. A recent Federal Court decision has provided important clarity, confirming that project amendments are to be assessed against the same standards applied in…

The European Union (EU) has embarked on a significant reform of its customs framework, driven by a range of pressing issues and the need to modernize its processes. On June 27, 2025, EU lawmakers reached a landmark agreement on the Union Customs Code reform, setting the stage for a sweeping modernization of the EU’s customs framework, which is the biggest overhaul since 1968. This reform is poised to transform how…

Compliance officers, risk officers and management at firms who meet the definition of “securities dealers” (including portfolio managers, exempt market dealers and CIRO members) take note: there has been a recent increase in the frequency and amount of administrative monetary penalties (AMPs) issued by the Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada (FINTRAC) relating to deficiencies identified during audits of compliance programs under the Proceeds of Crime (Money Laundering)…

Ontario’s Minister of Health has re-introduced legislation – Bill 11 or the More Convenient Care Act, 2025 – that received Royal Assent on June 5, 2025. This legislation amends several existing healthcare related statutes, as well as introduces new legislation, with a view to improving efficiency and transparency and increasing the public’s confidence in Ontario’s healthcare system. Among these legislative updates is the new Health Care Staffing Agency Reporting Act,…

On Nov. 9, 2023, the Honourable Seamus O’Regan, newly appointed Minister of Labour and Seniors (the “Minister”), tabled Bill C-58 – An Act to amend the Canada Labour Code and the Canada Industrial Relations Board Regulations, 2012. The bill, which received royal assent on Thursday, June 20, 2024, sets out strong measures to limit the use of replacement workers (or strike-breakers) by federally regulated employers. Provisions in force since June…

The Competition Bureau (the Bureau) recently issued its final guidelines on environmental benefits claims (Guidelines), hot on the heels of its Annual Plan for 2025-2026 which pledged continued efforts to combat misleading environmental benefits claims (greenwashing). The Guidelines respond to the recent amendments to the Competition Act, which now explicitly prohibits greenwashing. This timely release is particularly significant as it precedes a major shift in the enforcement landscape in Canada.…

In what is believed to be a first, the recent decision of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice in Hennebury v Makita Canada Inc, 2025 ONSC 3850 dismissed product liability claims, including allegations of failure to warn, based on the ultimate limitation period. Background In 2019, the plaintiff was using a router in his workshop, when allegedly the router sped up without warning, causing a stone grinding bit to break…

On July 3, 2025, the Autorité des marchés financiers (AMF) released a French-only draft guideline on the use of artificial intelligence in the financial sector (the Guideline). Applicable to authorized insurers, financial services cooperatives, authorized trust companies, and other authorized deposit-taking institutions, the Guideline sets out the AMF’s expectations regarding the measures financial institutions should take to holistically manage the risks associated with the use of artificial intelligence systems (AI systems)…

After the tariff frenzy of the first quarter of this year, we’ve sailed into the doldrums. Not that the tariffs have gone away, or the threat of new ones has subsided, or there is a solid prospect of a non-tariff settlement discernible in the horizon, but that the pace of movement, of change, and of threats has slowed down. We can take a sigh of relief for this minor, if…

On Dec. 6, 2024, following more than 25 years of negotiations, the European Union (EU) and Mercosur (comprising Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay) finalized their trade agreement. The two massive common markets aim to create one of the world’s largest free trade areas, encompassing over 700 million people and nearly 25 per cent  of the global GDP. (If you haven’t already, take a look at our earlier publication summarizing the key…

In a development with major implications for the commercial leasing sector, the Supreme Court of Canada has granted leave to appeal in Canada Life Assurance Company v. Aphria Inc. (Canada Life). At the heart of the case is a question that affects every commercial lease in the country: When a tenant walks away from a lease, and the landlord refuses to accept that repudiation, is the landlord required to mitigate…