BLG law firm

Cybersecurity is a significant challenge for organizations of all kinds and sizes, including small organizations with limited resources for a cybersecurity program. Each of the Canadian Centre for Cyber Security (CCCS), the United States Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), and the Australian Cyber Security Centre (ACSC) have issued recent guidance to help small organizations implement foundational cybersecurity measures to begin building cybersecurity resilience. The cybersecurity challenge Cybersecurity is important…

You’ve likely heard collaboration categorized as a “soft skill.” Distinguished Harvard Fellow and award-winning author, Dr. Heidi Gardner, says that’s not true. Dr. Gardner was in Toronto for BLG’s smarter collaboration session, sharing the stage with Patrice Walch-Watson, senior managing director, general counsel and corporate secretary for Canadian Pension Plan Investments; Sandra Perri, senior vice president and general counsel at Sun Life Canada; and Graham Ross, BLG’S chief client officer.…

On May 29, 2023, the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada (OPC) released new guidance on employee privacy rights in the workplace (the Guidance). The Guidance considers the balance between respecting employee workplace privacy while also recognizing that, under certain circumstances, employers may have a legitimate need to monitor and manage their employees. Overview While employers may need to collect certain information about their employees, employees will still have…

Owners of intellectual property rights (the owner) should keep in mind the measures provided for in the Trademarks Act and the Copyright Act (collectively, the Acts) intended to address the importation and exportation of counterfeit goods in Canada as part of their enforcement toolbox. This can include if the conditions are met, pharmaceutical products for example. The process provided for in these Acts arises from the general prohibition on importation…

What you need to know The SCC dismissed Nova Chemicals Corp.’s (Nova) appeal in an 8-1 decision. This case considered accounting of profits as a remedy for patent infringement and provided some much-needed guidance on how to determine if a non-infringing option exists, and whether to use it in the calculation of the profits to be disgorged by the infringer. The SCC upheld the award of springboard profits to Dow…

The Supreme Court of Canada recently considered the statutory test to dismiss strategic lawsuits against public participation (SLAPPs) under British Columbia’s Protection of Public Participation Act, S.B.C. 2019, c. 3 (PPPA). On May 19, 2023, the Court released its long-anticipated decision in Hansman v Neufeld, 2023 SCC 14. In a 6–1 decision, the SCC granted Mr. Hansman’s appeal and dismissed a defamation lawsuit brought in 2018 by a school board…

On Friday, May 26, 2023, the Supreme Court of Canada (SCC or the Supreme Court) dismissed the taxpayer’s appeal in Deans Knight Income Corp. v Canada, 2023 SCC 16 (Deans Knight). This much-anticipated decision deals with the general anti-avoidance rule (GAAR) in section 245 of the Income Tax Act1 (Act). The GAAR, where applicable, allows the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) to redetermine the tax consequences of a transaction. For GAAR to apply,…