Eric Sherkin Comments On The Modernization Of Legal Proceedings And Its Future Impact On Virtual Hearings

On January 1, 2026, numerous major amendments to Ontario's Construction Act came into force.

An Ontario court granted a motion to bifurcate liability and damages stages in a class action alleging $500 million in hidden fees, finding that extensive documentary production requests were disproportionate and not relevant to determining liability. The decision addresses proportionality concerns in class actions where defendants face onerous discovery demands spanning millions of transactions over a decade.

The Supreme Court of Canada held its second annual ceremony marking the opening of the judicial year at its temporary home in the West Memorial Building, with Chief Justice highlighting the Court's increased caseload and architectural features. What significant constitutional and legal challenges will the Court address in its fall 2026 session, including cases on firearm regulations, Crown immunity, and vicarious liability?

In a significant and disappointing turn of events, the remaining sexual assault charges against former megachurch pastor Bruxy Cavey have been withdrawn in a Hamilton courtroom.

A five-year-old firmware defect in Coldcard hardware wallets has enabled attackers to systematically drain an estimated $116 million in Bitcoin from over 5,200 victims since July 2026. This unprecedented exploit raises critical questions about manufacturer liability and creates two distinct legal pathways for recovery: blockchain tracing against the perpetrators and potential litigation against Canadian manufacturer Coinkite for product defects that undermined the fundamental security promise of devices mar

Deepfakes are reaching courts. Learn how a U.S. case dismissed for AI-generated evidence and Canadian authentication rules are changing what litigators must do now.

On October 28, 2025, Bill 101, An Act to improve certain labour laws, received royal assent. Through this omnibus bill, Québec’s Labour Minister proposed significant reforms to grievance arbitration practices, along with numerous amendments to various workplace laws.

An application has been filed in Quebec to obtain authorization to institute a class action concerning the drugs Mounjaro, Trulicity, and Zepbound, alleging that the widely used diabetes and weight-loss medications...

Following are our summaries of the civil decisions of the Court of Appeal for Ontario for the week of September 14, 2026.

A Canadian court awarded $800,000 in damages to a couple defamed by serious false allegations of sexual assault and criminal misconduct spread through social media. The case examines how factors like the severity of accusations, use of social media platforms, and a defendant's failure to mount a defense can dramatically escalate defamation damages beyond typical awards.

Ontario commercial truck drivers with less than two years of heavy-truck experience must now pass a practical road test administered by Quebec's SAAQ before transferring their licence to operate heavy vehicles in the province. This new requirement follows fatal collisions and an Ontario Auditor General audit that exposed significant gaps in training standards and provider oversight. Carriers operating across the border need to factor these requirements into workforce planning, recruitment timelines, and dis

Keeping up with employment law in Canada used to be a marathon. Now, it's a sprint. For employers in Québec, Ontario, and British Columbia, a significant volume of new legislation...

Canada's federal government has proposed the Productivity Mega Deduction, offering permanent 100% first-year expensing for depreciable property and Canadian development expenses in the mining sector. How will this transformative tax measure reshape investment strategies and project economics for mining companies operating in Canada?

On September 15, 2026 (“Announcement Day”), the Department of Finance released draft legislative proposals to implement the “Productivity Mega Deduction,” permanent 100% first-year (“immediate”) expensing for a wide range of new or used depreciable property and for Canadian development expenses (“CDE”)...

Ontario truck drivers with less than two years of commercial heavy vehicle experience must now pass a practical road test administered by Quebec's SAAQ before exchanging their license to drive commercial heavy vehicles in the province. This new requirement follows a series of collisions involving heavy trucks in Quebec and a May 2026 audit revealing significant gaps in Ontario's training standards and oversight of providers. Carriers operating across the Ontario-Quebec border must now factor these requireme

Foreign companies entering Canada often assume their existing privacy programs designed for GDPR or CCPA compliance can simply extend to Canadian operations, but Canada's legal requirements demand targeted modifications. This comprehensive guide examines Canada's private sector privacy legislation, breach reporting obligations, AI governance expectations, and anti-spam regulations that businesses must navigate before launching in the Canadian market.

With less than two weeks before the October 1, 2026 effective date, British Columbia has paused the planned expansion of Provincial Sales Tax (“PST”) to professional services, a measure many businesses and their advisors had already spent months preparing for.

Deepfakes are reaching courts. Learn how a U.S. case dismissed for AI-generated evidence and Canadian authentication rules are changing what litigators must do now.

Foreign companies hiring Canadian employees or allowing remote work from Canada face immediate payroll obligations that begin the moment employment duties are performed on Canadian soil. Understanding income tax source deductions, CPP and EI premiums, provincial payroll taxes, and director liability rules is essential for compliance, regardless of whether the employer maintains a physical Canadian presence.

Starting in 2027, all Ontario project owners with contracts entered into on or after January 1, 2026, and most owners with contracts dating back to July 1, 2018, must start releasing statutory holdback to their contractors on an annual basis. This requirement is the latest in a series of construction payment reforms under Ontario’s Construction Act. It replaces the traditional model of retaining holdback until substantial performance. Owners and contractors who fail to comply with the notice and payment timelines face exposure to interest claims, payment disputes, and adjudication proceedings.