On January 10, 2011, the Ontario Securities Commission published OSC Staff Notice 54-701 – "Regulatory Developments Regarding Shareholder Democracy Issues" which confirms their continued review of protections for shareholders' rights and corporate governance and provides an update regarding the status of OSC staff's work in the area.

Web 2.0 favourites such as MySpace, Facebook, Wikipedia and web logs (or "blogs") have revolutionized the way people use the Internet. They have also cost companies hundreds of millions of dollars in productivity and raised the stakes in managing trade secrets and confidential information. They have even resulted in terminations and lawsuits in Canada and the United States.

The economic downturn is making proxy fights one of the stories of the year for 2009. Most battles have been in the resource sector so far, particularly with junior mining companies.

In a lengthy decision released yesterday in respect of Indalex Limited, which had been operating under the protection of the Companies' Creditors Arrangement Act (CCAA), the Ontario Court of Appeal found that the Ontario Pension Benefits Act (PBA) imposes a deemed trust over the full amount of any funding deficiency that exists when a pension plan is wound up.

The <I>Reporting of Exported Goods Regulations (2004)</I>, which are expected to be brought into force in November 2004, introduce changes in the manner that goods exported from Canada must be reported. These changes affect all exporters, customs brokers and carriers in Canada.

On May 27, 2010, Alberta's Energy Minister, Ron Liepert, announced the much anticipated royalty rate curves for oil and gas wells (but excluding oil sands development).

Much ink was spilled on the state of Canada-China relations during Prime Minister Harper's visit to China last week. Canadian business circles expressed considerable regret at the long gap since the previous visit to China by a Canadian Prime Minister.

Shareholder claims and corporate bankruptcies are on the rise. Litigation in these areas represents a large portion of the liability facing directors and officers and is therefore a legitimate concern for anyone asked to serve as a director.

The United States Department of Homeland Security has issued a new rule increasing the period of admission and extension for TN visa holders from one (1) year to three (3) years. The effective date of this rule is October 16, 2008.

On March 31, 2009, Canadian trade-mark opposition practice will again change when a new Practice Notice issued by the Trade-marks Opposition Board comes into force.

The economic downturn is making proxy fights one of the stories of the year for 2009. Most battles have been in the resource sector so far, particularly with junior mining companies.

A number of employers who contribute to multi-employer pension plans do not know that their financial liability is not limited to the contribution they undertook to pay in the collective agreement.

On April 19, 2008, Environment Canada and Health Canada recommended that the industrial chemical bisphenol A (BPA) be classified as toxic under the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999 (CEPA).

On May 31, 2010, the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) partially upheld appeals by the International Cycling Union (UCI) and the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) against the Spanish Cycling Federation (RFEC) and the Spanish champion cyclist Alejandro Valverde.

Employers in Ontario may see a reduction in the number of claims filed with the Ministry of Labour (MOL) alleging that they have breached the Employment Standards Act, 2000 ("ESA").

On March 2, 2009, Canada’s Competition Bureau published the final version of its “Bulletin on Efficiencies in Merger Review”.

On January 6, 2011, the Ontario Court of Appeal upheld a decision of the Superior Court to the effect that the "Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act" ("PIPEDA"), did not permit a financial institution to disclose an individual's mortgage statement to a third party for the purpose of facilitating the enforcement of that party's rights as a judgment creditor.

On January 7, 2011, Justice Harrington of the Federal Court granted summary judgment in favour of His Highness Prince Karim Aga Khan, declaring that two defendants infringed the Aga Khan’s copyright and permanently restrained them from publishing and selling unauthorized copies of the Aga Khan’s religious addresses and messages.

When the House of Commons re-opens on March 3, 2010, Bill C-300 (the Corporate Accountability of Mining, Oil and Gas Corporations in Developing Countries Act) will be back in front of the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Development for 60 days.

On June 6, 2008, the Federal Court of Canada released its decision in a case involving payment of maintenance fees, “Sarnoff Corporation v. Attorney General of Canada”.