Business, Management, Marketing, Money, Tax, Law, People

In Chemtrade Electrochem Inc v Superior Plus Corporation, 2025 ABCA 31, the Court of Appeal of Alberta set aside a trial judgment of $25 million based on the lower court’s palpable and overriding error related to the court’s interpretation of a “Reverse Terminating Fee.” The Court of Appeal held that trial judge’s findings were based on the parties’ subjective intentions rather than the words of the agreement. The Court of…

A new list of the occupations eligible to the facilitated Labour Market Impact Assessments (LMIA) process required for issuance of work permits under the Temporary Foreign Worker program for foreign workers destined to the province of Québec was issued by the Ministère de l’immigration, de la Francisation et de l’Intégration (MIFI) on Feb. 24, 2025. Québec-based employers must take good notice of the reduction of occupations eligible to the facilitated…

When two or more putative class proceedings are commenced and involve the same or similar subject matter and some or all of the same proposed class members, a representative plaintiff may, if they are unable or unwilling to cooperate with the other representative plaintiffs, move to have the court determine which proceeding would best advance the claims of the class (i.e. a carriage motion). A carriage motion is a procedural…

Alberta’s Bill 32: Financial Statutes Amendment Act, 2024 (Bill 32), received royal assent (i.e., passed into law) on December 5, 2024. Bill 32 came into force on January 1, 2025 and contained a suite of amendments to various pieces of legislation including the Alberta Personal Income Tax Act, which determines the rate of provincial taxes for residents of Alberta.1 Prior to the creation of the new tax bracket in the…

Canada’s legislative framework governing competition/antitrust, foreign investment, and consumer protection  has undergone a seismic shift between 2022 and 2025, with further changes to come, reflecting a broader push to strengthen enforcement, protect national interests, and adapt to modern economic challenges.  The impact of these changes is now subject to the additional challenges facing the Canadian economy arising from the unprecedented approach to trade conflict with the U.S. – and the…

On March 22, 2025, the Government of Canada launched a public consultation on possible trade measures to protect against the threat of diversion of steel and aluminum products from third countries into the Canadian market. The move is in response to what the government considers severe overcapacity in the global steel market (worsened by recent U.S. tariff measures), artificially depressing prices and threatening domestic industry. Background Pursuant to section 232…

The Alberta Court of Appeal’s (ABCA) recent decision in Xemex Contracting Inc. v. Aspen Properties (Northland Place) Ltd., 2025 ABCA 49, serves as a reminder that not all work performed for a tenant will provide a “direct benefit” to the landlord, nor will it necessarily render the landlord’s fee simple interest in the land “vulnerable” to liens. Contractors performing work on leased properties, who wish to preserve their right to…