Resources, Articles, & Advocacy
Legislative Update | June 27, 2025
Your OBA LegUp Policy and Legislative Update Week of June 23
Crime Bill with Tougher Bail, Sentencing Provisions Coming in Fall: The federal government will table a bill this fall introducing stricter bail conditions and sentencing for some crimes, particularly those involving organized crime, human trafficking, home invasion and car theft. Justice Minister Sean Fraser says the government will “at minimum” implement the crime policies the Liberals promised during the spring federal election. These include making bail more difficult to get for some offences. They also promised tougher sentencing guidelines for repeat car thieves and violent and organized crime, and to allow for consecutive sentencing for some cases of car theft and for serious and violent offences.
Article | June 25, 2025
Should We File with Pride? A Queer History of Tax Law in Canada
You know it is true love when the CRA finally lets you claim each other. Tracing the evolving relationship between queer Canadians and the Income Tax Act, through key cases and legislative reforms, Alain Azar explores how LGBTQ+ lives have been acknowledged, and at times constrained, by a tax system built around traditional views. While it remains our civic duty to file with pride, we should also reflect on the underlying normative assumptions embedded in the process.
Advocacy | June 11, 2025
Your OBA LegUp Policy and Legislative Update Week of June 9
Legislative Update | June 06, 2025
Your OBA LegUp Policy and Legislative Update Week of June 2
Ford Government Passes Mining Legislation: Bill 5, or the Protect Ontario by Unleashing our Economy Act, passed third reading this week and has been granted royal assent by the lieutenant governor. The legislation will create so-called special economic zones where laws, ranging from municipal approvals to environmental rules or even labour law, won’t apply. At Queen’s Park on Wednesday, cries of protest rang out from the galleries inside the legislature as MPPs voted. Indigenous leaders have vowed to keep fighting against the legislation.
Article | June 04, 2025
The Collateral Consequences of a CRA Criminal Investigation: What Taxpayers and their Advisors Should Know
Taxation law is a complicated, nuanced beast. When a criminal investigation is launched by the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) into a taxpayer for alleged violations of tax law, the law’s complications become more pronounced. In these moments, it can be stressful for taxpayers and their advisors to be aware of certain collateral consequences that can arise from criminal investigations.
