Torys in 10: Recent Episodes
Torys LLP
Torys in 10 serves up the latest business and legal developments from the legal minds at top Canadian corporate law firm, Torys LLP. The lawyers at Torys share their candid discussions on everything from critical changes in the law to how deals are getting done across in Canada, the U.S. and beyond.
As governments across Canada prepare to fast-track “nation building” infrastructure projects, developers, lenders, construction firms and other stakeholders need to be aware of litigation risk from the outset. In this episode of Shovel-ready, members of our integrated Development and Projects Litigation team describe how best to use contractual and statutory dispute mechanisms to keep projects on track.
While the right to peaceful assembly is protected under section 2(c) of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, are there circumstances under which those rights might be justifiably violated? What happens when a company deliberately destroys evidence in a business transaction? Does the presence of a primitive clause in a statute contravene the rule of law? The BWA panel discusses three significant cases.
While international tax treaties allocate taxing authority between sovereign nations according to a taxpayer’s place of residence, the cross-border nature of the digital economy raises a significant question for treaty negotiators: in a world where so much business is done in the cloud, does residence-based taxation still make sense? Listen in on tax partner Scott Semer’s wide-ranging conversation with David Rosenbloom, renowned tax scholar and negotiator in the Canada-U.S. tax treaty, for their views on the future of digital taxation.
The BWA panel continues their discussion on interjurisdictional immunity as it relates to two recent Supreme Court cases—and offer their views on why the saga of IJI will require multiple sequels and spin-offs as Canada expands its development of projects of national importance.
The doctrine of interjurisdictional immunity identifies which level of government—federal or provincial—has authority over specific subjects, and to what degree one level of government can intervene in the “core” of another’s powers. In two recent cases, the Supreme Court expanded the limits of interjurisdictional immunity—but the situation remains “complicated.”
Tariffs (and threats of tariffs) have been keeping business leaders up at night across Canada and the United States since the inauguration of President Trump. The price of goods ratcheting up significantly, or those goods not being available at all, could be the difference between a good or bad deal in many cases. Join our conversation on force majeure clauses and other key terms in business contracts in the current environment.
Our speakers reference a slide throughout this session that discusses the anatomy of a force majeure clause. If you would like to read the slide itself, it is available for download: https://www.torys.com/FMClausePDF
Private capital markets have undergone a significant transformation, scaling and specializing to meet the diverse needs of investors and take a central position in the economy. In this podcast, our New York tax partner Scott Semer is joined by Sid Murdeshwar, Managing Director of Alpinvest’s Co-Investment team, to explore the rise of private markets and current growth opportunities for investors.
The United States is redefining its role as a global trading partner. In this wide-ranging conversation, Canada’s former chief negotiator, Steve Verheul, outlines key considerations and priorities for Canada as it carves out its place on the international stage and meets the challenges of the ongoing trade war.
Our BWA panel discusses overreach at the Patented Medicine Prices Review Board, has a rejuvenating conversation about unreasonable delays in class action lawsuits, talks mitigation obligations for leasehold damages, and offers their views on constitutional overreach in the Competition Act (originally recorded on February 26, 2025).
There’s a fine line between legislative intent and legislative meddling, and in a recent decision, the BC Court of Appeal sought to find it, arguing that the B.C. Legislature’s attempt to retroactively pass legislation to allow for amendments to a zoning bylaw constituted an infringement of the separation of powers (originally recorded on February 26, 2025).
Where does liability fall when the Crown is found to have acted dishonourably toward a First Nation? In a recent decision, the Ontario Court of Appeal found that a representative of the Imperial Crown – the federal government’s predecessor – altered the boundaries of a reserve negotiated in an 1854 treaty, in a case that has significant modern-day ramifications for both the Chippewas of Saugeen First Nation and residents of Sauble Beach (originally recorded on February 26, 2025).
In York Region School District v. Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario, the Supreme Court ruled that, in accordance with Charter rights, school board employees have a reasonable expectation of privacy regarding content on board-issued electronic devices (originally recorded on September 18, 2024).
Sellers of goods often attempt to exclude liability for implied warranties and conditions. The Supreme Court of Canada ruled in Earthco Soil Mixtures Inc. v. Pine Valley Enterprises Inc. that such exclusions are legally enforceable (originally recorded on September 18, 2024).
In Canada (Attorney General) v. Power, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled that Charter claimants can potentially claim damages against the Crown for enacting unconstitutional legislation—but the threshold for seeking such damages remains high (originally recorded on September 18, 2024).
AI’s ability to automate is transforming traditional workflows and transactions, but in this fast-paced era, it can be difficult to predict the full extent of AI’s influence on complex tasks such as due diligence and dealmaking. In this podcast, our New York tax partner Scott Semer is joined by Nick Kato, founder of Leo Berwick and co-founder of Elbe, to explore the impact of AI on professional services, and what the future holds for the role of dealmakers, lawyers and others in the professional services sector.
AI use is accelerating within the legal industry, offering efficiencies that enable firms to scale up their service while streamlining costs. In this podcast, Torys partner and tax lawyer Scott Semer speaks with Michaël Hassan, Managing Director, General Counsel & Secretary of Sagard Holdings LP about the opportunities presented by generative AI, and how those changes will impact casework, clients, and lawyers alike.
Torys Business Brief is a long-form podcast that focusses on key issues and actionable knowledge for businesses to emerge from the COVID-19 crisis resilient and well-positioned for the future. Each 30-minute episode features in-depth interviews with Torys lawyers, moderated by Munk Debates convener Rudyard Griffiths. These CPD-accredited episodes are available listen at torys.com/businessbrief.
Open banking was already a hot issue before COVID-19—and now with social distancing and a remote workforce, it has become more important than ever. Torys LLP Partner Joel Ramsey and Senior Associate Ronak Shah discuss open banking and dive into some of the key risks and rewards through the lens of a report from the federal government released earlier this year. Joel and Ronak also set out why there is a sense of underlying urgency as Canada looks to grow an economy that fosters and is focused on innovation.
In this episode of Torys in 10, private equity partners Mike Akkawi and Guy Berman discuss some of the findings from PE Pulse, Torys’ private equity sentiment survey, the first survey of its kind in the Canadian market. In the podcast, the pair focus on two main takeaways from the survey, which took the opinions and market sentiments of over 100 private equity and pension fund players in Canada.
The first takeaway is the large deal sizes the PE market saw in 2019 and the reported expectations that these deal sizes will stay the same or increase moving forward. The second is fundraising and how pension fund survey respondents said their allocation of private equity will either stay the same or increase throughout the year—this is in spite of the fact that many respondents said it was going to be more difficult to raise capital. Tune in for Mike and Guy’s full analysis on the survey.
You can get all of the findings and commentary in PE Pulse here: https://www.torys.com/insights/publications/2020/02/pe-pulse-2020.
Music: Stratosphere - www.adamvitovsky.com.
If you’re a founder of a company ready for the first round of financing, how can you make your company attractive to the right investor? Partner in Torys LLP’s Emerging Companies and Venture Capital practice Kristine Di Bacco and Senior Associate Marko Trivun sit down and discuss two of the things investors are most interested in when assessing whether to deploy capital in a startup: intellectual property and team.
In this episode you’ll hear the pair unpack these two topics as Marko draws out insights from Kristine from her years of experience advising companies at various stages of their life cycle from conception to sale or IPO.
Music: Stratosphere - www.adamvitovsky.com.
In this episode, Torys LLP litigation lawyers Andrew Bernstein and Yael Bienenstock dig into the trending issue of cooperative federalism. With the Supreme Court preparing to hear two politically charged cases set to test the limits of cooperative federalism this winter - the references from Saskatchewan and Ontario testing the constitutionality of the federal carbon tax legislation – Andrew and Yael talk through how and why cooperative federalism is being argued in this context, how the idea has evolved over time and the challenges it presents from a legal perspective.
Music: Stratosphere - www.adamvitovsky.com.
Torys LLP Privacy Counsel Molly Reynolds and Associate Ronak Shah sit down to discuss the Digital Charter initiative which outlines proposals to modernize Canada’s privacy laws, including the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act. The pair talk about the Charter's principles that will guide future policy making, how much substance there is behind them and what businesses can expect over the next few years.
Music: Stratosphere - www.adamvitovsky.com.
Torys LLP Senior Counsel Brigitte Goulard and Senior Associate Eli Monas sit down and discuss some pertinent international developments in the financial consumer protection space and unpack what Canada could learn from these developments. Brigitte and Eli touch on topics like market conduct issues, the OECD's voluntary principles around financial consumer protection, and how the new consumer protection provisions of Canada's Bank Act align with these principles. Listen in to get all the details from Brigitte and Eli.
Music: Stratosphere - www.adamvitovsky.com.
In this episode, Torys LLP Partner Lisa Talbot and Senior Associate Rebecca Wise discuss all you need to know about anonymous whistleblower tip lines and the role they can play in your business. The pair delve into whether businesses need a tip line and how to make the best use of one.
Music: Stratosphere - www.adamvitovsky.com.