News

Question of the Month

This feature presents some of the interesting queries we receive, and highlights how we can direct you towards the appropriate resources.

There are too many cases! How do I find relevant case law?

A 1984 article from the Yearbook of Law Computers titled “Case and the Computer” discusses the impact that the rise of computers will have on finding case law. The number of cases that were being reported was growing each year and that “The proliferation of case law on an unprecedented scale offers a far from reassuring prospect.” The fear that the growing number of reported decisions goes back even further as the article notes hesitation already in the 1880’s as the “West Publishing Company’s National Reporter System when it was first introduced in the United States in the 1880’s. Its policy of blanket reporting of all decisions of state courts of last resort, of federal appellate courts and, from 1888, of the New York courts of first instance, not only plunged the American legal profession under a mounting flood of reported case law but also provoked a rapid and dramatic shift in methods of legal education.” The article quotes an estimated 312,000 reported decisions in 1951 in common law and equity. CanLII alone now hosts over 3 million.

Law reporters selected cases to report based on importance, relevance, or some new point of law. While there is still some human intervention on current online reporters, with the number of cases being added, many databases use an algorithm to pull keywords and phrases from decisions for indexing and searching. This is important to note, as mentioned by Susan Nevelow Mart in “The Algorithm as a Human Artifact: Implications for Legal [Re]Search” (2017) 109:3 Law Libr J 387 (available on Heinonline), “If you are searching online, as all legal researchers do, you need to remember that an algorithm is being used to return your results, and that, as a Westlaw engineer once wrote to me, ‘all of our algorithms are created by humans.’ Those human creators made choices about how the algorithm would work that have implications for the search results returned to the researcher.”

Simply searching by keyword or plain language search may not be the best way. Ted Tjaden writes in Legal Research and Writing. Fourth Edition (2016) (available in vLex) that “searching by key word on full-text case law databases is the last method listed since, although convenient and often powerful, searching full text by keyword is not always the best or most effective starting point to find cases” (p. 128). Tjaden suggests using commentary and textbooks as a starting place. If you do find the need to search by keyword, use filters, and advanced searching to find relevant results. To help brush up on search methods, look at the Comprehensive Guide to Legal Research Writing and Analysis – 4^th ed. (available for loan).

The number of cases now available and the access to information is a double-edged sword. More information means more data to pull from but also means more searching. It is best to not rely on only one algorithm or source to find information but to develop good skills and habits to filter information and identify biases.

For an interesting study of the change from print to online affecting how cases are cited in decisions read: Aaron S. Kirschenfeld & Alexa Z. Chew, “Citation Stickiness, Computer-Assisted Legal Research, and the Universe of thinkable Thoughts” (2022)  19 Legal Comm & Rhetoric: JAWLD 1 ( Available on HeinOnline.)

Latest Current Awareness

Journals

Manitoba Law Library subscribes to a number of legal journals in print and digital. See below for the latest issues of popular titles. Members can request copies of articles under fair dealing guidelines by emailing library@lawsociety.mb.ca

Court Notices & Practice Directions

Court of King’s Bench

Practice Directions

• • • • May 16, 2025 – Amendments to the Family Orders and Agreements Enforcement Assistance Act

Notices

• • • • May 15, 2025 – Hearing of Civil Motions during Summer Court Sessions

Provincial Court

Notices

• • • • June 13, 2025 – Amended Court Closures due to Wildfires (June 16-20)
      • June 13, 2025 – Court Closures due to Wildfires (June 16-20)
      • June 6, 2025 – Court Closures due to Wildfires (June 9-13)
      • May 30, 2025 – Court Closures due to Wildfire
      • May 27, 2025 – Youth Appearances before a JJP

New Library Resources

New Print Titles

Book Reviews

Review taken from the Canadian Law Library Review, Vol. 50, Issue 1

Legal Guide to Emerging Technologies. By Imran Ahmad & Shreya Gupta. Toronto: LexisNexis, 2023. xiv, 113 p. Includes index. ISBN 9780433524748 (softcover) $130.00.

 Reviewed By
Katarina Daniels
Research Lawyer, Library Services Lead Davies Ward Phillips & Vineberg LLP

“Legal Guide to Emerging Technologies provides a clear and structured introduction to six key emerging technologies: biometric data, autonomous vehicles, the Internet of Things, generative artificial intelligence, the Metaverse, and blockchain and non-fungible tokens.

Ahmad and Gupta have crafted a resource that not only informs but also empowers readers to navigate the complexities of emerging technologies with confidence. As these technologies evolve, I look forward to future editions that will update existing content, introduce other new technologies, and potentially retire those that are no longer “emerging.”.”

Click here for the full review

Events

Mass Call to The Bar 2025

Upcoming Events

Substantive Law

Administrative Law

The City of Winnipeg v. The Government of Manitoba et al., 2025 MBKB 62: “This application brought by the City of Winnipeg (the City) is either a statutory appeal or judicial review of the decision of the Registrar General of Manitoba as to the meaning of section 173 of The Real Property Act, C.C.S.M. c. R30, The City of Winnipeg Charter, S.M. 2002, c. 39 (Winnipeg Charter), and the City of Winnipeg By-law No. 104/2020. […] The underlying issue is whether the terms “subdivide”, “subdivision” or other variations of the terms in both The Real Property Act and the Winnipeg Charter, by implication, include a consolidation of land.”

Civil Litigation

Diaz-Fullerton v Manitoba Supports (Director), 2025 MBCA 52: Applicant sought an extension of time to file. Test laid out in Cann v Access Fort Garry (Director), 2025 MBCA 18. Motion dismissed.

R v Darch, 2025 MBCA 50: Appellant seeks an order pursuant to section 684(1) of the Criminal Code, appointing counsel to assist in the appeal of his conviction. R v JJB, 2016 MBCA 4 cited for guidance and summary of criteria for a s. 684(1) application. Crown ordered to provide counsel for appellant for the preliminary purpose of finalizing the record and appearing/making submissions on the s. 684(1) application.

Linde v Max Insurance, 2025 MBCA 46: Plaintiff moved for an order pursuant to rule 46.2 of the MB, Court of Appeal Rules (Civil), for a rehearing of appeal. Plaintiff tried to raise new issues but did not qualify as an exceptional circumstance (Samborski Garden Supplies Ltd v MacDonald, 2015 MBCA 26 at para 27). Plaintiff’s new argument did not meet the high threshold for the rehearing of an appeal (Abraham v Wingate Properties Ltd, 1985 CanLII 3680 (MBCA)). Appeal dismissed.

Matix Lumber Inc. v. Al-Kazimi et al., 2025 MBKB 76: Plaintiff seeking injunctive relief, the test for which is set out in RJR MacDonald Inc. v. Canada, 1994 CanLII 117 (SCC). Plaintiff was unable to meet the criteria and the motion was dismissed with costs.

Berger v. Seven Oaks General Hospital et al., 2025 MBKB 64: Defendants move under Court of King’s Bench Rule 21.01(1) for the determination before trial of a question of law that no claim for punitive damages exists in an action brought under the Fatal Accidents Act. Preston v. Chow (Guardian of), 2002 MBCA 34, explains when it is appropriate to use r. 21.01(1). Discussion of statutory interpretation.

Criminal Law

Reference re Sanderson, 2025 MBCA 55: “ In 2023, following a review of Mr. Sanderson’s convictions pursuant to section 696.1 of the Criminal Code, RSC 1985, c C-46 [the Code], the Minister of Justice referred a new appeal from conviction to this Court pursuant to section 696.3(3)(a)(ii) of the Code as he was “satisfied that there [was] a reasonable basis to conclude that a miscarriage of justice likely occurred”.” (para. 4).

R v Hanna, 2025 MBCA 47: Crown appeal of CSO for a sexual assault committed against an adolescent. At para. 31, the court states, “the judge erred in principle by unreasonably underemphasizing a relevant sentencing factor—the primacy of denunciation and deterrence for a sexual offence against a child and a vulnerable Indigenous female (see Friesen at paras 26, 76; see also Hiebert at para 22; R v BM, 2023 ONCA 224 at para 22).” Sentence was varied to 3 years, less time served.

R v Saunders, 2025 MBCA 44: Accused appeals second degree murder conviction on the basis the jury was provided inadequate W(D) instructions. R v Abdullahi, 2023 SCC 19 was cited for it’s summary of the principles regarding the functional approach to appellate review of jury instructions. Martin JA’s reformulation of W(D) instruction in R v Ryon, 2019 ABCA 36. Appeal dismissed.

R v Schofield, 2025 MBCA 43: Accused seeks leave to appeal and, if granted, appeals his total sentence of eight years’ imprisonment for three child sexual offences. Appeal granted and sentence varied on grounds that the judge erred in principle when sentencing the accused for multiple offences and applying the principle of totality. R v RJ, 2017 MBCA 13 and R v Madder, 2024 MBCA 80 cited in discussion.

Family Law

Boucher v Boucher, 2025 MBCA 39: Addresses the obligation of a payor parent to provide corporate financial disclosure under sections 18 and 21 of the Manitoba Child Support Guidelines Regulation, and rule 30 of the MB, King’s Bench Rules.

Fletcher v. Fletcher, 2025 MBKB 72: Issues of spousal support, division of family property and corporate oppression remedies. Interplay of Family Property Act and Corporations Act. Issue of the divorce is adjourned sine die.

Chebu c. Touwa, 2025 MBKB 65: [The following is AI analysis by CanLII AI-generated content, generated 21 May, 2025, accessed 16 June, 2025] “La juge a appliqué les critères établis dans l’arrêt Molodowich c. Penttinen pour déterminer la date de séparation, en examinant les preuves relatives à la cohabitation, aux rapports personnels, aux finances, aux enfants et à l’image sociétale du couple. Elle a conclu que les parties continuaient de vivre comme un couple jusqu’en décembre 2022, partageant le foyer familial, les responsabilités ménagères et les activités sociales. Les déclarations de la requérante aux autorités gouvernementales en 2019 ne démontraient pas une intention claire et communiquée de se séparer. La juge a trouvé les deux parties crédibles, mais les preuves favorisaient la version de la requérante. La date de séparation a donc été fixée au 3 décembre 2022 (par 11-39).”

Labour and Employment Law

Jolicoeur v Winnipeg Environmental Remediations Inc, 2025 MBCA 41: Employer seeking leave to appeal Manitoba Labour Board decision. Discussion of Board discretion and sections 110(1) and 110(1.1)(b) of the Employment Standards Code.

Wills, Trusts, and Estates

Schrof v Schrof, 2025 MBCA 49: “[Q]uestion of contractual interpretation of a non-standard form contract is a question of mixed fact and law reviewable on a standard of palpable and overriding error, absent an extricable legal principle (see Sattva Capital Corp v Creston Moly Corp, 2014 SCC 53 at paras 50-55; King v Operating Engineers Training Institute of Manitoba Inc, 2011 MBCA 80 at para 29).” (para. 13). Appeal allowed in part re: costs issues set out in para. 38.

Blustein Estate (Re), 2025 MBKB 60: Deceased was a ward of the Public Guardian and Trustee. PGT seeks direction as to whether two handwritten notes are testamentary documents that can be admitted to probate. Discussion of testamentary intent, citing Bennett v. Toronto General Trusts Corp. 1958 CanLII 49 (SCC), and capacity, citing Vout v. Hay, 1995 CanLII 105 (SCC).

Legislation

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Provincial

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