In an important decision released Friday, the Federal Court of Canada issued the first Canadian site blocking order against sites that predominantly facilitate copyright infringement. The order made by Justice Gleeson, in a carefully reasoned decision in Bell Media Inc. et al v GOLDTV.BIZ 2019 FC 1432, ordered certain ISPs in Canada to block access to pirate subscription streaming sites (GoldTV.biz and GoldTV.ca) that were infringing the copyrights of the plaintiffs Bell Media Inc., Groupe TVA Inc, and Rogers Media Inc.

On Tuesday May 7, 2019, the Government of British Columbia published its second report (the “Report”) on money laundering in the province of British Columbia (“BC”), this time focused on the luxury car sector and its role in laundering of proceeds of crime. The Report, authored by former senior RCMP officer Peter German, is the first detailed examination of money laundering in luxury car sales in Canada.

The regulation of online advisors, often referred to as “robo-advisors”, continues to be a hot topic in the financial services industry. Online advisors are digital wealth managers which generate investment recommendations and automatically invest and rebalance funds based on an investor’s risk tolerance. The low cost of online advisors and their widespread online availability have made their offerings particularly attractive to investors between the ages of 18-34 – i.e. millennials. 

On July 16, 2019, the UK Open Banking Implementation Entity (OBIE) released a report titled, “Open Banking: Preparing for Lift Off” (the OBIE Report), which covers current progress, future potential and challenges for Open Banking. The initial phase of the Open Banking implementation in the UK is scheduled to be completed in September 2019. Further adjustments may follow this milestone.

A corporation is of course an abstract entity.  It is a legal person, but can only act through human beings.  Certain causes of action, such as fraud or knowing assistance of a breach of trust, have a knowledge requirement: the defendant can only be held liable if he or she – or it, in the case of a corporation – has knowledge of certain facts.  How can a corporation be held liable for having certain knowledge if it has no brain to possess that knowledge?