Torys LLP Podcasts

Growing up as the lone corporate in a family of creatives, Tori Buffery’s pioneering career in GP-led secondaries has been anything but conventional. At what point did she stop considering her trajectory to be a series of “right place, right time” moments and begin recognizing her own role in her success? In this episode of In the Chair, Buffery—Principal at Neuberger—shares how she played a pivotal role in building the GP-led secondaries market from the ground up, and how fostering meaningful, long-term connections and turning down job offers helped her embrace opportunity.

 Fiat-backed stablecoins are swiftly gaining ground as an alternative means of payment—but how can Canada harness the full potential of the digital revolution? Without a clear domestic framework to support the use of blockchain-based payments linked to the Canadian dollar, Canadian digital payments risk being eclipsed by foreign-issued stablecoins, which could weaken domestic regulatory control over the system as a whole. In this podcast, taken from a recent webinar, members of Torys’ Fintech team speak with Peter MacKenzie, Senior Policy Analyst at C.D. Howe Institute and co-author of The Window is Closing: How Canada Can Shape the Future of Stablecoins and Digital Payments, about the regulatory, economic, and policy considerations needed for Canada to establish a regulatory model for blockchain-based payments to compete in the digital payments market on a global scale.

 In a day and age where career changes happen fast and frequently, spending 25 years at any one organization is something of a rarity. But Sharon Haward-Laird—Group Head of Canadian Commercial Banking and North American Integrated Solutions and Co-Head of Canadian Personal and Commercial Banking at BMO Financial Group—has spent over two decades building a corporate culture worth sticking around for. In this episode, Sharon Haward-Laird offers insight into why BMO is consistently recognized as having one of Canada’s most admired corporate cultures, and why setting the “tone from the top” is so critical in fostering a workplace grounded in gratitude.   

In this special edition episode of Breakfast With Appeal, Andrew Bernstein sits down with the Hon. Arif Virani, former Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada to discuss his tenure as Canada’s chief law officer, providing his views on the critical questions and philosophies underpinning the decision-making process when defending government legislation and mandates (originally recorded on September 17, 2025).

What kinds of economic losses are recoverable in a negligence class action? What’s the difference between economic loss and a traditional negligence claim? In this episode, the panel discusses the findings in North v. BMW, where the Ontario Court of Appeal overturned a lower court’s decision narrowing the scope of a class action relating to engine defects.

As financial crime grows increasingly sophisticated, regulatory scrutiny for reporting entities is on the rise. In this conversation, Torys’ AML team explores the latest regulatory developments, trends and emerging risks in anti-money laundering enforcement efforts, and explores best practices for dealing with FINTRAC to proactively reduce the risk of enforcement action. This podcast, taken from a recent webinar, provides an overview of FINTRAC’s supervisory framework and its Administrative Monetary Penalty (AMP) regime, highlighting recent trends in enforcement actions and proposed legislative amendments.

In her final years of undergrad, Chloe Berry had a decision to make: stand on an Olympic podium, or have a hand in building the stadium? Thankfully for the world of infrastructure, Chloe chose the latter path, embarking on a career in investment banking and corporate finance that has taken her across the globe in a succession of roles that has led to her current position as Managing Partner in Brookfield’s Infrastructure Group and Head of the Brookfield Infrastructure Income Strategy. In this episode of In the Chair, Chloe Berry discusses her career trajectory with Zehra Sheerazi, sharing her views on corporate leadership, building a strong culture across global offices, and how she laid the groundwork for a new investment model by launching, growing and managing an infrastructure fund for private wealth worth nearly $6.5 billion.

With 16 years at CPPIB under her belt, Heather Tobin, Senior Managing Director and Global Head of Factor Investing, has all but written the book on leadership at Canada’s largest pension fund—even if it’s not yet on Goodreads. In this wide-ranging conversation, Heather discusses her globally impactful career, the importance of strategic alignment when managing with cross-global teams, and the perspective she’s gained in helping to build an investment portfolio that thinks not in years, but in generations.

In this episode, Jennifer Suess, General Counsel, ESG and Corporate Secretary at RioCan REIT, discusses how a career in the healthcare sector led her to her current position as RioCan REIT’s first-ever general counsel—and how she’s using her role in real estate to revolutionize the delivery of virtual healthcare in Canada.

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

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 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.

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.