Access to Justice
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May 08, 2024
Law Society of Ontario sidesteps 100 years of common law rights | Joseph Chiummiento
On April 25, 2024, the directors of the largest legal regulator in North America surrendered over 100 years of well-earned common law rights to information. It is hard to see in this scenario how curtailing a director’s right to information serves the public interest.
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May 06, 2024
Ottawa’s proposed $72M for immigration legal aid in 2024 helps but more funds needed, CBA says
Immigration lawyers say federal Budget 2024’s boost for immigration legal aid is very welcome, but higher funding is necessary if the burgeoning number of refugee claimants are to access justice in Canada. As unveiled on April 16, 2024, by Chrystia Freeland, the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, Budget 2024 proposes $72 million for immigration legal aid in 2024-25, up from $43.5 million per year in Budgets 2023 and 2022.
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May 06, 2024
Manitoba creates endowment fund for families of missing, murdered Indigenous women
Manitoba’s government is creating a $15 million endowment fund for a grant program offering help to the families of missing and murdered Indigenous women, girls and two-spirit people (MMIWG2S+).
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May 03, 2024
SCC clarifies judges’ duty to inform accused of right to trial in accused’s chosen official language
The Supreme Court of Canada has set out the analytical framework for conviction appeals by accused who weren’t informed by the first instance judge of their fundamental right to be tried in the official language of their choice, in breach of the judge’s informational duties under s. 530(3) of the Criminal Code.
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May 02, 2024
New independent watchdog would assess & report how Ottawa carries out its modern treaty obligations
Ottawa says it will create an independent oversight body, led by a new “Commissioner for Modern Treaty Implementation” who reports to Parliament and whose role will be “to work to hold the Government of Canada accountable for its modern treaty obligations and advance key priorities.”
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May 02, 2024
Is sharing family pet ‘best for all concerned’ in pet custody cases? | V. Victoria Shroff, KC
While companion animals are still property under B.C.’s new family law statute, they now have an elevated status above bare property like a toaster.
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May 01, 2024
B.C. Court of Appeal denies securities class action due to residency requirement
The B.C. Court of Appeal has upheld an order striking a securities class action brought by an Ontario-based mutual fund, finding that the fund did not meet the residency requirement for a plaintiff under the Class Proceedings Act (CPA).
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April 30, 2024
Court of Appeal decides sentence ‘demonstrably unfit’ in sex assault
Many criminal defence lawyers think in terms of winning and losing. Yet, sometimes, there is a grey area where either term is inappropriate. The case of R. v. S.W., [2024] O.J. No. 1224 is just such a case.
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April 29, 2024
The honesty and integrity of an applicant for a licence | Sara Blake
How does one determine whether an applicant for a business licence will conduct the business with honesty and integrity?
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April 29, 2024
Silencing the abused: How parental alienation accusations penalize victims | Suzanne Zaccour
Parental alienation theory is built on gendered myths, is not supported by credible science and is impossible to verify or falsify based on objective, science-backed criteria. The National Association of Women and the Law and 250 other feminist organizations in Canada are calling for an end to using this flawed concept in family law.