Constitutional
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June 29, 2023
AI response to Manitoba’s artificial intelligence initiative | Gary Goodwin
The Court of King’s Bench recently passed a practice direction stating that there are legitimate concerns about the reliability and accuracy of the information generated from the use of artificial intelligence (AI). Any submission must indicate how AI was used.
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June 29, 2023
Red flags raised over proposed changes to Quebec judicial appointment process
Quebec leading legal actors have raised red flags over draft regulations that will “dramatically” change the provincial judicial appointment process as it will potentially make it more vulnerable to politicization; increase the justice minister's discretionary power in the selection process; ostensibly undercut the institutional judicial independence of the courts; and will apparently render the procedure more cumbersome and time-consuming, all of which risks undermining public confidence in the courts.
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June 27, 2023
Court allows appeal of injunction in First Nations title claim action concerning Crown land sale
The British Columbia Court of Appeal has allowed an appeal of a decision in which a group of First Nations seeking Aboriginal title to land were granted an interim injunction against the Province and Canada from proceeding with the sale of lands to another First Nations group.
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June 26, 2023
Artificial intelligence vs. real intelligence | Gary Goodwin
By now you may have met your new legal associate, soon to be your managing partner. Of course, I refer to the new batch of artificial intelligence (AI) systems that everyone has been trying and is now terrified of.
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June 26, 2023
Alberta school’s non-denominational policy not affected by giving students space to pray: Court
Alberta’s top court has upheld a ruling which found that a Calgary-area private school unlawfully discriminated against two Muslim students by preventing them from praying on campus.
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June 23, 2023
Manitoba’s top judge talks virtual hearings, digitized documents
Increased Internet connectivity is the “major solution” to improving access to justice in Manitoba’s north, says the province’s new top judge. Manitoba Chief Justice Marianne Rivoalen, announced earlier this month as Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s pick for the province’s new top judge, says lessons must continue to be learned from the COVID-19 pandemic when it comes to using virtual technology to help close the gaps in serving remote parts of the province. Manitoba has the largest Indigenous population of all the provinces (not including the territories), according to a Department of Indigenous Service 2020 report to Parliament.
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June 23, 2023
Lametti orders new trial as half-century-old murder conviction is likely a miscarriage of justice
Justice Minister David Lametti has ordered a new trial for two Manitoba men convicted of non-capital murder in 1974, finding after a Department of Justice (DOJ) investigation that “there is a reasonable basis to conclude that a miscarriage of justice likely occurred.”
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June 21, 2023
Firefighters reach ‘historic settlement’ against municipality in sexual misconduct class action
Burnet, Duckworth & Palmer LLP has announced that an “historic settlement” was reached on June 20 regarding a class action lawsuit against the City of Leduc in Alberta, filed in February 2022, where the representative firefighter plaintiffs claimed workplace sexual misconduct.
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June 20, 2023
Prime Minister Trudeau opens applications for SCC vacancy to western and northern jurists
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau kicked off the Supreme Court of Canada application process that will culminate in the appointment of a Western or Northern Canadian successor to Justice Russell Brown, who quit the top bench June 12.
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June 20, 2023
Misguided starting point for Indigenous negotiations | Nick Leeson and Christa Croos
The 14 Indigenous governments and organizations in the Northwest Territories (NWT) currently negotiating treaties must feel that progress is painfully slow. The Northwest Territories government (GNWT) refers to these modern treaties as “Aboriginal Rights Agreements” or “ARAs,” which range from land and resource agreements to self-government agreements. These instruments are crucial for how the different Indigenous territories in the NWT are governed by Indigenous rights holders.