Family
-
March 04, 2025
Should the criminal standard replace the civil standard in child welfare cases? Part two | Hodine Williams
Child welfare cases in Canada are among the most emotionally charged and legally complex areas of law, as they involve the state’s authority to intervene in family life to protect children from harm.
-
March 03, 2025
NWT law society rolls out professional conduct ‘guidelines’ for lawyers' use of generative AI
The Law Society of the Northwest Territories has issued, for the first time, “Guidelines for the Use of Generative AI in the Practice of Law,” following a similar move by several Canadian legal regulators that have provided AI-specific guidance for lawyers’ professional conduct and practice over the past year.
-
March 03, 2025
Should the criminal standard replace the civil standard in child welfare cases? | Hodine Williams
Child welfare cases in Canada are among the most emotionally charged and legally complex areas of law, as they involve the state’s authority to intervene in family life to protect children from harm. Children’s Aid Societies (CAS) are empowered to remove children from their parents when there is evidence of abuse or neglect, but the current legal standard used in these cases — the civil standard of proof, or the “balance of probabilities”— has come under scrutiny.
-
February 28, 2025
SCC rules Métis Nation’s pursuit of overlapping lawsuits against Saskatchewan not abuse of process
The Supreme Court of Canada has affirmed 9-0 that a legal challenge by the Métis Nation–Saskatchewan to provincial permits that allow a company to explore for uranium on land to which the Métis claim Aboriginal title in Saskatchewan is not an abuse of process and may go ahead, notwithstanding that the Métis have also launched other lawsuits involving similar issues against the province.
-
February 28, 2025
What is the meaning of ‘spouse’? Federal Court of Appeal provides clarity
The definition of “spouse” for the purposes of s. 160 is clarified by the Federal Court of Appeal in Enns v. Canada, 2025 FCA 14.
-
February 27, 2025
IRCC unveils Express Entry category draws for economic immigration, plans more in-Canada draws
Immigration Minister Marc Miller has announced the 2025 Express Entry categories, which include a new education category, with the aim of better aligning the selection of federal economic immigrants with Canada’s long-term labour shortages.
-
February 27, 2025
Ottawa extends time for Ukrainians temporarily here under CUAET to apply for new open work permits
The federal government has announced that Ukrainians and their family members who fled Russia’s three-year-old full-scale illegal invasion of Ukraine, and who arrived in Canada under the temporary Canada-Ukraine Authorization for Emergency Travel (CUAET) by March 31, 2024, now have until March 31, 2026: to apply for a new open work permit valid for up to three years, to renew an existing work permit, or apply for a new study permit, “subject to standard fees.”
-
February 27, 2025
Justice Minister quashes murder conviction, finds possible miscarriage of justice in decades-old case
Citing the emergence of new information, federal Justice Minister Arif Virani has ordered the retrial of Roy Allan Sobotiak, who was convicted in Edmonton 34 years ago of second-degree murder in the 1987 disappearance of Susan Kaminsky, whose body has never been found.
-
February 26, 2025
SCC halts use of its ‘X’ account ‘for now,’ citing ‘strategic priorities and resource allocation’
In a move that has sparked controversy in Canada and beyond, the Supreme Court of Canada tells Law360 Canada that “for now” it will no longer use its official account on X, the social media platform owned by Elon Musk, a high-profile billionaire associate of U.S. President Donald Trump.
-
February 26, 2025
Balancing testator autonomy and dependent rights in B.C. estate law
In British Columbia, the Wills, Estates and Succession Act addresses a broad range of issues critical to estate planning, administration, and beneficiary rights. One significant concern in the Act is the balancing the rights of a testator to dispose of their estate as they see fit with the rights of dependent spouses and children to a fair portion of their loved one’s estate. Achieving that balance requires consideration of numerous factors, including a testator’s capacity to make a valid will, any suspicious circumstances surrounding its creation, and a legal dependent’s right to financial support.