
Working Interviews in Alberta: What employers and job seekers need to know
By Evan Oikawa
Reading Time: 6 minutes Sometimes employers ask job applicants to perform tasks without payment as part of the hiring process. But are these working interviews legal in Alberta? There’s a growing trend in Canada for employers to conduct “working interviews” as part of their hiring process. This involves an employer asking an applicant to perform actual work tasks without […]

Compensation for Travel Delays
By Gina Burke
Reading Time: 3 minutes Canada’s Airline Passenger Protection Regulations set out rules that airlines must follow, including compensation for travel delays and how to make a claim. You will likely recall the extreme winter weather conditions across Canada in December 2022 and January 2023. Winter storms affected the entire country, including major airports in British Columbia, Ontario and Quebec. […]

Houseless Encampments: A political or legal issue?
Reading Time: 4 minutes Provincial and municipal laws apply to houseless encampments, but adequately addressing the root of the issue involves policy changes and political will. On November 23, 2022, an Encampment Response Team (ERT) composed of members from the City of Edmonton, Boyle Street Community Services, Bissell Centre, and the Edmonton Police Service (EPS) dismantled and displaced a […]

Canadian Legal System: The role of libraries in access to justice
Reading Time: 4 minutes There are many different kinds of libraries that support and provide access to our Canadian legal system, including courthouse libraries, legislative libraries, public libraries and more. Libraries are essential to sustaining democracy and accessing justice. They retain and preserve official documents, provide access to information and endorse transparency. Some libraries offer public access while others […]

Double take on mortgages
By Judy Feng
Reading Time: 3 minutes Getting a mortgage to buy a home is a significant decision. Five things you should know about mortgages include lending terms, security for the mortgage, open vs. closed mortgages, and defaulting on the mortgage. AUTHOR’S NOTE Some of the following content is adapted from CPLEA’s Nested course. Nested is CPLEA’s free on-line course on the […]

The Right To Die and the Debate Surrounding Mental Illness
Reading Time: 6 minutes Medical assistance in dying, or MAID, has been legal in Canada since 2016 and has continued to evolve. The current debate is around expanding MAID eligibility to patients experiencing mental health conditions. Medical assistance in dying (MAID) is a process where a medical professional assists an individual, at their request, in intentionally ending their life. […]

Planning for things no one wants to talk about
Reading Time: 4 minutes Advance care planning and the need for frank conversations about death If you were too sick or injured to make healthcare decisions for yourself, who would make them for you? Advance care planning (ACP) gives you a chance to decide who. April 16 is National Advance Care Planning Day, a day where Canadians are encouraged […]

Canada’s First-Time Home Buyer Incentive Explained
Reading Time: 4 minutes Answers to your questions about Canada’s First-Time Home Buyer Incentive, including who is eligible, how it works, repaying it, and other associated costs. In September 2019, the Government of Canada introduced the First-Time Home Buyer Incentive. The purpose of the Incentive is to make home ownership more accessible for qualifying first-time buyers. Recent updates to […]
Booklets and tipsheets with practical law information are available for free download or in print from the Centre for Public Legal Education Alberta.