2022 Employment Law Alberta Year in Review
Reading Time: 3 minutes This past year, the courts have left us with important decisions about employment contracts, constructive dismissal, severance, just cause and the oppression remedy. This article is a short summary of some important employment law decisions in Alberta in 2022, separated roughly into subcategories of employment law. This article does not focus on cases from other […]
Gambling in the Online Age
Reading Time: 4 minutes While gambling facilities must have a provincial license to operate, only government-operated websites offer legal gambling online. You have probably seen ads for online gambling websites all over the place – commercials, social media, even at the Superbowl. But did you know these websites are not always legal for Canadians to use, even if they’re […]
Dealing Effectively with Self-Represented Litigants: A view from the bench
Reading Time: 7 minutes Nine tips for anyone involved with self-represented litigants (SRLs), including a look at the responsibilities of lawyers and the court. I can only speculate on the reasons for the surge over the last 20 years in people representing themselves in all forms of litigation. One may be the high cost of litigation. Another may be […]
The Tort of Family Violence: New relief available for victims of family violence
Reading Time: 4 minutes In 2022, the Ontario Supreme Court applied a new tort of family violence that recognizes the complex dynamic of violence within a relationship. The new tort of family violence represents another step forward in Canadian courts’ ever-changing views of how to address violence in family matters. To understand this tort and its importance, we must […]
Childcare Obligations and Self-Accommodation in Alberta
Reading Time: 4 minutes Under Alberta human rights laws, what do employees have to show in a case of family status discrimination relating to childcare obligations? Provincial, territorial and federal human rights legislation in Canada prohibits discrimination against employees based on family status. This protection includes an employee’s childcare obligations. However, the family status discrimination test has developed in […]
Canada’s legal responsibilities on international human rights
Reading Time: 6 minutes If passed, Bill C-262 will hold Canadian companies accountable for adverse impacts on human rights in their business activities abroad. Human rights are embedded in the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. They are also an essential component of Canada’s approach to both domestic and international relations. But how enforceable are these rights on […]
How legal coaching can help if you are representing yourself in court
Reading Time: 3 minutes Gaining in popularity, legal coaching is an unbundled legal service that allows you to hire a legal helper to do a specific job for you. With Legal Aid services chronically underfunded and the average cost for a lawyer steadily increasing, it is no wonder more and more people are representing themselves in court. An average […]
How PLEI Resources Can (and Cannot) Help Self-Represented People
Reading Time: 5 minutes Reliable and current public legal education and information (PLEI) resources can help self-represented people prevent and resolve legal problems in many situations. What is PLEI? PLEI stands for public legal education and information. While it may seem self-explanatory, one description of what is does is as follows: PLE provides people with awareness, knowledge and […]
