Reading Time: 5 minutes Insurance policies require insureds to notify the insurer of claims and potential claims. Insurance policies, like any other contract, contain certain legal obligations. For example, insurance policies of all types require insureds to notify the insurer of loss or damage – or in the case of liability insurance, claims or potential claims. This duty typically […]
FAMILY | Lawyer: Friend or foe?
Reading Time: 4 minutes Debunking the myths and legends that haunt family law. This article is the first in a series dedicated to debunking the myths and legends that haunt family law. Today’s topic? Lawyers. Many people experiencing a family breakdown have pre-conceived notions about the role of lawyers. These ideas come from TV, the “grapevine,” past experience, etc. […]
CRIMINAL | Evidence That Rape Myths Still Prevalent in Court in 2021
Reading Time: 4 minutes Despite a social-conscious awakening, one trial proves archaic rape myths still exist. A much-needed push against old-think myths and stereotypes of sexual assault victims led to a revamp of the Criminal Code. The changes updated when and how prior sexual activity of a complainant can be used in court. It took many generations and a […]
COVID-19 | COVID-19 Vaccines in the Workplace: Employers
Reading Time: 2 minutes As the COVID-19 vaccine begins to roll out across Alberta, employers may be wondering how vaccinations will be managed in the workplace. While this is a new issue that has yet to be tested in the courts or tribunals, there are guiding principles that employers should keep in mind when considering how to implement a […]
COVID-19 | COVID-19 Vaccines the Workplace: Employees
Reading Time: 4 minutes With COVID-19 vaccine roll-outs ramping up, employees may be wondering how to deal with vaccines in the workplace. In a companion article, our firm provides information for employers about COVID-19 vaccines in the workplace. In this article, we address questions employees may have. Can my employer require that I get the COVID-19 vaccine? Yes, but […]
What Needs to be Done if Canada Wants to Remove the Monarch?
Reading Time: 6 minutes Canada severing ties with the Royal Family requires amending the Constitution and reviewing treaties signed with Indigenous Peoples. In 1931, Canada became part of the British Commonwealth. It remains one of 54 Commonwealth nations to this day. Canada is a constitutional monarchy, which means it is headed either by a King or Queen. The patriation […]
LAW & LITERATURE | Just Who Are the Real Criminals of New York: Reflections on Bellow’s Mr. Sammler’s Planet
Reading Time: 6 minutes Mr. Sammler’s Planet follows its one-eyed protagonist’s travels around New York City and comments on American society circa 1969. Alice Munro is not the only Canadian-born writer who has won the Nobel Prize for Literature. So too did Saul Bellow, born in 1915 in Lachine (then a town outside Montreal but now part of it). […]
Advancing the Human Rights to Water and Sanitation under International Law: Human rights vs. investor rights
Reading Time: 7 minutes While international mechanisms are increasingly recognizing the human rights to water and sanitation, states must take action too. Concerns about the human rights to water and sanitation (HRWS) under international law have gained increasing attention in recent years. In Canada, ongoing water advisories within Indigenous communities prompted a 2014 Human Rights Watch report. The report […]
Social Media, the Law and Social Justice
Reading Time: 6 minutes We’ve seen social media as a tool for social justice but its relationship with the law is challenging. Given the rapid growth of our interconnected world, few people would deny the role that social media plays – a repository of information, a driver of ideas and innovation, and increasingly a tool of social justice. Devika […]
FAMILY | Changes to Jurisdictional Provisions under the Divorce Act
Reading Time: 5 minutes Changes to Canada’s Divorce Act that came into effect on March 1, 2021 include major changes to jurisdictional rules. There are several notable changes to Canada’s Divorce Act that came into effect on March 1, 2021. These changes are made through Bill C-78 which received Royal Assent on June 21, 2019. While the Divorce Act […]
