Lesser known offences in the Canadian Criminal Code that are still on the books in 2020Disclaimer: This article is not meant to be substituted for any legal advice.The Government of Canada recently gave the Criminal Code a legal face lift after conducting a detailed review to eliminate all the … [Read more...]
Stateless but Not Powerless
A novel of Kurdish resistance and the quandary of human rights in our timeThe most compelling new novel I read in 2020 is Daughters of Smoke and Fire from debut Kurdish-Canadian novelist Ava Homa. This dynamic advocacy piece for Kurds and women’s rights in the Middle East was also the inaugural … [Read more...]
SCC Rules on Intellectual Disabilities and Equality
A recent Supreme Court of Canada (SCC) case, R v Slatter, 2020 SCC 36, provided a strong statement about the treatment of evidence provided by witnesses who have intellectual or developmental disabilities.Thomas Slatter was convicted at trial of sexually assaulting an intellectually disabled … [Read more...]
Worker Status Pending Arbitration
Unionized employees terminated for cause from their jobs can – and often do – ask their unions to grieve the termination. A termination for cause means the employer has grounds (cause) to terminate the employee. This is different from a termination without cause.After filing the grievance, an … [Read more...]
You Can Officiate Your Friends’ Weddings!
Did you know you can officiate your friends’ and family members’ marriage ceremonies in Alberta?For a long time, only appointed civil marriage commissioners could officiate weddings in Alberta. The provincial government recently changed its policies to allow members of the public to perform these … [Read more...]
Property Laws You’ve Maybe Never Heard Of
Did you know that each province in Canada has different property laws?Property laws deal with buying and selling land, dividing property at the end of a relationship, property liens and claims, registering interests in property, buying and selling goods, inheritances, etc.The reason for each … [Read more...]
The Many Faces of ‘Corrections’: A call for universal reform
It is perhaps time (if not long overdue) to re-evaluate what we mean by justice and corrections.In my study of our court and prison methods, I found… a great wastage of human lives – a failure to reclaim and utilize them.Perhaps the least understood part of our criminal justice system is the … [Read more...]
How Inmates in Canadian Prisons Suffer
These are the tip-of-the-iceberg issues faced by inmates in Canada’s federal and provincial prisons. And according to advocates for better inmate treatment, much more needs to be done.According to Statistics Canada, in 2017/2018, Canadian prisons held just under 39,000 adults:Investigations by … [Read more...]
45-2: Our Legal System
Full PDF of this issueVolume 45-2 Nov/Dec 2020October 26th to 30th, 2020 is National Access to Justice Week. And we are celebrating with this issue! Read on for articles about different aspects of our legal system and perspectives on public legal education.Feature Articles: Our Legal … [Read more...]
45-3: Behind Bars
Full PDF of this issueVolume 45-3 Jan/Feb 2021In this issue, we report on Canadian prisons – processes, concerns and calls for reform. We also look at some lesser known laws in Alberta that we bet you didn’t know!Feature Articles: Behind BarsSpecial Report: Lesser-known Alberta … [Read more...]
