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...]
Fraud in 3D: VisuaLABS
How did the justice system deal with this case of major commercial fraud?Between 1993 and 2001, VisuaLABS Inc. – the company built in Calgary, Alberta by Sheldon Zelitt – attracted thousands of investors, raised hundreds of millions of dollars in capital and grabbed the attention of the global … [Read more...]
Transgender Inmates in Canada
How do federal, provincial and territorial laws or policies protect transgender inmates?Individuals may identify with a gender that goes along with their sex given at birth, they may identify with a gender that is different from their sex given at birth, or they may identify with a non-traditional … [Read more...]
You Have Choices! Resolving family law problems outside of court
The only way legal disputes ever seem to get resolved on TV or in the movies is in court. That’s understandable, because the other ways we resolve legal disputes are, well, boring. I don’t think we are ever going to see a prime-time legal drama about people going to mediation.However, the … [Read more...]
The Critical Role of Public Legal Education in Societies Governed by the Rule of Law
At some point in high school, we learn that we live in a nomocracy, which is a fancy ten-cent word for a society governed by the rule of law. The whole “governed by the rule of law” thing is an especially important quality of democracies like ours. It includes the following rights:All of … [Read more...]
Good Behaviour and Tenure of Supreme Court Justices in Canada and the United States
The death of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, in September 2020 at the age of 87, and the appointment of Justice Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court of the United States, where she can serve for decades, prompted me to write this article.The Supreme Courts of Canada and the U.S. are the courts … [Read more...]
Changes to Alberta Employment Law. Again.
On November 1, 2020, several changes to Alberta’s Employment Standards Code came into effect. Changes include payment of earnings after termination, deductions, averaging arrangements for calculating overtime, rest periods and calculating general holiday pay. These changes are detailed in Bill 32: … [Read more...]
When the Doorbell Rings: Direct sales contracts
Your doorbell rings at home. You take a peek out your window. Then the realization hits you: it’s someone going door to door trying to sell you something again. If you’re anything like my cat (or me), you promptly hide in another room until the seller is gone –unless they are selling cookies, of … [Read more...]
