The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms (Charter) provides protection from discrimination in s 15(1). Section 15(2) allows governments to establish programs to ameliorate historical disadvantage of particular minority groups. These programs are sometimes referred to as “affirmative action … [Read more...]
Notorious Toronto Judge Makes his Disdain for Disgraced Officer Known: How the Outspoken Justice Clark Drives Home an Important Message
Disgraced (and now nearly fired) Ontario Police officer, Craig Ruthowsky, has been recently found guilty by a Toronto jury of bribery (for accepting protection money from drug dealers), attempting to obstruct justice, breach of trust, and drug trafficking. Ruthowsky also has similar charges pending … [Read more...]
Indigenous Public Legal Education—PLE from an Interconnected Worldview
What does it mean to practice Public Legal Education (PLE) from an Indigenous, interconnected worldview? This is the goal of BearPaw Legal Education (BPLE) in the development, distribution and evaluation of PLE for Indigenous peoples throughout Alberta. BPLE is a department of Native Counselling … [Read more...]
Sisyphus Ascending: The Remarkable Career of Raja Shehadeh
I have just read a wonderful narrative by the Palestinian human rights lawyer, activist, and now writer of the first rank, Raja Shehadeh. The author lives in Ramallah, in the West Bank, which has been under occupation by Israeli forces for 51 years and counting. The book, A Rift in Time: Travels … [Read more...]
Enforcement of Family Law Orders When Parents Live in Different Places: Part 2
Generally, Alberta court orders are only enforceable in Alberta. And, generally, Alberta judges can only grant family law orders about people who reside in Alberta. However, families are mobile and many relocate from province to province or even from country to country. Therefore, Alberta has … [Read more...]
Travel and Taxation
In his 1966 song “Taxman”, then-Beatle George Harrison sang the line “if you drive a car, I’ll tax the street”. While that may exaggerate our tax system, taxation of travel takes many forms. One form of travel taxation is via road tolls. Highway 407, Ontario’s only Express Toll Route, is not … [Read more...]
How Long-Term Car Loans are Causing Bankruptcy
The days of buying a vehicle with cash are long behind us. Car loans and leases are now commonplace. It’s feasible to have a 3-5 year car loan, pay it off, then own the car. It’s a reasonable timeframe for the average consumer and also ensures that an affordable loan is borrowed. However, problems … [Read more...]
42-5: Ghosts in the Legal Machine
Volume 42-5 May/June 2018Full PDF of this issueTable of ContentsFeatured Articles: Ghosts in the Legal MachineSpecial Report: International AgreementsDepartmentsColumns A tongue-in-cheek look at “ghosts” in the legal system.Featured … [Read more...]
Breaking the Code, and then Breaking the Spirit
Last month marked the 20th anniversary of the landmark Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms case, (Delwyn) Vriend v. Alberta. There was some fine reporting in the Edmonton Journal and elsewhere on the case, including where Delwyn Vriend is now and what his experiences have been in the struggle … [Read more...]
Sexual and Other Harassment and Fiduciary Duty
Fiduciary duty is a common law concept. Essentially it requires directors of corporations, and like officials of certain other types of entities, to act in the best interest of their organization. It also obliges them to act with care and loyalty. The notion of fiduciary duty, or aspects of it … [Read more...]
