Canadians recently marked the 35th anniversary of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Since it was enacted that document has profoundly altered the legal discourse – and the public’s perceptions – on many issues in Canadian law. Given this change, coupled with the centrality of free speech to the … [Read more...]
The State of Mental Health Treatment for Youth in the Justice System
Alberta’s youth criminal justice system is struggling to meet the demand for mental health treatment due to a lack of space in secure mental health treatment facilities. The youth criminal justice system would benefit from a more integrated approach to the administration of youth criminal justice … [Read more...]
Finding the Best Ways Forward: Report on the Symposium on Children’s Participation in Justice Processes
In mid-September 2017, the Canadian Research Institute for Law and the Family and the Alberta Office of the Child and Youth Advocate ("OCYA") hosted an innovative two-day national symposium on children’s participation in justice processes in Calgary, Alberta. The symposium brought together leading … [Read more...]
Infants and Family Law: Advice for Parents
Until you face a family law issue, you may never know that your pre-verbal children, who have not yet learned to speak, can have a lawyer appointed to represent them with or without your consent. Lawyers are routinely appointed through Office of the Child and Youth Advocate, for children and youth, … [Read more...]
New Resources at CPLEA – Vol. 42:2
LawNow has created a Department called New Resources at CPLEA, which is now a permanent addition to each issue. Each post will highlight new materials at CPLEA. All resources are free and available for download. We hope that this will raise awareness of the many resources that CPLEA produces to … [Read more...]
Charity Federal Regulatory Round-Up
As the charitable sector awaits an announcement from the federal government on when and how it will be responding to the Report to the Minister of National Revenue of the Consultation Panel on the Political Activities of Charities (the "Panel"), a couple of lower profile regulatory developments have … [Read more...]
Conflict Between Parents, Part 3: More Strategies to Reduce Conflict, Active Listening and Looping
In Part 1 of this article, I wrote about the effects conflict between parents can have on their children. In Part 2, I talked about a number of techniques to defuse or diminish conflict, including a few basic communication strategies. In this, the final part of the series, I’m going to talk about … [Read more...]
First Comes Trump Hat, Then Comes Racism
Yet Another Incident from the Ontario Court of Justice Raises Concerns About Those Presiding.A Justice of the Peace, presiding in Kenora, Ontario, decided that it was appropriate to make a racist remark, on the record, to an Aboriginal duty counsel in bail court this past August.Yes, you … [Read more...]
How Are Off Road Vehicles Regulated in Alberta?
You are thinking about spending a lot of money on a brand-new quad, dirt-bike, snowmobile or something similar. What are the rules? Who makes them? Where will you be able to use it?Almost every human activity has the potential to affect the environment in some way. Regulating activities always … [Read more...]
Justice for Victims of Corrupt Foreign Officials Act: Canada Seeks to Hold Foreign Officials Accountable for Human Rights Abuses
On October 4, 2017, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Chrystia Freeland, announced that the House of Commons passed a Bill that originated in the Senate: the Justice for Victims of Corrupt Foreign Officials Act (Sergei Magnitsky Law) (as the “Magnitsky Act”). The Bill must be approved again by the Senate … [Read more...]
