Reading Time: 3 minutes Whether you already have a job or are looking for your first, you should know your rights as an employee. Employment is a contract between the employer and the employee. Each party agrees to do certain things. At its most basic, your employer agrees to pay you for the work you do. The employment relationship […]
CONSUMER | Regional Anomalies in Canada’s National Consumer Insolvency & Bankruptcy Rates
Reading Time: 6 minutes Data on consumer insolvency and bankruptcy, as well as laws on personal property exemptions, show great variances between regions, provinces and territories. This article references Statistics Canada’s most recent Annual Consumer Insolvency Rates by Province and Economic Region – 2010-2019 (Per 1,000 Population Aged 18 Years and Older). Insolvency is a person’s inability to pay […]
FAMOUS CASES | Criminal Sentencing of Aboriginal Offenders: Ipeelee
Reading Time: 5 minutes In Ipeelee, the Supreme Court of Canada again considered the Gladue Principles. Over a decade has passed since this Court issued its judgment in Gladue. As the statistics indicate, s. 718.2(e) of the Criminal Code has not had a discernible impact on the overrepresentation of Aboriginal people in the criminal justice system … The failure […]
HUMAN RIGHTS | Disabilities, Accommodation and Mask Rules: Human Rights Commission weighs in
Reading Time: 3 minutes The British Columbia Human Rights Tribunal released a screening decision about a customer’s complaint of having to wear a mask in a store. Recently, the British Columbia Human Rights Tribunal declined to accept a complaint in a case called The Customer v The Store, 2021 BCHRT 39 (The Customer). Since November of 2020, due to […]
HAVE YOU HEARD? | Sexual Violence Awareness Month
Reading Time: 2 minutes Did you know May is Sexual Violence Awareness Month? WEBINAR | Sexual Violence and the Law Does your work include helping people who have experienced sexual violence? This panel discussion will showcase the incredible work organizations across the province are doing to support these individuals. Participating organizations are: CPLEA Sexual Assault Centre of Edmonton Elizabeth […]
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 […]
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). […]
