Across Canada we have seen many developments in GLBT rights in the past few years. With the legal recognition of same-sex marriage, we might have thought that true equality for same-sex families had been reached. However, some of our provincial family laws have not kept up to these legal changes. In … [Read more...]
Termination for Insolence
We hear that “attitude is everything”, and nowhere is this more important than at work. Consider whether the employee’s attitude below should be enough to justify his firing.Henry, 31, had been working for seven and a half years as an auto body repair technician at the Fox Ford dealership in … [Read more...]
Missing the Mark: Why the Post-Ghomeshi Outrage Makes Little Sense
Almost everyone has an opinion about one of the most followed trials in Canadian history. The Jian Ghomeshi trial left a trail of furious people in its path like an F5 tornado that veered off course. Many of those who are angry about the Ghomeshi trial allege that there was an injustice— that the … [Read more...]
The Ins and Outs of Board Elections
One of the more murky areas of charity and not-for-profit law is the issue of the proper conduct of board elections. Many of the older pieces of legislation that deal with constituting and operating non-share capital corporations – the typical structure adopted by charities and not-for-profit groups … [Read more...]
Organizations Get Religion: Loyola High School v. Quebec
Introduction Do organizations and corporations have a constitutionally protected freedom of religion under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms?The Charter has existed for 34 years and we are still not clear whether non-human entities enjoy religious freedom as they do other freedoms, … [Read more...]
Dealing with Pets after Separation, Part 2: Going to Court
In the first half of this article, I wrote about the laws on personal property that might apply when a couple can’t agree on how they’ll manage their pets after they separate. In this half, I’ll talk about the sorts of orders you can and can’t ask the court to make about pets, assuming you and your … [Read more...]
Why Do Some Human Rights Complaints Take So Long?
From time to time, concerns are expressed about the length of time human rights complaints take to resolve. There are some circumstances where resolution of these cases does seem to take too long. Unfortunately, those who criticize the existence of human rights commissions often take these … [Read more...]
Canadian Human Rights Tribunal Sets the Stage for First Nation Discrimination Cases
In late January, 2016, the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal (Tribunal) ruled that children living on First Nations reserves have been discriminated against because of underfunding of education and child welfare. (see: First Nations Child and Family Caring Society of Canada et al v Attorney General of … [Read more...]
The Best We Can Do? – Sybille Bedford’s Classic Account of a Famous British Murder Trial
During Canada’s most talked about court case of the year, the sexual assault trials of Jian Ghomeshi, defence counsel Marie Heinen in her final argument quoted the American jurist John Wigmore. He memorably stated that cross-examination in a trial is the greatest legal engine for the discovery of … [Read more...]
Making a Mockery of the Justice System
The new Netflix obsession, Making a Murderer, is a sensation. Blogs, news programs, articles, magazines, newspapers and water cooler conversations are all immersed in the quest to answer the eternal question: did he do it?The evidence seems to point in both directions. The Netflix documentary … [Read more...]
