How can we balance an employer's right to know about illness or disability and an employee's right to privacy? Editor's Note: A version of this important article first appeared in LawNow in 2019. It has been reviewed for legal accuracy in 2024 by the author. Requesting medical information … [Read more...]
Ride at Your Own Risk: Amusement parks and liability
What does it mean to do something at “our own risk”? And who is ultimately responsible when accidents do happen? When I was young, winter officially ended with family outings to (the now closed) Wild Rapids waterslide park in Sylvan Lake or to Calgary’s Callaway Park. These amusement parks offer … [Read more...]
Heading into Alberta’s Great Outdoors This Summer? Passes and permits to know about
It's your responsibility to know the rules before you head out to enjoy parks, camp, hunt or fish, and operate off-highway vehicles or boats. One positive thing to come out of COVID-19 is that more Albertans are exploring the beautiful outdoors of our province. Before venturing out though, you … [Read more...]
Does Elite Sport Respect Young Athletes’ Human Rights?
We all enjoy watching national and international sports events. But most of us have no idea about an athlete’s journey to make it to these events. To become elite athletes and reach the top of their sport, children may leave their families and begin training extensively at a very early age. Most of … [Read more...]
Contact in Sports: Acceptable or criminal assault?
By voluntarily taking part in an activity, individuals implicitly consent to interactions with others that would otherwise be criminal assaults. A visitor to Earth would probably notice something odd about some of our favourite pastimes. Societies around the world consider some behaviour – of one … [Read more...]
Royal Families Around the World
Around the world, monarchs hold different roles in government and more. Canadians live in a “constitutional monarchy”. So, we are somewhat familiar with how our system has evolved to the point where the Queen is mainly a figurehead at the top of our government. Over many centuries, the British, and … [Read more...]
What Needs to be Done if Canada Wants to Remove the Monarch?
Canada severing ties with the Royal Family requires amending the Constitution and reviewing treaties signed with Indigenous Peoples. In 1931, Canada became part of the British Commonwealth. It remains one of 54 Commonwealth nations to this day. Canada is a constitutional monarchy, which means it is … [Read more...]
Social Media, the Law and Social Justice
We've seen social media as a tool for social justice but its relationship with the law is challenging. Given the rapid growth of our interconnected world, few people would deny the role that social media plays - a repository of information, a driver of ideas and innovation, and increasingly a tool … [Read more...]
Posting Perils: Defamation in the social media era
Social media and the Internet have raised new issues in defamation law and challenged Canadian courts. U.S. Congresswoman Taylor Greene was in the news recently for posting controversial comments on Facebook about Democrats and the FBI. In response to a CNN article about these comments, Greene … [Read more...]
Social Media Platforms: Should you be worried about your privacy?
By agreeing to Terms and Conditions, you are signing an online contract allowing social media to collect and share some personal information. Have you ever scrolled down the long page of terms and conditions for social media sites and immediately pressed the “I agree” button without even reading … [Read more...]
