Ross River Dena Council v Government of the Yukon 2012 YKCA 14 As Canada’s MPs returned to the House of Commons this January they were greeted by jingle dancers on Parliament Hill. The gathering was one of more than 30 to be held across Canada as part of a national day of action in … [Read more...]
Helping Yourself: Where Do You Start?
Nowadays, many Albertans are representing themselves in court. But where can they (or where do they) get reliable information? To respond to the growing demands of litigants without lawyers, Alberta Justice brought together in 2005 members of the judiciary, representatives from criminal justice, … [Read more...]
How to Avoid Your Day in Court
When people think of needing legal help, they often think of lawyers, court forms, and court rooms. As those who have been there already know, it isn’t nearly as glamorous as it seems on television, and quite to the contrary, it can be quite scary. The good news is that not every legal issue has to … [Read more...]
Doin’ It Your Own Way… Unsuccessful Succession
This is the age of the YouTube video. Want to know how to build Ikea furniture, bake a soufflé, change the oil in your car? YouTube can help. We are geared to thinking that we can do anything for ourselves and so, of course, many are led to thinking that they can do their own Wills. “How hard can … [Read more...]
Defamation by Hyperlink
Introduction The Supreme Court of Canada’s 2011 decision in the case of Crookes v. Newton is a prime example of how individual rights as ephemeral as reputation must be balanced with other freedoms, such as expression, in this powerful, evolving medium of the Internet. Facts Website owner Jon … [Read more...]
Canada’s New Anti-Spam Legislation: What to Expect
Recently, I spoke with Ralph Kroman about Canada’s new Anti-Spam Legislation. I learned some very interesting information about this new legislation. Ralph Kroman is a business lawyer with WeirFoulds LLP. He helps his clients deal with intellectual property and technology matters such as the … [Read more...]
Privacy and Cloud Computing
The term ‘cloud computing’ refers to the provision of services through websites available on the Internet. These services are typically on demand and scalable such that the user can expand her or his use of the services dramatically. Storing picture, emails or materials on the Internet is use of … [Read more...]
Privacy Issues in Criminal Law
From almost the beginning of recorded history in England it had been recognized that “a man’s home is his castle” and accordingly, the Sovereign’s men could only enter if they had legal authority to do so. Over the centuries that authority evolved into the modern day search warrant. Canada’s … [Read more...]
Privacy in Canada
Everywhere in the Western world it appears that the right to privacy is under serious assault. It is normal to read about and attend conferences with such threatening monikers as “Big Brother in the 21st Century”. Businesses, financial predators and governments all seem to have an ever-increasing … [Read more...]
Privacy in Canada (Part 3)
New case law has arrived since the debate over the Lawful Access Bill ended this spring. Before commenting on it, I would like to make a small detour to clear up one point. The lack of a federal position paper that would canvass the rich body of case law might lead one to wonder about the approach … [Read more...]