Reading Time: 6 minutes . . . provisions for eight weeks of unpaid compassionate care leave for individuals charged with caring for terminally ill family members. This Bill would help to ensure that Albertans do not have to risk employment and careers while performing their familial duties. – Mr. Jeneroux, on introduction of Bill 203, the Employment Standards Compassionate […]
Researching Aboriginal Law
Reading Time: 4 minutes Aboriginal law is a diverse and complex topic, which encompasses issues such as land claims, hunting and fishing rights, residential school settlements and self-government, among others. This article outlines some of the key legal documents, useful Internet sites, databases and other resources available when researching these legal issues. We at the Alberta Law Libraries have […]
Supreme Court Reins in Social Credit
Reading Time: 7 minutes The Reference Re Alberta Statutes case of 1938 (Reference Re Alberta Statutes – The Bank Taxation Act; The Credit of Alberta Regulation Act; and the Accurate News and Information Act, [1938] SCR 100 ) has been written about elsewhere but this monumental decision of the Supreme Court continues to possess vitality and serves as an inspiration […]
Bench Press 38-4: Alberta Statutes in English Only
Reading Time: < 1 minute Gilles Caron, of Edmonton, was issued a traffic ticket in 2003. Mr. Caron, whose first language is French, fought the ticket, arguing that the ticket, Alberta statutes and his court hearing should all be available in French. A provincial court judge dismissed the ticket charge, finding that the statute was inoperative because the province of […]
Freedom of Association and Collective Bargaining: Are There Justifiable Limits?
Reading Time: 6 minutes For several years, public service employees have been restricted in their right to strike, in order to preserve their “essential” services. However, some argue that recent changes to Alberta’s public service labour legislation unjustifiably interfere with several rights under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms (“Charter”)— particularly freedom of association. Alberta’s Public Service Employee […]
The Intersection of Law, Language and Culture
Reading Time: 8 minutes Introduction When we think of the intersection of law and language, most of us reflect on the linguistic sides of the issue, such as: questions about why law-makers use certain words as opposed to others, queries about ‘legalese’, and problems of misunderstanding, interpretation and translation. Rarely do we spend much time considering the possibility that […]
An Overview of Anti-bullying Legislation and Alternatives in Canada
Reading Time: 4 minutes Very few days seem to go by, of late, without Canadians hearing about the alarming consequence of bullying in some form or another. This is particularly true in relation to children and youth. A number of high profile cases have garnered much discussion over the past few years, the latest of which is the tragic […]
