Skip to main content

rule of law

  • Image: "Marieval Mission, Cowesses Indian Residential School in Elcapo Creek Valley, Saskatchewan, 1923 / Mission de Marieval, Pensionnat indien de Cowesses, dans la vallée d’Elcapo Creek (Saskatchewan), 1923" by BiblioArchives / LibraryArchives is licensed under CC BY 2.0
In “A Less Private Practice: Government Lawyers and Legal Ethics”, a 2020 paper published in the Dalhousie Law Journal, Jennifer Leitch discusses the role of government lawyers amid claims for compensation relating to the St. Anne’s residential school.  It is now...

Read More

  • Image: "day 18/365" by shehan365 is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0
Last week’s article looked at the 2006 Indian Residential School Settlement Agreement (IRSSA) and the Independent Assessment Process (IAP) claims resolution process. This was a system to provide for compensation as a result of experiences at residential schools. This system was...

Read More

  • Image: "Rep of Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate in Canada apologizes for their role in residential schools" by The United Church of Canada is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0
Recently, the remains of 215 children were discovered in unmarked mass graves on the site of Kamloops Residential School. There is a sense that there may be more. That sites like this may exist elsewhere in Canada. The school was operated by...

Read More

  • Image: "File:COVID-19 deaths per 100,000 population.png" by Traut is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0
Some Canadian provinces, including B.C., are implementing travel restrictions amid fears of covid-19. The federal government's mandatory testing and hotel quarantining for travelers entering Canada is currently being challenged in the courts.  In January, 2021, after seeking legal advice, B.C. premier John Horgan...

Read More

  • Image: "DSC09478" by dgrinbergs is licensed under CC BY-NC 2.0
She has been called Canada’s Erin Brockovich.  Erin Brockovich, of course, was the single mother whose crusade for justice was depicted in the movie bearing her name, staring Julia Roberts. Ms. Brockovich was a law clerk. Without formal legal training, she put...

Read More

  • Image: "Bee keeper" by Oregon Department of Agriculture is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0
Few people wish for their case to make ground breaking law. Few desire fame through a court decision.  I was reminded recently of a tragic example of a famous Canadian case. Up to the late 1970s, women who claimed a beneficial share of...

Read More

  • Image: "Never Give In !" by Neil. Moralee is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0
In 2002, the provincial government amended the Workers’ Compensation Act. The amendments made it more difficult for injured workers to receive compensation for their workplace injuries. Earlier this year, B.C.’s Workers Compensation Act was amended. Significantly, a legislative provision which had attempted...

Read More

Alberta’s government recently enacted substantial amendments to Alberta’s Employment Standards Code (ESC), through the Restoring Balance in Alberta’s Workplaces Act, 2020.   The stated purpose was to “save employers time and money.” Section 63 of the ESC now deems layoffs over 90...

Read More

  • Image: "Ping Pong Balls" by Peter Alfred Hess is licensed under CC BY 2.0
Alberta’s workplace legislation is starting to resemble a ping pong ball. After the NDP formed the Alberta government in 2013, it amended Alberta's workplace legislation, including Employment Standards Code and Labour Relations Code, to include  provisions consistent with those in other...

Read More

  • Photo: "At the protest for the International Day Against Police Brutality" by Grant Neufeld is licensed under CC BY-NC 2.0
It may be tempting, when watching incidents of police brutality in the United States, to think the problem does not really exist in Canada.  However, police misconduct and a lack of accountability do exist in Canada. Videos recently surfaced of RCMP...

Read More