by Karen Sawatzky | May 24, 2018 | Family Law, Legislation, New Bills
The Minister of Justice, Jody Wilson Raybould, recently introduced Bill C-78, An Act to amend the Divorce Act, the Family Orders and Agreements Enforcement Assistance Act and the Garnishment, Attachment and Pension Diversion Act and to make consequential amendments to another Act. This is the first major overhaul to the Divorce Act since the child support guidelines were enacted in 1997.
Some of the reforms included in the Bill include:
- Establishing a framework for relocating a child;
- Fleshing out the term “best interest of the child”;
- Provide for orders requiring contact with a child for another person, e.g. a grandparent.
The federal government has been consulting with members of the family bar and other stakeholders for the past two years in preparation for this bill.
Commentary from The Lawyers Daily: Bar Gives Good Initial Reviews
A Brief Overview of Bill C-78, Part 2, by John-Paul Boyd
A Brief Overview of Bill C-78, Part 1, by John-Paul Boyd
by Karen Sawatzky | May 16, 2018 | Access to Justice, Criminal Law, Sentencing
Gladue reports are pre-sentencing or bail hearing reports which take into account Indigenous offenders’ background on sentencing. They stem from a landmark 1999 Supreme Court of Canada decision. The University of Saskatchewan has developed a research database to assist Gladue report writers by making them easier and less costly to prepare. Access to the database is by subscription, which revenue will be used to hire students to update the database.
The new Gladue Rights Research Database provides lawyers, researchers and others with instant access to the insights and conclusions of more than 500 academic works related to the history of settler colonialism in Saskatchewan. It also includes a large and growing body of oral history resources and key archival documents.
Robson Hall at the University of Manitoba has developed a Gladue Handbook to help report writers in Manitoba.
This is a really interesting and exciting development for the protection of Gladue rights.
News release from University of Saskatchewan
by Karen Sawatzky | May 8, 2018 | Access to Justice
Experts are meeting this week for Accessing Justice: Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Access, Justice, Law and Order at the University of Winnipeg, May 9-11, 2018.
The University of Winnipeg’s Centre for Interdisciplinary Justice Studies is hosting a public conference beginning Wednesday that will bring together academics, human rights and legal experts, as well as Manitoba Queen’s Bench Justice Colleen Suche. [Winnipeg Free Press, p. B1, May 7, 2018] (subscription required)
Topics range from accessing legal professionals and legal services to the effects of decolonialization for identity and migration.
The full program is available here.
by Karen Sawatzky | Apr 27, 2018 | Commentary, Legal Research
The Canadian Guide to Uniform Legal Citation, otherwise known as the McGill Guide, is the standard reference guide for citing legal works, whether they be decisions, legislation, journals, books or urls.
HeinOnline.org is a database of legal information, including journals and legislation. Now the two come together, with HeinOnline offering citations set to the McGill Guide standard. No more excuses for poor formatting of secondary sources.
HeinOnline is available free of charge to members of the Law Society of Manitoba, behind the Members Portal. If you need help accessing or using it, please contact us. We’re happy to walk you through the process.
Check out HeinOnline’s post for full details.
by Karen Sawatzky | Apr 20, 2018 | Access to Justice, Commentary, Legal Research
You asked, they listened! Last month, CanLII announced that several law reviews would be added to the platform. Then, a few weeks ago, a couple of newsletters were added. Today, they announced even more commentary:
Last month we were delighted to announce that law journal articles and newsletters are now available in CanLII’s Commentary section, and now we get to tell you that we have added more books and reports.
Providing authoritative legal resources for the profession and the public while using CanLII’s intuitive search platform is fantastic. Kudos to CanLII and the Federation of Law Societies of Canada for the successful completion of this project.
Check the CanLII blog for the full announcement.
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