Gladue Reports Database Update

Way back in May 2018, I wrote about a project out of Saskatchewan to create a database for researching Gladue principles. This resource was going to operate under a subscription model, but has just received funding to make it open access. Content is from Saskatchewan, however, researchers in other jurisdictions will likely find it a useful starting point. It would be even better if other jurisdictions found a way to add on to it.

For now, congratulations to the Law Society of Saskatchewan, Legal Aid Saskatchewan and the Ministry of Corrections and Policing for having the foresight to develop and fund this resource.

H/t to The Lawyers’ Daily: Creators of novel Gladue database hope it becomes widely used after free access

Practice Direction re New Family Division Case Flow Model

On June 28, 2019, the Court of Queen’s Bench issued a practice direction to assist lawyers in transitioning to the Family Division Case Flow Model.

The New Family Division Case Flow Model (New FD Model) was designed so that pre-February 1, 2019 cases were transitioned into the new case flow with ease. The transition of these existing “old system” cases has, for the most part, gone relatively smoothly. However, there has been some confusion among judges, court staff, the Family Bar and the public on transitional issues. This memorandum has been prepared to offer some further guidance on best practices in transitional cases.

The full memorandum is available here.

New MLRC Report on Expropriation

The Commission has released its final report on The Expropriation Act of Manitoba. The Commission makes 10 recommendations to improve and clarify certain areas of The Expropriation Act. The report forms part of a series entitled Creating Efficiencies in the Law, which seeks to address discrete, straightforward issues that, in the Commission’s view, can be improved with relatively simple legislative amendments. To see the full report click here. (From website)

Legislative Updates: New Proclamations

The Government of Manitoba has proclaimed the following Acts:

  • The Mental Health Amendment Act (whole Act), SM 2016, c. 8 , effective June 1, 2019
  • The Courts Modernization Act (Various Acts Amended) (Part 1 and sections 6, 15, 19 and 26 to 29), SM 2019, c. 16 , effective July 1, 2019
  • The Family Law Modernization Act (Schedule C — The Arbitration Amendment Act (Family Law), whole Act except section 21; Schedule E — The Family Maintenance Amendment Act), SM 2019, c. 8, effective July 1, 2019
  • The Red Tape Reduction and Government Efficiency Act, 2018 (subsections 26(1) and (3) to (9) and section 37), SM 2018, c. 29, effective July 1, 2019
  • The Red Tape Reduction and Government Efficiency Act, 2018 (section 35), SM 2018, c. 29, effective September 1, 2019