by Allyssa McFadyen | Apr 11, 2018 | Access to Justice, Law Library Life
Law Day, held in commemoration of the signing of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, will take place on Sunday, April 15, 2018. Presented by the Manitoba Bar Association and the Manitoba Department of Justice, the Law Courts themselves will be open to the public for tours, mock trials, debates, presentations and demonstrations (including demonstrations by a drug detector dog).
The library itself will be open for viewing, although no library staff will be available that day.
If you’d like to know more about Law Day Winnipeg, please check out the Manitoba Bar Association’s website. Admission is free, and if you require disability accommodation, they ask that you e-mail them directly to the e-mail listed on the previous link provided.
by Karen Sawatzky | Dec 15, 2017 | Access to Justice, Commentary, Legal Research
The law librarian world is geeking out today over Charterpedia, the federal government’s compilation of analysis and caselaw on the Canadian Charter. It’s like a crowd-sourced annotated Charter, for free!
This Charterpedia provides legal information about the Charter and contains information about the purpose of each section of the Charter, the analysis or test developed through case law in respect of the section, and any particular considerations related to it. Each Charterpedia entry cites relevant case law, and citations to Supreme Court of Canada decisions are hyperlinked whenever possible.
If you don’t have access to a paid annotated Charter product (or even if you do), I’d highly recommend starting with this.
by Karen Sawatzky | Dec 14, 2017 | Access to Justice, Legislation
Manitoba’s civil Queen’s Bench Rules are undergoing a significant amendment effective January 1, 2018. As noted in Chief Justice Joyal’s practice direction issued on November 8, 2017, the new rules and practices involve four major changes:
- Judicial involvement in managing cases;
- Trial scheduling;
- Judicially assisted dispute resolution (JADR); and
- Summary judgment.
Prior to the enforcement date, you can review the unconsolidated amendment which was registered October 2, 2017.
If you rely on the print looseleaf edition of the rules, Prof. Busby’s Manitoba Queen’s Bench Rules Annotated, make sure you check Manitoba Law’s website for an up-to-date version until the print edition is updated.
by Karen Sawatzky | Sep 28, 2017 | Access to Justice
[Guest post by Karen Dyck, Executive Director of the Manitoba Law Foundation. Previously published on Slaw.ca.]
A new Practice Direction from Manitoba’s Court of Queen’s Bench reflects increasing acceptance of the fact that litigants without lawyers are no longer an anomaly in civil litigation. The notice sets out that contested motions and applications involving at least one self-representing litigant must be set for a case management conference before a contested hearing takes place. This is already the norm for contested motions in the Family Division of the Court of Queen’s Bench, regardless whether there is a self-represented party, but is new in the Civil Division.
Other than the procedural change, two specific aspects of the Practice Direction stand out:
- The rationale for the change in practice is stated as being “To reflect the obligation of a judge to ensure that a self-represented litigant has the opportunity to meaningfully participate in the hearing and has a reasonable opportunity to present his or her case to the best of his or her ability.”
- In addition to ensuring that the matter is ready to proceed to a contested hearing, the case management judge is specifically tasked “…to explain the process and to otherwise advise the self-represented litigant what may be expected.”
While the obligation on the judge isn’t new, this statement makes clear the importance of ensuring that litigants without lawyers are able to meaningfully participate in the legal action, whether as plaintiffs or respondents, and further that they have the opportunity to present their position and evidence to the best of their individual ability. This acknowledges both their right to be in the courtroom, representing themselves, as well as the fact that each self-representing litigant comes to the courtroom with varying degrees of ability to present their case.
One effect of this Direction will be to ease the burden on all involved. By placing the responsibility upon the case management judge for explaining the process and otherwise advising the self-represented litigant on what to expect, the hearing judge will be supported in balancing “… the sometimes competing imperatives of helping a litigant who is in need of assistance while maintaining impartiality.” (Child and Family Services of Winnipeg v. J.A. et al., 2004 MBCA 184 at para. 32). This also has the effect of making clear that it is not the responsibility of the lawyer opposite a self-representing litigant to explain the process to the opposing party. And finally, it creates a “safe space” for the self-representing litigant to inform themselves on process and ask questions about what is expected of them in a contested hearing.
While adding another step in the process may in some cases increase costs, if used effectively, these conferences may result in fewer requests for adjournment, more efficient contested hearings and more effective advocacy on the part of the self-representing litigant. That seems like a win-win result all around.
by Karen Sawatzky | Sep 20, 2017 | Access to Justice, Criminal Law, Sentencing
Criminal lawyers take note. The founder behind Rangefindr.ca has developed a freely accessible site monitoring the status of various mandatory minimum sentencing guidelines.
The website it created, called MMS.watch, gives legal professionals a chance to check which mandatory minimum sentences have been challenged or struck down as unconstitutional.
For more information check out this article published in The Lawyer’s Daily
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