LawNow back issues from April 2004:
Legal resources just a click away.(ACJNet Alberta)
Apr 01, 2004 ... If understanding everyday legal questions seems too daunting, help may be just a mouse-click away. Canada has a number of public legal education (PLE) organizations that are dedicated to educating citizens about the laws that govern them. One of these groups, the Legal Studies Program at ...
Another viewpoint.(political corruption and what Canadians can do about it)
Apr 01, 2004; ... Last week, the talk radio host's question was "Is Canada becoming a corrupt country?" Today, the question is "Was firing Jean Pelletier from VIA Rail too harsh a penalty for his comment about Miriam Bedard?" Evidently, after calling Bedard a liar for her comments about seeing huge invoices ...
Hot copies get cold shoulder.(News and notes)(Brief Article)
Apr 01, 2004; ... Just as the music industry is fighting to shut down the illegal copying of music, Access Copyright is committed to stopping illegal copying activities of written material in print or electronic forms wherever they occur across Canada. In January 2004, Access Copyright shut down the illicit ...
Process to recruit territorial judge begins.(News And notes)(Brief Article)
Apr 01, 2004; ... Yukon Justice Minister Elaine Taylor has requested that the recruitment process begin for a new Territorial Court Judge she announced today. The decision to have a third judge is one supported by the key stakeholders consulted which include the Council of Yukon First Nations, the Yukon ...
Newfoundland. & Labrador Premier claims to stand by commitment on Powley decision.(News And notes)(R. v. Powley)(Brief Article)
Apr 01, 2004; ... Premier Danny Williams today announced that the province has concluded its legal review of the Supreme Court of Canada decision in R. v. Powley, handed down on September 19, 2003, and has applied the criteria set out in the decision to the Labrador Metis Nation (LMN). "I made a commitment ...
The Gulf States to discuss human rights education.(News And notes)(Brief Article)
Apr 01, 2004; ... A sub-regional workshop on human rights education in the Gulf States took place in mid-February in Doha, Qatar. The aim of the workshop is to provide a forum where the six Gulf States (Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Yemen) can explore and discuss ...
Coming soon.(Bench press)(Samson Indian Nation and Band v. Canada 2003 FC 1421)(Brief Article)
Apr 01, 2004; ... The Samson Indian Band applied to the Federal Court of Canada for permission to compel former Prime Minister Jean Chretien to appear as a witness in their $1.4 billion lawsuit against the federal government for alleged mismanagement of oil and gas royalties. Mr. Chretien claimed ...
Don't shoot the messenger.(Bench press)(Barrett v. McClellan 2004 ABQB 22)(brothers sued a marriage commissioner over the marriage of their elderly father)(Brief Article)
Apr 01, 2004; ... Three Alberta brothers sued a marriage commissioner and a provincial registry office over the marriage of their elderly father. After the father's death the marriage was annulled by court order because he had been suffering from dementia caused by Alzheimer's disease. The brothers argued ...
Bird's nest order.(Bench press)(Greenough v. Greenough Ontario Superior Court of Justice November 17, 2003)(Brief Article)
Apr 01, 2004; ... An Ontario judge was perturbed by the effect of a protracted divorce and custody trial on the children of the family. He commented that the courts sometimes see children treated as Frisbees and made what he termed a "bird's nest order" which allows the children to stay in their home, and ...
Policing the police.(Bench press)(Odhavji Estate v. Woodhouse 2003 SCC 69)(Brief Article)
Apr 01, 2004; ... The family of a Toronto man who was shot and killed by police officers sued the officers, the Chief of Police, and the Police Board for misfeasance of public office and negligence. The Supreme Court of Canada ruled that the actions for misfeasance in a public office against the police ...
Minor corrective force of a transitory and trifling nature.(Today's trial)(Canadian Foundation for Children, Youth and the Law v. Canada (Attorney General) 2004 SCC 4)
Apr 01, 2004; ... The Supreme Court of Canada began the new year by releasing a much anticipated decision on spanking. The ruling concerned s. 43 of the Criminal Code. This section allows for the reasonable use of force for the purpose of correction by parents and teachers. The Canadian Foundation for ...
Civil dispute resolution: a roadmap of the Alberta options.(Feature on Civil Justice)
Apr 01, 2004; ... We're often told that the road to justice can be long and arduous. When it comes to resolving civil disputes in Alberta; however, there is not just a single road leading from the commencement of a lawsuit to its resolution. On the contrary, there are many paths that one can follow in order ...
Overview of civil justice project.(Feature on Civil Justice)
Apr 01, 2004; ... Civil law or civil justice is law that regulates interactions between private people or organizations. So family law; law suits about car accidents or breaking contracts; landlord and tenant disputes as well as other kinds of real estate all are examples of civil law. The civil justice ...
The civil justice system and the public.(Feature on Civil Justice)
Apr 01, 2004; ... The civil justice system is that aspect of our justice system which deals with disputes between private individuals which arise in a variety of circumstances including divorce and family issues, consumer claims ranging from house purchases to car leases, professional service complaints, ...
Class actions in Canada.(Feature on Civil Justice)
Apr 01, 2004; ... Civil Law Generally The area of law concerning civil litigation developed as a forum for deciding disputes between individuals, as opposed to the system of criminal law dealing with matters between individuals and the state. Disputes between individuals include all disputes ...
The expanding role of the Justice of the Peace.(Feature on Civil Justice)
Apr 01, 2004; ... "A Justice of the Peace is merely a lawyer who has been benched." --Peter Bowal Introduction The system of courts and the judiciary in Canada are undergoing a significant transformation. Following a few recent decisions from the Supreme Court of Canada ...
Canadian politics scavenger hunt.(School's in)
Apr 01, 2004; ... This is a scavenger hunt for information about federal politics and elections, and, occasionally, for short statements of your thinking about the information. Generally, this information can be found on the Internet, and the sites and URLs supplied are good as of February 24, 2004. If a ...
Defending Canada's electoral system.(Special Report on Law and Politics)
Apr 01, 2004; ... Introduction Electoral systems matter. Al Gore would be President of the United States if it had been decided by popular vote instead of an Electoral College. If the Alberta Progressive Conservative Party had used the first-past-the-post (FPTP) instead of a run-off election in ...
The Charter and the "worst form of government.".(Special Report on Law and Politics)
Apr 01, 2004; ... Winston Churchill once remarked, "that democracy is the worst form of government except all those others that have been tried from time to time." Earnest electoral reformers, however, believe that there may be a better form of democracy than the system Churchill knew so well. ...
The building blocks of Canada's electoral democracy: drawing electoral boundaries.(Special Report on Law and Politics)
Apr 01, 2004; ... The Importance of Electoral Boundaries In 1812, Governor Elbridge Gerry of Massachusetts embarked on a project of redrawing the state's electoral districts. The resulting boundaries gave a partisan advantage to Gerry's Democratic-Republican Party. A newspaper of the Federalist ...
Voting: Nunavut style.(Special Report on Law and Politics)
Apr 01, 2004; ... The political structure of Nunavut is very much a work in progress. At the time this is being written, campaigning for the second-ever Nunavut legislature is underway, voters going to the polls February 16. It appears a not unreasonable expectation that there will be a federal general ...
A history of impaired driving laws.(Criminal law)
Apr 01, 2004; ... The festive season always brings reminders from media, business, police and friends of a message almost everyone is familiar with now: DON'T DRINK AND DRIVE! Parliament created the first criminal offence of driving while intoxicated in 1921. It is interesting to note that, in ...
Who is appointed to what.(On-Line law)(where to find information on federal and provincial appointments)
Apr 01, 2004; ... There was a recent raft of changes to the federal government with Paul Martin's ascension to the Prime Ministers Office. This change in team is interesting not only for the future of the average Canadian, but for those of us who like to send letters to people in power with gentle reminders ...
Metis aboriginal rights: catch 22?(Aboriginal law)
Apr 01, 2004; ... In last month's column, we took a very brief look at Metis hunting rights and the Powley case at the Supreme Court of Canada. I'm going to set out some of the challenges to Canada's legal system arising out of Metis rights. First off, the best known group of Metis in Canada are ...
Don't forget the GST!!(Tax law)
Apr 01, 2004; ... The goods and services tax (GST) came into effect on January 1, 1991 under Part IX of the Excise Tax Act. Most readers are aware that GST of 7% applies when purchasing certain products and services (every province except for Alberta also imposes a retail sales tax of some variety; however ...
Hand over the information--it's mine, it's personal.(Not-For-Profit law)(Alberta's Personal Information Protection Act )
Apr 01, 2004; ... On January 1, 2004, non-profit organizations in Alberta became subject to Alberta's Personal Information Protection Act (PIPA). PIPA is Alberta's response to PIPEDA--the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act. This federal legislation specifies how private sector ...
Saqiyuq, stories from the lives of three Inuit women.(Law and literature)(Book Review)
Apr 01, 2004; ... Nancy Wachowich, in collaboration with Apphia Agalakti Awa, Rhoda Kaukjak Katsak, and Sandra Pikujak Katsak--301 pp. including Bibliography and Index, McGill-Queen's University Press, 1999. This book describes itself as a Life History Project. That is, no doubt, an accurate ...
Justice La Forest's mark on environmental federalism.(Environmental law)(Gerard La Forest)
Apr 01, 2004; ... What is the appropriate Constitutional division of labour between the federal government and the provinces with respect to environmental protection? This question has troubled lawyers, legal scholars, and judges for decades. During his twelve years as a Justice of the Supreme Court of ...