The Society for Children and Youth of BC (SCYBC) recently published a series of research papers on child capacity in the context of children’s participation rights [Note 1]. The papers examine capacity generally and in four specific contexts: health care, mental health, family law, and child welfare and adoption.

Why does this matter? Traditionally, we have tended to assume that a child must first demonstrate sufficient “capacity” before being permitted to meaningfully participate in decisions affecting their life. And capacity has often been assessed primarily through the lens of cognitive ability.

The SCYBC reports challenge both assumptions.

I found them . . . [more]

“The Access to Legal Services Boulder Was Never the Point”

BC Day 2025 Origins

Like many things Amici Curiae Friends of Court (AC) does, it starts with my waking up one morning and thinking to myself, hmmm, I think we could do better improving the services we provide British Columbians. BC Day 2025 was no different.

For many of us who are working in the access to justice ecosystem, solving these complex issues can feel Sisyphean. Sisyphus was a legendary king who was condemned by Zeus and the gods eternally for his cleverness, to repeatedly roll a heavy rock up . . . [more]

The growth of self-representation in all adjudicative settings may ultimately require a new approach to adjudication that is even more fundamental than a root and branch overhaul of procedure and practice. What legislators and courts may need to consider is the development of forums that are focused on and limited to adjudicating cases involving SRLs. Such courts would channel cases involving SRLs into a specific forum where court participants, including the adjudicator and court staff and any required wrap-around services, would exclusively plan for and engage with litigants who do not have legal representation. One such experiment has been underway . . . [more]

This paper is part of a larger, multi-year project looking at representation, efficiency and outcomes in Ontario’s provincial court[1]. As outlined in an earlier Slaw piece on this project (“Using Representation Pathways to Explore Court Data”, October 2025), several parts of this research are ongoing. The paper highlights the “representation pathways” idea, which is being explored as a methodological tool and as a way of better understanding the experience of accused persons in the provincial criminal court system.

The research is being carried out using an appearance-based database from the Ontario Court of Justice (OCJ). The data . . . [more]

The Supreme Court of Canada’s decision in Ahluwalia v. Ahluwalia was released on May 15^th to much press and discussion. For many, it was a relief that a significant and precedent-setting case sought to tackle a pervasive and insidious social problem: intimate partner violence. There will no doubt be much commentary on the substantive content of the case, the scope of the tort of intimate partner violence, the manner of its proof in family law cases, and the implications for individual litigants going forward.

However, there is another thread weaving through the fabric of this case in its journey . . . [more]

As of May 2026, millions of Canadians are navigating a significant legal deadline. They have until June 25 to file claims in the finalized 23andMe Canadian Data Breach Settlement—a multimillion-dollar resolution to one of the most consequential privacy failures in recent history. But as the legal files are closed, a more fundamental question remains: Can a single person’s consent ever truly be ethical when the data being signed away belongs to an entire family tree?

We are taught early on in law school that the individual is the ultimate unit of the law. We draft retainer agreements for individuals, . . . [more]

Canadian securities law has long resisted narrow or technical definitions of the term “security.” Instead, both legislatures and courts have embraced an intentionally expansive and purposive conception, one designed to capture a wide range of investment arrangements rather than a closed set of financial instruments. The oft‑invoked proposition that “a security is what the law says it is” reflects not interpretive casualness, but a deliberate regulatory strategy. Overbreadth in the statutory definition of “security” is not an accident of drafting; it is a conscious design choice that enables securities regulation to respond to evolving forms of capital formation and investment. . . . [more]

Several Canadian governments have been using politicised rhetoric against “self-interested” lawyers and “biased” courts to garner popular support for increased control of the legal system. This column examines threats to the independence of the legal profession in Canada and explores how the Council of Europe Convention on the Protection of the Profession of Lawyer (Luxembourg Convention) could fortify the rule of law.

The Luxembourg Convention: “Survival mechanism for the Rule of Law”

Threats to lawyers and judges in the United States (US) have triggered worldwide alarm. In 2025, research by Canadian . . . [more]

On March 26, 2026, Bill C-12, the Strengthening Canada’s Immigration System and Borders Act, received Royal Assent. Framed as a response to system pressures and “asylum shopping,” the law marks one of the most significant shifts in Canada’s refugee regime since 2002. Its core effect is simple but profound: it narrows who gets access to a full refugee hearing, and how.

Three changes deserve particular attention.

A One-Year Deadline for Refugee Claims

Canada has replaced a flexible standard requiring claims to be made “without delay” with a strict one-year filing deadline. Claims submitted after that period . . . [more]

It has been clear for a long time that self-represented litigants struggle to understand the system they are often thrown into. By contrast, lawyers study for years, and have the benefit of ever-mounting daily experience, topped off with the privilege and deference associated with belonging to the legal profession. It’s no wonder then that SRLs tend to muddle blindly through the system, piecing together whatever information they can find from a host of sources, some more reliable than others. Naturally they make mistakes, and are inefficient, contributing to the existing backlog and straining the legal system. These litigants are very . . . [more]

Individuals who disclose wrongdoing are sometimes subjected to negative perceptions, but nothing is more counterproductive to societal progress than such stigma. Reporting unethical or illegal conduct is both appropriate and necessary and those who demonstrate the courage to come forward should be recognized as heroes—not disparaged. Whistlblowers play a critical role in promoting positive change.

The Origins of Whistleblower Protection: Marven and Shaw’s Landmark Stand

In 1777, U.S. naval officers, Richard Marven and Samuel Shaw, made a bold and dangerous decision to expose the misconduct of their commander-in-chief, Commodore Esek Hopkins[1]. At the time, the stakes were extraordinarily . . . [more]

It is with deep sorrow that we mark the unexpected passing of our friend and colleague at the Canadian Forum on Civil Justice (CFCJ), Lisa Moore, who passed away in December. Lisa was a generous colleague, an incisive researcher, and a quiet but formidable force in the access to justice community. Lisa devoted her professional and academic life to understanding how people actually experience legal problems, and to insisting that access to justice research remain accountable to those lived realities. Her passing leaves a profound absence in a field she helped shape with care, rigour, and compassion.

What distinguished Lisa’s . . . [more]