in today’s historic announcement on parliamentary privilege can be found here.

The Speaker’s Rulings website is woefully out of date.

Here are links to coverage by the Globe and CBC. . . . [more]

This is a follow-up to my previous post and the discussion that ensued on Quebec Government Bill Upholds Gender Equality and Secularism

A couple of waves aligned in my universe today:

• I followed a link to “Watching the Digital Detectives: The Arrival of Next-Generation Legal Skills” written for the ABA Law Practice Today by Ernie Svenson of Ernie The Attorney
• The Alberta Government introduced Bill 16 Traffic Safety (Distracted Driving) Amendment Act, 2010

Ernie’s article (I will address him by first name since frequently reading his good stuff makes me feel like we are close friends) mentioned his experience with a class of law students he was presenting information to:

Almost all of them had a laptop in front of

. . . [more]

The Canadian Human Rights Commission recently posted a policy on its website concerning how it interprets and applies section 13 of the Canadian Human Rights Act (CHRA) when it receives an inquiry or complaint...

I happened to be looking at currency dates for a section of the Criminal Code today and saw a big bold New heading. To my glee the New heading prefaced a note about shading on the Department of Justice Laws website. The site has a new feature showing provisions that are not yet in force as shaded. Well done DOJ!

The frequently asked questions page describes it like so:

What does the shading of provisions mean?
A new feature has been added to the consolidated Laws on the Justice Laws Web site: provisions in original enactments that are not

. . . [more]

What is in a date? Well if it is April 1, people might think that you are kidding. There are some really funny items floating around the legal blogosphere today.

Why would a government ever make April 1 a coming into force date for legislation? What comes into force in Alberta today?

• Gunshot and Stab Wound Mandatory Disclosure Act (pdf)
• Sections 77 and 91 of the Alberta Land Stewardship Act (pdf)

April 1, 2007 was the in force date for the Fuel Tax Act. Sections 3 to 6, 12(a), 16 to 19, 21 to 23, 25, 31 and . . . [more]

On March 24, 2010, the Quebec government tabled in legislature Bill 94, An Act to establish guidelines governing accommodation requests within the administration and certain institutions, which received first reading that same day. The Bill would create rules on how departments or agencies of the government can provide reasonable accommodation to citizens, certain organizations and public servants. These departments and agencies include health agencies, schools, colleges and universities, and services from child care to nursing homes. To this end, the Bill defines the concept of accommodation, asserts that the government will make any compromise to respect the right to equality between women and men and the principle of religious neutrality of the state, and provides that an accommodation cannot be granted if it imposes an undue hardship on the government department or agency. If enacted, the Bill would come into force on proclamation.

The Toronto Association of Law Libraries (TALL) hosted a Publishers’ Forum at the University of Toronto Law School last week entitled “Free Access to Legislation: How Do They Do It?”

The meeting was well attended by TALL members.

Publishers making presentations to the forum included representatives for the Department of Justice Laws website, CanLII, the Legislative Assembly of Ontario website, and Ontario e-Laws.

All four of these sites and their developers are to be applauded. Although not necessarily the intent of the session, I came away with a better sense of appreciation for their hard work . . . [more]

Earlier today Marcia Ramírez spoke at Huron College (at the University of Western Ontario) about her pending suit against Copper Mesa Mining Corp., a Canadian mining company operating in her home in Ecuador. The plaintiffs claim that activists opposing the company there were threatened and assaulted.

You can read the statement of claim here (pdf), which requests damages against both Copper Mesa and the TSX. Earlier this year the TSX delisted the stock. The defendants are both requesting a dismissal motion.

The case is interesting given that Bill C-300 -An Act Respecting Corporate Accountability for the Activities of Mining, . . . [more]

Officials from the Conservative Party have reportedly announced today they will try Senate reform, again. The last two attempts failed due to the 2008 election and the prorogation.

In 2006, the Senate failed to pass Bill S-4: An Act to amend the Constitution Act, 1867, requesting reference from the Supreme Court of Canada on its constitutionality.

They key difference today? The Senate appointments earlier this year by the Conservatives give them a 51-49 majority in the upper house, using the existing system. The irony has not been lost on Canadians.

This move shouldn’t come as a surprise though to . . . [more]

This Week in Biotech was notable for the passage of comprehensive health reform legislation in the U.S. The bill will have major ramifications for coverage, cost, and insurance markets South of the 49th. It will also have global implications for biotech and pharma companies, shaping two major industry trends:

First, the bill includes a 12-year exclusivity period for new biologic drugs. The EU and Canada have chosen to provide only 6 years’ protection, as discussed in a post on Health Canada’s finalized Guidance Document this week. Because these drugs are complex to begin with, there is a high . . . [more]

In catching up on the news about the progress of the US health care bill, I was interested in the mix of media that provided the news. Notably, the Google News page on US House passes healthcare reform shows an interesting mix of media (click on image for a larger view):

In addition to news stories from a range of sources, I note the Barack Obama quote pulled out (was this automatically generated after being repeated by numerous sources?), and the time line with list of stories on the right. Scrolling further down on the page reveals additional related photos . . . [more]