[Jeff Rose-Martland is a writer and SRL from St. John’s, Newfoundland, and member of NSRLP’s Advisory Board.]

Envision a self-represented litigant. Did you get a picture of someone in court, poorly dressed, who doesn’t know what they are doing? I see that, and I am an SRL. The more-accurate mental image of a person at their dining table struggling with legal documents until the wee hours rarely comes to mind. Possibly because it’s draining to even consider, let alone do. In point of fact, a courtroom may not even be involved; there are a variety of circumstances that will turn . . . [more]

Each Wednesday we tell you which three English-language cases and which French-language case have been the most viewed* on CanLII and we give you a small sense of what the cases are about.

For this last week:

1. Canadian Thermo Windows Inc. v. Seangio, 2021 ONSC 6555

[74] The whole point of s. 137.1 is to prevent a plaintiff from inflicting substantial costs on defendants in order to chill their participation in expressions on matter of public interest. Without the stay under s. 137.1 (5), the full panoply of expensive procedural steps under the Rules of Civil Procedure would . . . [more]

Information on social media platforms can be an incredible source to keep track of rapidly evolving situations throughout the world. Particularly, when national governments control and manipulate all sources of information, social media can truly become the only unbiased and trustworthy source, especially for those of us following a situation from the outside. As a law librarian, I must also warn of the pitfalls of not properly vetting and evaluating both the source and information found on social media platforms. Making sure that the information you read and the sources you follow on social media are both reliable and legitimate . . . [more]

Here are excerpts from the most recent tips on SlawTips, the site that each week offers up useful advice, short and to the point, on practice, research, writing and technology.

Research & Writing

Keep Your Legal Research Up to Date With Alerts on Lexbox
Alex Tsang

For legal professionals working with a high volume of cases, it can be difficult to stay up to date with legal research for all of them. However, with the alert feature on Lexbox, it’s easy to keep track of changes to legal information on CanLII that is relevant to your field of work . . . [more]

INTRODUCTION

Law schools have a mixed relationship with the universities of which they are a part. Subject to the universities’ rules, law schools nevertheless also give the impression of having an “independent” status. In Nothing Less than Great: Reforming Canada’s Universities (“Nothing Less than Great“) (University of Toronto Press, 2021), Harvey P. Weingarten assesses the state of universities across (mostly) English-speaking Canada and makes general recommendations for reform. While he refers to law schools only in passing, much of what he has to say is relevant to the landscape of Ontario law schools and legal education. Here I . . . [more]

Members of the public who are uninitiated with the legal system in Canada are often confused when they encounter administrative law for the first time. The widely-recognized strengths of administrative tribunals, their flexibility and expediency, is often only possible because they discard some elements of formality and rigid procedure.

The relationship between reviewing courts and administrative tribunals is also constantly evolving. The Supreme Court of Canada in National Corn Growers Assn. v. Canada (Import Tribunal) resisted in 1990 an approach where courts would substitute the opinion over that of an administrative tribunal’s interpretation of a legislative provision, preferring greater curial . . . [more]

Every week we present the summary of a decision handed down by a Québec court provided to us by SOQUIJ and considered to be of interest to our readers throughout Canada. SOQUIJ is attached to the Québec Department of Justice and collects, analyzes, enriches, and disseminates legal information in Québec.

PÉNAL (DROIT) : Le tribunal rejette la requête de l’accusé visant la constitution d’un jury adéquatement vacciné contre la COVID-19.

Intitulé : R. c. Bissonnette, 2021 QCCS 3856
Juridiction : Cour supérieure (C.S.), Montréal
Décision de : Juge Mario Longpré
Date : 13 septembre 2021

Résumé

PÉNAL (DROIT) — procédure . . . [more]

Each Friday, we share the latest job listings from Slaw Jobs, which features employment opportunities from across the country. Find out more about these positions by following the links below, or learn how you can use Slaw Jobs to gain valuable exposure for your job ads, while supporting the great Canadian legal commentary at Slaw.ca.

Current postings on Slaw Jobs:

• Articling Student 2022-2023 (Full-time) | Abbotsford, BC
  (Waterstone Law Group)
• Legal Assistant/Paralegal–Real Estate (Full-time) | Abbotsford, BC
  (Waterstone Law Group)
• Senior Conveyancer (Full-time) | Chilliwack, BC
  (Waterstone Law Group)
• Corporate Services LAA/Paralegal (Full-time) | Abbotsford, BC
  (Waterstone Law Group)
• Senior

I am always on the lookout for innovative ways that libraries have found to create great stories about complex legal or historical issues that have many moving parts.

This one is quite remarkable: the Leddy Library at the University of Windsor has created a site that tells the story of the Missing Children of Indian Residential Schools using maps.

This intereactive visual representation of the residential school locations across Canada uses data from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission report to document the experience:

“The recent discoveries of more than 1,700 unmarked graves at the sites of former residential schools in

Periodically on Thursdays, we present a significant excerpt, usually from a recently published book or journal article. In every case the proper permissions have been obtained. If you are a publisher who would like to participate in this feature, please let us know via the site’s contact form.

No Legal Way Out: R v Ryan, Domestic Abuse, and the Defence of Duress

Author: Nadia Verrelli and Lori Chambers
ISBN: 9780774838092
Publisher: UBC Press
Series: Landmark Cases in Canadian Law
Page Count: 208
Publication Date: August 2021
Regular Price: $27.95 (paperback) | Series subscriber price: $22.00

Excerpt: From the Introduction. . . . [more]

“Should they really be allowed to put up that building there?!” Land development is controversial, especially in areas that are growing quickly. As someone who is running for office in one such area, I have heard quite a bit about these issues from voters.

The issues are seldom black and white. Land-owners tout the economic and social benefits of building more of the homes and workplaces that the market demands. Local residents respond with their own compelling arguments, often involving the preservation of neighbourhood character, and avoiding undue strain on infrastructure and local services. In some cases, a proposal . . . [more]