Canada’s online legal magazine.

Law Librarian Salaries

The Canadian Association of Law Libraries and the Toronto Association of Law Libraries conducted a joint salary survey in 2018. The results are available on the CALL/ACBD website under Publications or from this link.

Earlier editions of a CALL/ACBD salary survey are also published and available.

My opinion: anytime you hire a law librarian you are getting plenty of expertise (most respondents had a ton of education), personal investment (lots of respondents with a ton of time with their current employer), and law librarians when compared to say, a first-year associate, don’t cost much at all (2013 average law . . . [more]

Posted in: Legal Information: Libraries & Research

A Step Towards the New NAFTA, Part 1: End Game or a Cease Fire?

On May 17, 2019, Canada and the United States announced the settlement of the cross-border steel and aluminum trade conflict. Both countries agreed to eliminate tariffs on their cross-border trade in steel and aluminum products. Mexico and the United States also settled the issue in the same way–with the reciprocal elimination of the tariffs.

We recall that in spite of the then-ongoing NAFTA re-negotiations, the Trump Administration imposed tariffs on steel and aluminum imports of 25% and 10%, respectively, from Canada in June 2018. This action was pursuant to section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962 on the . . . [more]

Posted in: Administrative Law

Tips Tuesday

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

Use CanLII to Confirm Citations
Susannah Tredwell

At work we are frequently asked how to cite a source using the McGill Guide. While most questions are fairly easy (“how do I cite Delgamuukw?”) the McGill Guide doesn’t always have an answer, e.g. “how do I cite an unreported tribunal decision?” or “how do I cite a type of government document [that isn’t listed in McGill]?”

Practice . . . [more]

Posted in: Tips Tuesday

Monday’s Mix

Each Monday we present brief excerpts of recent posts from five of Canada’s award­-winning legal blogs chosen at random* from more than 80 recent Clawbie winners. In this way we hope to promote their work, with their permission, to as wide an audience as possible.

This week the randomly selected blogs are 1. Susan On The Soapbox 2. Double Aspect 3. The Factum 4. Civil Resolution Tribunal blog 5. ABlawg.ca

Susan On The Soapbox
Mr Kenney’s Laundry List

In a manner befitting the serious business of governing, the Alberta UCP caucus celebrated the end of the spring session by jumping

. . . [more]
Posted in: Monday’s Mix

My Horse for a Civilization: Regulating Carbon Emissions and Emergence of Climate Change Law

A century ago, Western civilization was still extensively using domesticated animals, specifically the horse, as one of the main means of transportation. Though domesticated for at least 6,000 years, this animal provided an invaluable means for people, goods, and services to move throughout North America, especially in inland areas away from shipping routes.

As could be expected, the common law at the time contained ample number of decisions that related to horses or incidents connected to horses. The horse was a central piece of technology that enabled civilization. Of course, all of that changed with the introduction of the Model . . . [more]

Posted in: Substantive Law: Judicial Decisions, Technology

Summaries Sunday: Supreme Advocacy

One Sunday each month we bring you a summary from Supreme Advocacy LLP of recent decisions at the Supreme Court of Canada. Supreme Advocacy LLP offers a weekly electronic newsletter, Supreme Advocacy Letter, to which you may subscribe. It’s a summary of all appeals as well as leaves to appeal granted so you will know what the SCC will soon be dealing with (June 21 to July 11, 2019 inclusive).

Appeals

Criminal Law: Complainant’s Sexual Activity
R. v. Goldfinch, 2019 SCC 38 (38270)

To be admissible, relationship evidence that implies sexual activity must satisfy requirements of s. 276 . . . [more]

Posted in: Summaries Sunday

Summaries Sunday: SOQUIJ

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.

TRAVAIL : L’employeur, qui exploite un restaurant, a été condamné à payer à une salariée une indemnité de 26 000 $ à titre de dommages moraux et punitifs en raison du harcèlement sexuel qu’il a exercé à son endroit; il s’agit d’un message clair envoyé par le Tribunal afin de . . . [more]

Posted in: Summaries Sunday

Law Library of Congress Report on Regulation of Artificial Intelligence

The Law Library of Congress in Washington, D.C. has released a report on the Regulation of Artificial Intelligence that looks at AI regulation and policy in jurisdictions around the world.

It was written in January and published on the Library’s website recently:

“This report examines the emerging regulatory and policy landscape surrounding artificial intelligence (AI) in jurisdictions around the world and in the European Union (EU). In addition, a survey of international organizations describes the approach that United Nations (UN) agencies and regional organizations have taken towards AI. As the regulation of AI is still in its infancy, guidelines, ethics

. . . [more]
Posted in: Legal Information: Libraries & Research, Substantive Law: Foreign Law

Parenting Coordination Unboxed and Repurposed

Parenting coordination was first developed in California in the 1980s as a response to family law cases characterized by elevated levels of conflict and repeated trips to court. The Special Master Program, as it was then known, was established to help parents resolve ongoing child-related disputes through a combination of consensus-building and decision-making, steering parents away from court and providing a more holistic, balanced alternative to the conflict and expense of adversarial court processes.

Under this program, parents were referred to mental health professionals who sought to resolve parenting disputes through mediation but, if mediation failed, were empowered to resolve . . . [more]

Posted in: Justice Issues, Practice of Law

Friday Jobs Roundup

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 (newest first):

. . . [more]
Posted in: Friday Jobs Roundup

How Can We Talk About It?

We urgently need to figure out how to talk about justice systems at the highest political level. As I have said before in this column: globally, justice systems are not delivering. Read the report of the Task Force on Justice. We need to make them better. That requires a new type of justice leadership and a new way of talking.

On 19 and 20 June the ministers of justice of the G7+ met for two days in The Hague. The fact that they met made me rejoice. You can’t have enough ministers of justice sharing experiences and getting . . . [more]

Posted in: Justice Issues, Practice of Law

Northwest Territories Upcoming Statutory Leave Changes

On May 29, 2019, the Northwest Territories tabled Bill 57, An Act to Amend the Employment Standards Act to align with recent changes to certain statutory leaves in the Canada Labour Code and the Employment Insurance Act, as well as to update certain provisions of the Employment Standards Act to better protect Northwest Territories workers. . . . [more]

Posted in: Practice of Law, Practice of Law: Practice Management, Substantive Law, Substantive Law: Legislation

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