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) : L’arrêt des procédures contre l’ex-juge Jacques Delisle, prononcé en raison de la preuve perdue, est annulé puisque cette réparation est trop draconienne.

Intitulé : R. c. Delisle, 2023 QCCA 1096
Juridiction : Cour d’appel (C.A.), Québec
Décision de : Juges Martin Vauclair, Guy Cournoyer et Sophie Lavallée . . . [more]

Hugh Stephens, a Canadian policy and business consultant, has a new book out In Defense of Copyright. In advance of its release, he did a column on July 15th in the Globe and Mail, “Why Canada Needs Copyright Reform Now,” calling on the government to update the Copyright Act after more than a decade of reviews and proposals. I couldn’t be more supportive of both defending and updating copyright. Now does seem to be the time, and all the more so with Prime Minister Trudeau declaring that his midsummer cabinet shake up was intended to create “the . . . [more]

As the cost of living rises in communities throughout BC (like everywhere in Canada), more and more British Columbians find themselves contending with acute forms of financial strain, housing insecurity, relationship breakdown, and other poverty-rooted hardships. The demand for pro bono and legal aid services has never been higher.

Pro Bono Going Public is Access Pro Bono BC’s big annual service and fundraising event that helps the organization serve as much client demand as possible. The free legal “advice-a-thon” event runs for three weeks (Monday to Friday) from September 5 to 29. Volunteer lawyers provide free legal advice in hour-long . . . [more]

Written by Daniel Standing, LL.B., Content Editor, First Reference Inc.

An apology can be the difference-maker pointing toward rehabilitative potential, but in the worst misconduct cases, it’ll take more than an a simple mea culpa for an employee to get back their foot back in the door for another chance. Take the recent case of 2023 CanLII 77866 (ON LA), for example. Although the supervisor in that case sought reinstatement and apologized, his actions and other things he said told the opposite story. There are several nuggets of wisdom for employers in this case that touch on the value . . . [more]

I hope you have been having a memorable summer. I have been pleasantly surprised by how many of my family and friends have come through and near Milwaukee. We are gearing up for the first Republican debates to be held here on August 23^rd. This debate in Milwaukee is only the first Republican debate of the 2024 presidential election cycle. Then the Republican Convention will be held here from July 15-18, 2024. That should make next summer very interesting.

Since my last post there have been more research updates from the awesome librarians at the Law Library of . . . [more]

Communicating with clients can be difficult, especially when you are trying to convey your legal opinion to them. When I first started writing opinions, I had a tendency to write a lot and try to explain every detail to the client. This often resulted in lengthy opinions that weren’t accessible for the client. A tip that was given to me by a mentor was to think about what the most important part of the opinion or letter was, then focus on getting that piece of information to the client as soon as possible, ideally on the first page.

If the . . . [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.

FAILLITE ET INSOLVABILITÉ : Le syndic de faillite ne peut demander le partage de la résidence familiale détenue en copropriété indivise par le débiteur et son épouse, car ce dernier n’a pas lui-même le droit de mettre fin à l’indivision en vertu de l’article 1030 C.C.Q.; ainsi, le syndic est . . . [more]

By: Jennifer Koshan and Deanne Sowter, cross-posted to Ablawg.ca

Case Commented On: Ahluwalia v Ahluwalia, 2022 ONSC 1303 (Can LII); 2023 ONCA 476 (CanLII)

Intimate partner violence (IPV) takes many forms, all of which cause harm to survivors (who are disproportionately women and children). In August, the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada declared that gender-based violence is an epidemic. However, only certain forms of IPV were subject to legal sanction historically – primarily physical and sexual abuse, although sexual assault against a spouse was only criminalized in 1983 (see Criminal Code, RSC 1985, . . . [more]

Written by Daniel Standing LL.B., Content Editor, First Reference Inc.

If there’s a main lesson in 2022 BCHRT 129 (CanLII), it’s to use a person’s name instead of animals and colours when referring to them. The reason? When racial slurs are issued at work, the buck stops with the employer, who could find itself vicariously liable along with the perpetrator employee for discriminatory practices The case also presents a best practice for employers who may be able to limit their liability with a rapid and effective investigation. . . . [more]

This submission is part of a column swap with the American Association of Law Libraries (AALL) bimonthly member magazine, AALL Spectrum. Published six times a year, AALL Spectrum is designed to further professional development and education within the legal information industry. Slaw and the AALL Spectrum board have agreed to hand-select several columns each year as part of this exchange. 

Wouldn’t it be great if there were a worldwide, standard taxonomy—adopted by all major vendors, firms, and clients—to make legal data interoperable? Well, happily for us all, just such a taxonomy exists. It’s called SALI. And this standard taxonomy/ontology . . . [more]

Several times each month, we are pleased to republish a recent book review from the Canadian Law Library Review (CLLR). CLLR is the official journal of the Canadian Association of Law Libraries (CALL/ACBD), and its reviews cover both practice-oriented and academic publications related to the law.

Troubling Truth and Reconciliation in Canadian Education: Critical Perspectives. Edited by Sandra D. Styres & Arlo Kempf. Edmonton, Amiskwacîwâskahican, Treaty 6, Métis Territory: University of Alberta Press, 2022. xxv, 302 p. Includes biographical references. ISBN 9781772126006 (softcover) $46.99; ISBN 9781772126181 (ePUB) $46.99; ISBN 9781772126198 (PDF) $46.99. <uap.ualberta.ca>.

Reviewed by Ann . . . [more]