While companion animals are still property under B.C.’s new family law statute, they now have an elevated status above bare property like a toaster ..read more

In family law, parental abduction cases are among the most complex. Not only do they invoke all the customary concerns — such as the best interests of the child, parenting time, and access rights — they do so against the background of numerous added issues. These include the parties’ residency, the courts’ extraterritorial jurisdiction, conflict-of-laws principles, and even the impact of the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction ..read more

The minority Liberal government says it hopes to expedite into law a newly proposed 660-page omnibus budget bill, which would enact many measures announced in this month’s federal budget, but not the government’s controversial proposal to tax capital gains at a higher rate ..read more

On Jan. 1, 2022, section 43.1 of the Succession Law Reform Act (SLRA) came into force, which revoked separated spouses’ intestate inheritance rights to their deceased spouse’s estate. In summary, under s. 43.1, a spouse who is separated from a decedent at the time of the decedent’s death can no longer claim a preferential share in their estate in the event of an intestacy ..read more

Parental alienation theory is built on gendered myths, is not supported by credible science and is impossible to verify or falsify based on objective, science-backed criteria. The National Association of Women and the Law and 250 other feminist organizations in Canada are calling for an end to using this flawed concept in family law ..read more

As we round up Stress Awareness Month, it serves as a crucial reminder of the importance of addressing workplace stress to promote employee well-being. Typically, most people’s impression of workplace health and safety revolves around physical safety measures like high-visibility vests and hard hats, but there is a significant aspect of health and safety that deals with mental well-being, which is equally important ..read more

As we discussed in the first article in this two-part series, the legal complexities surrounding Medical Assistance in Dying (MAiD) have been brought to the forefront in the case of W.V. v M.V., 2024 ABKB 174, opined by Justice Colin C.J. Feasby. This article continues the discussion ..read more

Parental estrangement, particularly when a child distances themselves from one parent, can have profound and lasting psychological effects. The absence of a parent in a child’s life can lead to a myriad of emotional, social and psychological challenges that persist well into adulthood ..read more

The British Columbia Supreme Court has partially stayed a proposed class action against Canada that concerned the '60s Scoop for not complying with a settlement and being duplicative of another class action ..read more

In the name of protecting the public, Ontario’s law society has made it so lawyers in private practice will be required to have a client contingency plan should they unexpectedly have to stop providing legal services, and new sole practitioners will face possible suspension for not completing a “practice essentials course.”   ..read more