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BC declared a health care emergency in April 2016 because thousands of residents had died of increasingly toxic illicit drugs. The BC government studied the problem and solutions in great detail. A major Death Panel Report to the BC Coroner updated in 2022 examined the deaths. Studies recommended evidence-based steps to reduce deaths from overdose…

Ontario’s new drug policy will close many supervised consumption sites in Ontario. The Community Care and Recovery Act, 2024 prohibits safe consumption sites from operating within 200 metres of schools and daycare centres…

In the aftermath of R v Sullivan and R v Brown, both the legal profession and the wider public have struggled to reconcile cases in which violent acts are committed involuntarily. Legislation and jurisprudence relating to intoxication, mental state, and criminal culpability has faced heightened scrutiny, as Canadians attempt to balance competing principles of fairness […]

The past three years have seen the introduction and implementation of significant family law reforms to the ″Divorce Act″, and a number of provincial acts, with many amendments focused on family violence. Since then, case law has continued to evolve across the country, providing interpretations on what constitutes family violence and highlighting the importance of […]

The SCC recently decided three cases interpreting historic and modern treaty promises to aid in the reconciliation of Indigenous and non-Indigenous people. I wrote about two of these…

The Supreme Court of Canada recently confirmed that individuals may bring actions under s. 24 of the Charter for damages flowing from unconstitutional legislation. The Court’s decision in AG Canada v Power upholds a decades-old principle established in Mackin…

As part of our 48th Annual Conference on Families and the Law, which will take place from October 9 to 11 in Winnipeg, a panel will be dedicated to the Challenges of Consent and Decision-Making for Gender-Diverse Children and Families. In light of recent provincial policies concerning gender-diverse students, this panel will examine the legal, […]

The panel “Indigenous Family Law Governance and Child Protection,” part of the 48th Annual Conference on Families and the Law hosted by CIAJ, offers a unique opportunity to delve into recent developments in Indigenous governance over child and family services. With the long-awaited Supreme Court decision affirming the constitutionality of the Act respecting First Nations, […]

With a career spanning over three decades, Susan E. Guthrie has emerged as one of the most influential voices in family law and mediation, transforming her expertise into a force for innovation. By integrating innovative technologies into legal practice, she not only helps professionals navigate an ever-changing landscape but also enlightens the public on novel […]

Although reforms have been recently undertaken, family law professionals in Canada are well aware that our current laws do not fully meet the needs of families, and can even cause more harm than good. The Action Committee on Access to Justice’s 2013 report on family justice reform [Family Justice Working Group of the Action Committee […]