May 04, 2026
Let’s start with the burdens of proof in the 2021 amendments which I discussed in my October 2025 article (“Bill C-223: Bad ideas on child relocation”). The burdens of proof are intended to give structure to the analysis of the best interests of the child, based upon what we do and don’t know about the impact of relocation upon children.
May 04, 2026
First-year property law, 1988. Two hundred students. I could feel the energy in the room of young people excited to have made it into UBC law school. Professor Tod enters and slams the door. Walks over to the podium and scans the room while saying, “All title is vested in the Crown.” I felt like he was looking directly at me or even searching for visibly First Nation students as if to say, “We will not be tolerating any uppity Indians in this course!”
May 04, 2026
Roughly every four years, voters elect a government and grant it significant powers and responsibilities. But winning an election does not mean one has been given carte blanche to act as they see fit until the next election. Governments must exercise public power in accordance with the Constitution, and voters have the right to know how elected officials are using this power. Ontario’s rushed amendments to freedom of information and privacy laws enacted a few days ago through the government’s Bill 97, Plan to Protect Ontario Act (Budget Measures), 2026 directly attack both of these fundamental democratic principles.
May 01, 2026
The Supreme Court of Canada has confirmed there was an unjustified infringement on Quebec residents’ voting rights due to a law that interrupts the process of determining electoral boundaries.
May 01, 2026
I wrote about Bill C-223’s proposed relocation changes in October 2025 (“Bill C-223: Bad ideas on child relocation”). Law360 Canada published a two-part defence of the bill by Suzanne Zaccour and Joanne Moser on April 22-23, 2026 (“Relocation law is stacked against mothers — Bill C-223 can fix it”; “Relocation law is stacked against mothers — Bill C-223 can fix it: Addressing bias”). Zaccour is one of the architects of the bill, in her role at the National Association of Women and the Law (NAWL).
April 30, 2026
British Columbia is expanding its early resolution process for family law matters to 35 additional provincial court locations, aiming to help more families resolve disputes outside of court and reduce pressure on the court system.
April 30, 2026
Saskatchewan is investing more than $1 million in restorative justice programs for schools in a bid to tackle bullying and other types of student “conflict.”
April 29, 2026
Michael Morris was convicted of sexual assault, sexual interference and invitation to sexual touching by a jury in 2023. He was sentenced to 1,816 days (just short of five years, with credit for pretrial custody) in a penitentiary, plus ancillary orders.
April 29, 2026
After reading rebuttals from Russell Alexander, Gary Joseph, Roslyn Tsao and Aaron Franks to my article on the recent return to in-person motions in Toronto’s family court, “The Zoom paradox: When a judge’s words and his court’s actions collide,” I have been moved.
April 29, 2026
On what basis can an officer and director of a corporation be held personally liable when the business they run breaks the law? Benjamin Mossman was a businessman who was personally charged with infractions incurred by the company he ran.