Family
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March 27, 2026
Allegations of judicial bias face high evidentiary bar
In yet another high-conflict case, Eccles v. Eccles, 2025 ABCA 418, the Alberta Court of Appeal considered an appeal of a case management judge’s order, where the appellant mother sought to have the case management judge recuse himself on account of an alleged reasonable apprehension of bias.
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March 27, 2026
Is UFC ever coming to Toronto?
Anyone unfamiliar with the acronym “UFC” in Toronto’s family law world should be aware of the need for a Unified Family Court, not an Ultimate Fighting Championship. Although given the current state of access to justice, one could be forgiven for confusing the two.
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March 25, 2026
Ottawa & provinces roll out disparate views on the ‘notwithstanding’ clause at Supreme Court
Before the Supreme Court of Canada reserved its impending historic decision on March 26, the top court heard starkly different interpretations this week about the nature and operation of the Charter’s s. 33 “notwithstanding” clause.
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March 26, 2026
Ottawa introduces bill targeting foreign interference, deepfakes and long ballots
The Liberal government has introduced legislation aimed at protecting federal elections from foreign interference, cracking down on “long ballot” protest tactics and curbing election-related misinformation, according to a March 26 release.
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March 25, 2026
N.B. to increase public trustee’s ability to administer small estates
New Brunswick has introduced legislation that would widen the scope of its public trustee’s ability to deal with smaller estates.
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March 25, 2026
The joint expert playbook: Practical steps for counsel and a call to the bench
The first two parts of this series examined the framework under Rules 20.1 and 20.2, how courts have responded when the joint expert process breaks down, and the high bar for competing expert evidence. This final part turns to practice: structuring the retainer, managing the engagement, and how the bench can move financial disputes toward resolution.
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March 24, 2026
SCC judges probe what Charter s. 33 ‘override’ may mean for survival of Charter judicial review
The argument that a legislature’s use of the Charter’s s. 33 “override” clause can temporarily prevent judges from striking down a law but not from reviewing the law’s constitutionality or stating that the law infringes Charter rights and freedoms sparked a lively exchange between counsel and the bench as the Supreme Court of Canada kicked off its inquiry into the constitutionality of Quebec’s controversial “secularism” (Bill 21) law.
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March 24, 2026
The joint expert playbook: Why courts rarely let you walk away
The first part of this series examined what Rules 20.1 and 20.2 of the Family Law Rules require, when joint expert retainers make sense, and what Numair v. Numair and Zantingh v. Zantingh tell us about how courts respond when the process breaks down. This part picks up from that foundation: once a joint retainer is in place, courts set a high threshold before permitting competing expert evidence — and several well-worn failure modes can derail the engagement before the report is ever finalized.
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March 24, 2026
Generative AI not immune from potential legal action
The use of AI chatbots by self-represented litigants and lawyers has raised alarms in the justice system because the chatbots are prone either to hallucinate cases or to cite a legitimate case for a proposition which simply cannot be found in that case. With respect to lawyers, in general, the courts have awarded personal costs sanctions against them and are beginning to refer them for potential disciplinary penalties. A lawyer has a duty to not mislead a court.
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March 24, 2026
ABORIGINAL STATUS AND RIGHTS - Aboriginal persons - Indians - Registration - Indian Register - Entitlement to status
Appeal by Attorney General of Canada (Canada) from a decision allowing the respondents’ statutory appeal from the registrar’s refusal to register them under the Indian Act, 1985.