Family

  • September 14, 2026

    B.C. updates court rules for civil, family chambers applications

    New rules are coming to the B.C. Supreme Court for civil and family applications, creating more opportunities for disputes to be resolved earlier without going to court. The changes will take effect Oct. 1.

  • September 14, 2026

    No-fault divorce? Not anymore

    Osgoode Professional Development is now offering a program for family lawyers arising from the recent decision in Ahluwalia v. Ahluwalia, 2026 SCC 16. The advertisement trumpets “tort claims are the new frontier in family law.” Does that worry you? It does me.

  • September 11, 2026

    Court is not in the best interests of children

    I am going to make an argument that will sound sarcastic. It is not. I mean every word of it.

  • September 10, 2026

    What a shooting in B.C. can teach us about pricing pain and suffering after Ahluwalia

    Since the Supreme Court of Canada released Ahluwalia v. Ahluwalia, 2026 SCC 16 on May 15, 2026, the question — asked by clients, lawyers, mediators and judges — is no longer whether a survivor of intimate partner violence (IPV) can sue. That is settled. The harder three questions are: What is pain worth? How much should I ask for? How do I prove it?

  • September 10, 2026

    Two ways to improve court efficiency without artificial intelligence

    Artificial intelligence is now part of almost every conversation about court efficiency. Those conversations are worthwhile and should continue, and I have no doubt that there is an appropriate place for AI in court operations nationwide. But while that work goes on, it is worth asking what else could make our courts run better using what we already have.

  • September 09, 2026

    Moving beyond the hallmarks of undue influence: Buffa v. Giacomelli

    Undue influence is a legal principle that addresses circumstances where someone coerces another to make a decision. A finding of undue influence allows the court to invalidate transfers of property, the execution of wills, or powers of attorney, on the basis that they were not the product of the executor, transferor, or grantor’s free will.

  • September 08, 2026

    Federal judges’ legal tab so far tops $1M as they take constitutional pay dispute to court

    Ottawa has agreed that the federal judiciary reasonably incurred more than $1 million in legal fees and disbursements to participate in the independent quadrennial process that is meant to depoliticize determinations of federal judicial remuneration and avoid pay disputes.

  • September 04, 2026

    Denial of EI to mothers laid off around maternity, parental leave unconstitutional: court

    Employment insurance rules that deny regular benefits to women who lose their jobs shortly before, during or after maternity and parental leave violate the Charter’s equality guarantee, the Federal Court of Appeal has ruled.

  • September 04, 2026

    Sullivan Mahoney expands team with 3 new associates

    Sullivan Mahoney LLP has welcomed Evan B. Alderman, Gabriel D. Costantini and Robert Kim as associates. The firm has offices in St. Catharines and Niagara Falls, Ont.

  • September 04, 2026

    No need to turn disagreement into a political indictment of judge

    Criticizing judges is not wrong. Indeed, criticism of judicial decisions is an important part of a free society. Judges are not infallible, and their reasons are properly subject to scrutiny by lawyers, academics, journalists and the public.