Family
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April 09, 2024
Federal Court approves estimated $817M settlement in veterans’ disability benefits class action
The Federal Court has approved a settlement agreement of up to $817 million regarding a class action concerning the underpayment of certain disability benefits administered by Veterans Affairs Canada (VAC).
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April 09, 2024
Yukon gets feedback on sex assault response team
Sex assault victims and other “stakeholders” in Yukon are calling on the territory’s government to boost the promotion of victim resources, increase the number of safe houses and develop a “clear policy” for the use of evidence collection kits. These are just a few recommendations made to the Yukon government after it had requested feedback on plans to expand its Sexualized Assault Response Team (SART) to rural communities within the territory.
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April 09, 2024
Two new judges appointed to B.C. court
British Columbia appointed Mandy Klein and Sabena Thompson to the provincial court, a news release from the Ministry of the Attorney General announced.
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April 09, 2024
Importance of proper execution of domestic contracts under Ontario’s Family Law Act
The impact of COVID has facilitated the lives of family law practitioners. We dress casually if and when we go to the office, only putting on a jacket and tie for court Zoom appearances. No longer do we have to engage process servers to wait in endless court lines to file court materials — this is now done electronically through CaseLines. Often, we do not meet our clients in person, preferring the flexibility and informality of office meetings via the Internet. The transition in practice over the past four years has been remarkable.
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April 08, 2024
N.S. Appeal Court releases annual report, 2023
Around a third of those appearing before Nova Scotia’s top court last year were self-represented — an increase from the year before. This is just one of the stats detailed in the Nova Scotia Court of Appeal Annual Report for 2023. Released on April 2, this is the court’s second update of its kind.
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April 08, 2024
MARITAL OR FAMILY PROPERTY — Equalization or division — Contribution of parties — Pensions and investments
Appeal by wife from decision of trial judge to divide pension equally between her and husband and from dismissal of her claim for retroactive child support. On the pension issue, the wife argued that the pension should be valued only to the date of separation as she was the only one who contributed to the pension following their separation.
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April 05, 2024
Family violence takes centre stage in mother’s successful appeal
With the introduction of family violence provisions in British Columbia’s Family Law Act in 2013 and the recent amendments to the Divorce Act, domestic violence is no longer a taboo subject in family law proceedings, no longer swept under the rug and ignored in favour of a focus on financial issues.
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April 05, 2024
MARITAL OR FAMILY PROPERTY — Equalization or division — Conduct of parties — Generation of debt — Financial disclosure
Appeal by wife from a portion of trial judge's order requiring her to make equalization payment to husband. The wife argued that the trial judge erred in ordering an equalization payment in favour of the husband in the uncontested trial, where the husband made no financial disclosure at any point in the proceedings, and never made a request for equalization.
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April 05, 2024
Jewish community challenges Ottawa’s ‘grotesque’ decision to resume funding UNRWA’s aid in Gaza
Jewish Canadians have asked the Federal Court to quash Ottawa’s decision last month to reinstate funding to UNRWA, the largest humanitarian relief agency in the Gaza Strip, alleging that the federal government’s “unreasonable” decision “flies in the face of Canada’s own anti-terrorism provisions” and “Canadian values” in light of UNRWA’s track record of anti-Jewish and anti-Israel activities and evidence that some UNRWA workers took part in the Hamas-led terror attacks in Israel last October.
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April 05, 2024
P.E.I. increases legal aid eligibility thresholds
In a bid to boost access to justice for struggling residents, Prince Edward Island is raising its thresholds for legal aid eligibility. On March 28, P.E.I.’s government announced that the annual income thresholds would increase to match “market basket measure” (MBM), a move it hopes will “more fairly represent the economic landscape and improve access to justice across the Island.”