Family
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March 31, 2026
Tribunal ruling on First Nations child welfare system a ‘long-awaited milestone,’ minister says
In a letter decision, the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal has approved a deal between Ontario First Nations and the federal government, which will reform the First Nations Child and Family Services (FNCFS) Program in the province.
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March 31, 2026
How discretionary analysis can impact the granting of immigration benefits
Most foreign nationals who make applications to the U.S. government for immigration status expect that their applications will be approved. But many of those same foreign nationals do not know that even if they provide every page of required documents and answer every question on the forms to perfection, they may still be denied the benefit sought. That is because of the discretion afforded to officers who work for the U.S. government’s immigration-related agencies, including the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (USDHS) and U.S. Department of State (USDOS).
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March 30, 2026
PM launches process to select Justice Martin’s replacement on SCC bench
On March 30, Prime Minister Mark Carney launched the process to “select the next judge of the Supreme Court of Canada, who will fill the vacancy created by the upcoming retirement of Justice Sheilah L. Martin.”
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March 30, 2026
Parental alienation: My final word (for now)
My wife claims that in any argument, I always want the last word. Perhaps that is so as I find it almost impossible to leave the final word on Bill C-223 to my adversary (in this argument only) Rina Groeneveld. Please pardon the harshness of this response, but often I cannot help myself.
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March 30, 2026
OPC releases report on global privacy sweep of websites, apps used by children
The Privacy Commissioner of Canada, in cooperation with 26 data protection and privacy authorities from across the nation and around the world, has concluded a “global privacy sweep that highlights how child-friendly practices on websites and mobile applications can protect children’s privacy online.”
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March 30, 2026
Ottawa appoints 5 judges to courts across Ontario
The federal government has appointed five judges in Ontario, the Department of Justice has announced.
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March 30, 2026
Canada passes Bill C-12: Ottawa gains new authority over visas, asylum
Canada has enacted sweeping changes to its immigration and asylum system after the Strengthening Canada’s Immigration System and Borders Act (Bill C-12) received royal assent on March 26. The new law gives Ottawa broader powers to manage asylum claims, streamline processing and intervene in immigration programs when needed.
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March 30, 2026
MARITAL OR FAMILY PROPERTY - Equalization or division
Appeal by appellant from an order made dividing family property equally between himself and the respondent. The only issue on appeal concerned the judge’s conclusion that it would not be significantly unfair under s. 95 of the Family Law Act (FLA) to divide equally the increase in value, during the parties’ nearly five-year relationship, of two real properties that the appellant owned prior to the relationship.
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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.