Family

  • June 19, 2026

    Ottawa mulls Charter issues as joint committee proposes ban ‘indefinitely’ on MAID for mentally ill

    The federal government has been advised by the majority of a 17-member parliamentary special committee to amend the Criminal Code to “indefinitely” bar access to medical assistance in dying (MAID) to persons suffering solely from mental illness, with the Bloc Québécois and three dissenting senators recommending that the government direct a reference to the Supreme Court of Canada to clarify the applicable law.

  • June 19, 2026

    When zealous advocacy in family court becomes evidence: Litigation abuse after Ahluwalia

    The commentary on Ahluwalia v. Ahluwalia, 2026 SCC 16, has run almost entirely in one direction. Damages, intake methodology, and sequencing alongside the family file: the conversation has been about how plaintiffs can use the new tort of intimate partner violence to sue their ex and claim damages.

  • June 17, 2026

    How electronic court filing went from bad to worse

    How on earth can a court system manage to become even less efficient after moving from paper filing to online?

  • June 17, 2026

    Ontario appeal on Indigenous child class action dismissal allows 4 interveners

    Four mainly First Nations organizations were granted leave to intervene in a proposed class proceeding in September by Ontario Court of Appeal Justice Lise Favreau in a ruling released on June 12. In B.M. v. Ontario, 2026 ONCA 422, Justice Favreau said the Anishinabek Nation, the British Columbia Civil Liberties Association (BCCLA), the Chiefs of Ontario and the Nishnawbe Aski Nation will be able to participate as friends of the court in an appeal of a motion judge’s decision to dismiss a claim as a class proceeding.

  • June 17, 2026

    IRCC updates crisis-response processing instructions

    On June 9, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) updated its Program Delivery Instructions (PDIs) for in-Canada temporary special measures related to Haiti, Palestine, Sudan and Ukraine: Program delivery update: Crisis Response Temporary Measures.

  • June 17, 2026

    Active listening: A tool for lawyers

    Used by hostage negotiators, journalists, mediators and others, active listening provides a shortcut to developing trust and understanding between people. For lawyers, its application is professionally significant: those who listen actively stand to develop stronger client relationships, gain clearer insight into client needs and are better positioned to provide effective representation.

  • June 16, 2026

    Richard Fyfe appointed to Saskatchewan Court of King’s Bench

    The federal government has appointed Richard J. Fyfe as a judge of the Court of King’s Bench for Saskatchewan, Family Law Division, in Regina.

  • June 15, 2026

    Saskatchewan Court of Appeal says leave ruling didn’t settle tax dispute

    This Saskatchewan Court of Appeal decision (Souris Valley Lodging Inc. v. Edenwold No. 158 (Rural Municipality), [2026] S.J. No. 120) deals with issues relating to municipal law and the methods of assessment, finance and taxation of real and immovable property assessment. Two decisions were appealed by Souris Valley Lodging Inc. that arose from 2021 and 2022 assessment by the Saskatchewan Assessment Management Agency (SAMA) on two hotel properties.

  • June 12, 2026

    Ahluwalia: More on understanding, identifying and proving coercive control

    Based on the factual findings of the trial judge in Ahluwalia v. Ahluwalia, 2022 ONSC 1303, there was overwhelming evidence in that case that the wife was the victim of a long-term pattern of physical and psychological abuse and financial control that constituted coercive control, causing her significant long-term harm.

  • June 12, 2026

    Juridogenic harm: Why Canada’s justice system must radically reimagine sexual assault proceedings

    When a survivor of sexual violence steps forward to engage with the criminal justice system, they do so under the comforting myth of state neutrality — the belief that the law exists to heal a breach, discover the truth and deliver accountability. Yet, for decades, feminist legal scholarship and the lived realities of survivors have told a radically different story.