Family
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February 12, 2026
‘Distemper of our times’ calls for judges to balance restraint with principled ‘bold action’: CJ Joyal
“Bold” but “properly calibrated” judicial action, rather than reflexive judicial reticence and reserve, is sometimes necessary to preserve public confidence in the justice system — a confidence on which the foundational principle of judicial independence depends, says Manitoba Court of King’s Bench Chief Justice Glenn Joyal.
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February 12, 2026
Manitoba supporting projects protecting women, gender-diverse people
Manitoba’s government is furthering its efforts to protect women and gender-diverse residents from violence through its funding of a recently launched community program.
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February 12, 2026
Ontario Court of Appeal calling for papers to honour late Justice Bertha Wilson
The Ontario Court of Appeal is calling for papers to mark the 50th anniversary of the late Bertha Wilson’s appointment to the court as part of a symposium honouring the woman who went on to become Canada’s first female Supreme Court justice.
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February 11, 2026
MARITAL OR FAMILY PROPERTY - Asset types - Business, commercial or non-family assets - Equalization or division
Appeal by the appellant from trial judgment ordering unequal division of property and support order in a family law case. The parties agreed to equal division of much of their family property, except for the increase in value of the shares of some companies through which the respondent ran his businesses.
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February 10, 2026
Why family mediation/arbitration beats courtroom drama
Back in the old days, lawyers and clients thought “going to family court” was a sensible choice for separating spouses. Clients hired lawyers, exchanged court documents, filed motions, spent months fighting about disclosure and interim orders and drafted plenty of briefs. Clients dutifully paid their bills … for two to five years, and for tens and hundreds of thousands of dollars.
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February 09, 2026
The Friendly Bar Series, No. 15: What happens when a snowplow and a retainer walk into a bar? It depends
So, there comes a moment in practice when a lawyer realizes that most client anxiety does not arise from the law itself. It comes from not knowing what is about to happen, how bad it will be and whether anyone is pretending otherwise.
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February 06, 2026
B.C. launches free platform for virtual court services help
B.C. has introduced a new centralized virtual counter service for people to receive free help and advice in navigating the court system from anywhere in the province.
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February 06, 2026
Twice as good for a quarter as much: Are fathers held to a higher standard in family court?
My friend Jason asked me — casually, the way people do when they are pretending they are not carrying a question around like a stone in their pocket — “Hodine, why I don’t write an article about women having more rights in family court.” He didn’t ask it like an accusation. He didn’t frame it as an argument. He asked it the way people ask things they’ve heard too many times to ignore.
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February 05, 2026
The Trump immigration ‘Gold Card’: What we know, what we don’t
For high-net-worth persons, a blossoming opportunity has sprung to the surface to obtain U.S. permanent residence by signing over a lot of money to the U.S. government without having to prove or demonstrate skills, education, a job offer or a qualifying family relationship to a U.S. citizen.
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February 04, 2026
Alberta seeking greater role in judicial appointments, threatens to withhold funding for judges
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith is asking the federal government for a greater say in judicial appointments and has threatened to withdraw funding to support any new judicial appointments in the province unless a more collaborative process is set up. In an open letter to Prime Minister Mark Carney, Smith also said Ottawa needs to relax bilingualism requirements for judicial appointments “that do not reflect Canada’s broader linguistic diversity in Western Canada and alienates Albertans and western Canadians alike.”