Family

  • January 06, 2026

    Green card steps for employees: How to prepare before filing

    Filing for a green card is an important step when planning to work in the U.S., and engaging in preparation in advance will help the process progress smoothly and minimize the stress of it.

  • January 06, 2026

    Ontario Civil Rules Review working group calls for expansion of mandatory mediation

    The Civil Rules Review (CRR) was launched in 2024 as a joint initiative of the chief justice of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice and the province’s Attorney General. The CRR’s mandate was to propose wholesale reforms to the Rules of Civil Procedure (the Rules), which were last overhauled in 1985, so that the civil justice system is more accessible and to reduce costs and delays.

  • December 24, 2025

    Spousal green cards for out-of-status applicants

    In the U.S. today, there are thousands and perhaps millions of people currently without status — a situation that is becoming problematic now that the current presidential administration is focusing on enforcement of U.S. immigration laws. The requirement to maintain a valid status while in a foreign country is not unique to the U.S. Every country in the world has immigration laws, and most enforce them.

  • December 24, 2025

    Law360 Canada is taking a publishing break and will be back Jan. 2

    Law360 Canada will be on a publishing hiatus from Dec. 25, 2025, to Jan. 2, 2026. We wish you a happy holiday and all the best for the new year.

  • December 23, 2025

    When a judge’s effort to appear neutral leads to injustice

    Nobody likes conflict. Not lawyers, not mediators and not judges. But day in and day out, we see high-conflict cases in family court. In fact, it has become a fairly regular occurrence for judges’ endorsements to begin with a description of the case as “a high-conflict case” before rendering their analysis and decision.

  • December 23, 2025

    CUSTODY, PARENTING, AND ACCESS - Decision-making authority

    Appeal by J.A. from trial orders concerning parenting responsibilities, spousal support, child support for his stepson T.J., and reimbursement for missing Euros. Cross-appeal by K.A. from the trial judge’s costs order.

  • December 19, 2025

    Self-rep fails to convince Appeal Court to cancel $270,000 of support arrears

    A case involving more than $270,000 in accumulated child and spousal support arrears, Garousi v. Garousi, 2025 BCCA 392, highlights several recurring issues in applications for retroactive variation of support, including chronic non-compliance, evidentiary shortcomings and the impact of significant arrears on both variation and appellate relief.

  • December 19, 2025

    A season for sharing: The legal and moral case for ensuring everyone has enough food at Christmas

    Every Christmas, families across Canada gather around warm meals that symbolize dignity, community and care. Yet for many households in Alberta and across the country, rising costs and winter pressures make it difficult to afford even the most basic groceries. Food insecurity turns what should be a season of comfort into a time of anxiety.

  • December 18, 2025

    Is criminalization the way to go to address coercive control?

    Gender-based violence is very much on the mind of Parliament this fall.

  • December 17, 2025

    Bill C-16 must go further for older Canadians

    Elder abuse does not always announce itself with bruises or broken bones. Often, it arrives through isolation, intimidation, financial control and fear. For many older victims, coercive control is the harm that shapes daily life long before anyone calls it violence or criminal neglect. It is gradual, cumulative and profoundly destabilizing, yet frequently invisible to outsiders.