BRITISH COLUMBIA LAW INSTITUTE

• Last week to respond to consultation on child protection

ALBERTA LAW REFORM INSTITUTE

• ALRI publishes Report for Discussion 34, Personal Property Security Law
• ALRI is consulting on if the estates of stepparents who raise their spouse's children as their own should be obligated to provide support for those children

LAW COMMISSION OF ONTARIO

• LCO impact in PEI​

BRITISH COLUMBIA LAW INSTITUTE

• BCLI is looking for input on reform for  the Child, Family and Community Service Act

ALBERTA LAW REFORM INSTITUTE

• ALRI is consulting on if the estates of stepparents who raise their spouse's children as their own should be obligated to provide support for those children

LAW REFORM COMMISSION OF SASKATCHEWAN

• The Commission releases consultation report and survey on Contributory Fault and Apportionment Among Wrongdoers
• The Commission releases its Adoption of Uniform Reviewable Transactions Act Consultation Report

MANITOBA LAW REFORM COMMISSION

• The MLRC has released its 2019-2020 Annual Report. To learn about the Commission’s activities this past year, you can read the report here.

LAW COMMISSION OF ONTARIO

• The Law Commission of Ontario releases an Issue Paper on AI and Algorithms in Criminal Proceedings

ACCESS TO JUSTICE AND LAW REFORM INSTITUTE OF NOVA SCOTIA

• A2J Nova Scotia has published two reports
  • Human Centered Design and the Justice System
  • ​Defining Access to Justice in Nova Scotia

The Alberta Law Reform Institute is looking at a potential gap in the law relating to support for a child from a person standing in the place of a parent. In Alberta, a child can apply for support while the person is alive, but not after the
person’s death.

The Institute proposes changing the law to allow a child to apply for family maintenance and support from the estate of a person who stood in the place of a parent and is also conducting a consultation to gather feedback on its proposals. 

Get the report and participate in the survey on their website.

Let the Alberta Law Reform Institute know how the Dower Act has affected your work at bit.ly/dowersurvey.

The Dower Act in Alberta is a law that protects the property interests of a married person if the couple’s home is legally owned solely by the other spouse. It applies to the “homestead”, which means the house and some attached land where the owner spouse lived during the marriage. The Dower Act hasn’t been updated significantly since 1948 and is not serving Albertans bests interests.

The Alberta Law Reform Institute is reviewing the Dower Act and would like to hear from lawyers, real estate agents, mortgage brokers, bankers, trustees-in-bankruptcy, and other individuals who regularly encounter dower rights in their work. At this stage, we are particularly interested in hearing about any practical challenges or complications that arise because of dower rights.
​
Let ALRI know how the Dower Act has affected your work at bit.ly/dowersurvey. Our consultation takes roughly 5-10 minutes to complete depending on your feedback. The Alberta Law Reform Institute values your input and thanks you for your participation. All responses will remain confidential and anonymous.

BRITISH COLUMBIA LAW INSTITUTE

• BCLI launches project to review the law of parentage under part 3 of the Family Law Act

ALBERTA LAW REFORM INSTITUTE

• ALRI begins new project on the Dower Act

LAW REFORM COMMISSION OF SASKATCHEWAN

• The Commission publishes its report on Life Lease Legislation

• The Commission releases consultation report and survey on Contributory Fault and Apportionment Among Wrongdoers
• The Commission releases its Adoption of Uniform Reviewable Transactions Act Consultation Report

MANITOBA LAW REFORM COMMISSION

• The Manitoba Law Reform Commission releases its Final Report titled Electronic Witnessing of Affidavit Evidence

LAW COMMISSION OF ONTARIO

• Law Commission of Ontario is seeking two new members for its Board of Governors

L'INSTITUT QUÉBÉCOIS DE RÉFORME DU DROIT ET DE LA JUSTICE 
(QUEBEC INSTITUTE FOR LAW AND JUSTICE REFORM)

• L'Institut québécois de réforme du droit et de la justice (IQRDJ) organise, en collaboration avec l'INM et en partenariat avec Éducaloi, une Grande assemblée de la justice qui aura lieu en mars 2021
  The Quebec Institute for Law and Justice Reform (IQRDJ) is organizing, in collaboration with the INM and in partnership with Éducaloi, a Grand Assembly of Justice which will take place in March 2021

The British Columbia Law Institute has issued a new report containing 86 recommendations for reform of the Builders Lien Act.

Read more at ​https://www.bcli.org/bcli-issues-report-on-the-builders-lien-act

ALRI is recommending that the law of adverse possession be abolished in Alberta. This change would prevent new claims from being brought in the future, but would not affect claims that have been resolved or filed with the court before the change comes into effect.This change would mean that a registered owner of land could recover possession at any time and would not have to act within the 10-year limitation period that currently applies.

If adverse possession is abolished, claims regarding lasting improvements to the wrong land under section 69 of the Law of Property Act would have a more prominent role in resolving disputes concerning possession of land. To facilitate equitable resolution of disputes, ALRI recommends that an assign of the lasting improvement should not have to prove whether the person who made the improvement believed it was their land. This change would make section 69 consistent with how courts have applied it. ALRI also recommends that section 69 claims can be brought at any time.

Download Final Report 115, Adverse Possession and Lasting Improvements to Wrong Land

A police record check is a search of police databases to determine if they contain any entries (information) relating to an individual. Many employers, volunteer organizations and others use police record checks as a screening tool. That is, they use police record checks to assess applicants’ suitability for opportunities.

Determining what information should be disclosed in the results of a police record check involves balancing public safety interests with an applicant’s privacy and human rights.

ALRI conducted some preliminary research to determine whether it should undertake a police record check law reform project. As part of its research, ALRI compared Ontario’s police record check legislation with the AACP procedures. ALRI determined that the AACP procedures could be improved, but recognized that they are relatively new and that the AACP is open to revising them. 

ALRI’s paper contains its preliminary research findings. Its publication is intended to promote discussion about police record check practices in Alberta.

​Get the paper here.