Family
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June 30, 2025
Can Clare’s Law protect women from abuse?
The first Domestic Violence Disclosure Scheme, better known as Clare’s Law, was passed in England and Wales in 2014. Named for Clare Wood, who was killed by her abusive former boyfriend, it provides a way for potential victims of intimate partner violence to find out whether their partner has a history of such violence.
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June 27, 2025
SCC clarifies appeal right from removal orders in immigration judicial review case
In an immigration and statutory interpretation decision that sheds light on administrative law and how to analyze reasonableness in judicial review cases, the Supreme Court of Canada has ruled that foreign nationals may appeal removal orders to the Immigration and Refugee Board’s Immigration Appeal Division (IAD) if their visas were current on arrival in Canada, even if their visas expire after their arrival here.
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June 27, 2025
B.C. Court of Appeal increases damages award to parents who lost son, citing potential contributions
The B.C. Court of Appeal has increased damages awarded to parents who lost their 17-year-old son in a car accident to include compensation for the unpaid work their son was likely to undertake during his university years.
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June 27, 2025
Justice Leslie Dellapinna retires from N.S. Supreme Court
The Honourable Leslie J. Dellapinna is retiring from the Supreme Court of Nova Scotia (Family Division) after more than 24 years on the bench.
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June 27, 2025
Ontario Divisional Court confuses relocation law
In Diallo v. Bah, 2025 ONSC 2106, released May 28, the Ontario Divisional Court has undercut, or possibly even overruled, a long-standing precedent for the resolution of interim or temporary relocation cases. Said Justice Harriet Sachs for the court: “The factors set out in Plumley, which was decided in 2014, have been overtaken by the amendments to the Divorce Act. The reasoning in Barendregt makes this clear.”
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June 26, 2025
The Friendly Bar series, No. 2: A Canada Day toast to the quiet work, and one another
The Friendly Bar is a reflective series exploring how we, as legal professionals, can build a culture of collegiality, self-awareness and care toward each other and ourselves. This installment contemplates such a culture as we approach Canada Day.
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June 26, 2025
Ontario law society benchers tackle governance, family law reforms at June meeting
Benchers of the Law Society of Ontario (LSO) met at convocation on June 25 with their newly re-elected leader pledging to restore trust in the regulator after a pay scandal surrounding its former CEO.
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June 26, 2025
CUSTODY, PARENTING, AND ACCESS - Best interests of child - Capacity or conditions of parents - Parental alienation
Appeal by appellant (Father) against a decision awarding primary care to respondent (Mother). Following the breakdown of the parties’ marriage, they initially shared equal parenting time for their two children. However, the children remained solely with the father due to unsubstantiated allegations of sexual abuse against the mother's boyfriend.
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June 25, 2025
Deaths from illegal drug supply fell 17% in 2024; thousands who died were men, many in their 30s
There were more than 7,000 opioid-related drug toxicity deaths in Canada last year — 20 people per day — an overdose crisis primarily driven by a toxic illegal drug supply, according to the latest data reported by the Council of Chief Medical Officers of Health and the Chief Coroners and Chief Medical Examiners.
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June 24, 2025
N.S. court denies leave to appeal certification of class action related to COVID-19 deaths
The Nova Scotia Court of Appeal has denied a care home’s leave to appeal for an interlocutory certification order of a class action. The home argued that the judge incorrectly applied the test to certify common issues in a case where over 50 residents died at its facility due to COVID-19 exposure.