On June 8, 2016, the Court of Queen’s Bench of Alberta released a 60-page ruling in the cases of Kent v. Martin, and Kent v. Postmedia, awarding $150,000 in general damages for the print publication of a defamatory article, and a further $50,000 for continuing online publication. Costs of the legal … [Read more...]
Journalists Feel the Chill in a Changing Media World
Journalism students who are mulling over important questions such as “Where will I find a job?” and “Will I be able to cover the legal beat?” as they face a potentially shrinking job market, may have more than just job prospects to worry about. Today, the media world is rapidly shrinking, … [Read more...]
Freedom of Expression, Publication Bans and the Media
The issue of publication bans in the context of criminal matters ordered by the courts became more complex with the advent of the Internet. Some may remember when the criminal proceedings of Karla Homolka were subject to a publication ban. There were several alleged breaches of the ban when the … [Read more...]
A-loan in the Dark
It is 6:59 a.m. on Saturday morning, and you have been sleepily staring at your course registration screen for what seems like hours, with your mouse carefully hovering over the “register” button. Registration starts at 7:00 a.m. and, let’s be honest, university students are essentially vultures … [Read more...]
Taxation for Students
Going to university can be a big change for a lot of students. They are finally adults, they might move away and there are a lot more responsibilities. One of these responsibilities that might seem a bit muddy is filing a personal tax return. Why file? Many students think that because they … [Read more...]
Canadian Unions: From Repression and Resistance to the Right to Strike
The history of Canadian unions is a long and storied one. The Canadian labour movement of the past was a fusion of many disparate groups, often at odds with one another. For many years, the law was inhospitable to unions, with the balance tilted in favour of employers and government. Since the … [Read more...]
Job Candidates Deserve Fair Treatment of Their Applications
I have applied for many jobs in both the private and public sectors in Canada. Some were full-time, most were part-time. Several employers follow a long, drawn-out application process involving several phases: asking for numerous personal and work experience referees;written examinations; telephone … [Read more...]
Tips and Gratuities – Some Taxing Issues
A Simple Gift, Right? In 2012, Statistics Canada estimated the total underground economy in Canada to be $42.4 billion. What comprises this significant amount? It has been a very popular and strong focus in recent years to attribute this activity to high net worth individuals, business owners and … [Read more...]
Call to Action: The Truth and Reconciliation Commission Report
For over a century, generations of Aboriginal children, mostly First Nations, were taken from their families, often by force, and placed in residential schools usually far from home, where they were to be assimilated into white society. For most of that time, the schools were run by churches: Roman … [Read more...]
Truth and Reconciliation is Canada’s last chance to get it right
There are good and bad things in our society, successes and failures. But there is only one fundamental reality that remains unaddressed. That is the situation of indigenous peoples. This is the single most important issue before us, whether we are recently arrived in Canada or have been here for … [Read more...]