LawNow articles from October 1997

LawNow archives from October 1997

Editor's notebook.
October 1, 1997... Marsha Mildon When I first began to consider the featured theme of this issue, Law and the Sandwich Generation, I assumed it would be easy to put together our regular five articles on ways the law has an impact on the lives of the...

Inquiry end upheld.
October 1, 1997... The Federal Court of Appeal has ruled that the Federal Cabinet has the authority to end any commission of inquiry for any reason it chooses. Inquiries are the creatures of the Cabinet that created them and as such exist at its pleasure. A...

On his blindness.
October 1, 1997... The Manitoba Court of Appeal recently heard an unusual case. The appellant, 70-year-old gynaecologist, had been found negligent at trial for performing an operation with poor results while not wearing his prescription eyeglasses. However, the...

Who keeps the ring?
October 1, 1997... Advice-givers from family law lawyers to Ann Landers are often asked who gets to keep the engagement ring when an engaged couple splits up. An Ontario Small Claims Court judge recently tackled this heart-rending question. In this case, the...

Blood tests at any time.
October 1, 1997... The Nova Scotia Court of Appeal has decided that a man may apply for blood tests to prove paternity at any court hearing into the issue of maintenance, and the best interests of the child do not override this right. In this case, the alleged...

First run at new guidelines.
October 1, 1997... Madame Justice Mary Moreau of the Alberta Court of Queen's Bench has taken a first crack at interpreting the new Child Support Guidelines passed by Canada's Parliament shortly before the spring federal election. The Judge was presented with a...

Legal studies program library.
October 1, 1997... The Legal Resource Centre and the National PLEI Resource Centre have amalgamated into the Legal Studies Program Library as of August 11, 1997. This partnership means better access to public legal education resources in print, audiovisual, and...

Lords of the western bench.
October 1, 1997... The Legal Archives Society of Alberta has brought out an exhaustive 300 page book of biographies of the men and women who have presided over Alberta's high courts of justice. From Stipendiary Magistrate Col. James Farquaharson Macleod of the...

Copyright reform.
October 1, 1997... On April 25, 1997, Bill C-32, Phase II of the planned copyright reform was given Royal Assent. However, don't hold your breath as the various provisions will come into effect on a staggered basis. Some of the significant reforms include the...

Renewing youth justice.
October 1, 1997... New federal Justice Minister Anne McLellan has said she will take a "hard look" at the youth justice system and youth crime. One of her sources of information will undoubtedly be the extensive report on youth justice, Renewing Youth Justice,...

Death of a bearwalker.
October 1, 1997... An Ontario High Court Justice in northern Ontario recently acquitted an aboriginal man on a charge of murder, citing among other factors, the accused's belief that the victim was a bearwalker. The court heard testimony from several...

Seven stages of us and the family care sandwich.
October 1, 1997... With the help of Shakespeare, I proposed a modern version of the seven stages of human life in Notebook (p.4). In this article, I will use those stages to give a brief overview of the ways law has an impact on us, particularly in relation to...

Changing lives need changing wills.
October 1, 1997... Over the course of anyone's life, family and financial circumstances change on a regular basis. Many people pass through the family phases of young couples, families with children, and retired couples. Proper planning for your family requires...

Road to worry-free money management.
October 1, 1997... Typically, Canadians have invested most of their savings in instruments such as Guaranteed Investment Certificates (GICs), Canada Savings Bonds and term deposits, all perceived to be SAFE investments with little or no risk. However, in...

Planning for incapacity.
October 1, 1997... As an estate lawyer, I receive calls almost every week from a son or daughter who advise that one of their parents has now been institutionalized due to Alzheimer's or another incapacitating disease and so is unable to manage his or her own...

Adult support: the issue of the impoverished parent.
October 1, 1997... Traditionally within the extended family, parents helped their children get established, perhaps on the farm or in the business; then, when the parents retired, the adult children looked after their changing needs while they babysat their...

Building a better classroom with "just walls".
October 1, 1997... I am returning to the teaching profession after a very long absence and I'm doing what I once said I'd never do: I'm working as a substitute teacher. Almost every day I face a new group of students and the task of creating a positive...

Taking a chance on it: the legal regulation of gambling.
October 1, 1997... "If a man will make a purchase of a chance, he must abide by the consequences." Hitchcock v. Giddings (1817) The Pervasive Nature of Gambling Gambling dates far back in human history as an almost universal practice. Dice with...

Taking chances seriously.
October 1, 1997... "206(1) Every one is guilty of an indictable offence and liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding two $$ Illegible Word $$ who... (e) conducts, manages or is a party to any scheme, contrivance or operation of any kind by which...

When it's no longer a game --: problem gambling.
October 1, 1997... As legalized opportunities for gambling become more available, there will inevitably be more people who have problems with compulsive gambling. When Referral is Necessary During screening and assessment, some issues may come up which...

Getting better and better getting.
October 1, 1997... "What is fiduciary duty anyway? And while you're at it, please explain standard of care." Too often legal requirements don't make the transition (and translation) from a pure legal discussion to the conversations of everyday life. This...

Plain language produces benefits.
October 1, 1997... We can guess at some results of poor communication: missed opportunities, mistakes, and mishaps. Everyone knows at least one anecdote. What can we do to improve communication? In a typical organization, a client seeks service from an...

Plan for action.
October 1, 1997... In my last column, I outlined some of the Alberta Law Reform Institute's recommendations for improving restraining orders. In its Report No. 74, Protection Against Domestic Abuse, the Institute recommended expanding the class of victims and...

(Bosavern) Penlez riot and (Henry) Fielding's last years.
October 1, 1997... In 1749, Henry Fielding was the toast of London town. His novel Tom Jones had been published to near-universal acclaim. Indeed, even the occasional criticism of it showed what an innovation it had been - bringing much of the erudition and...

Putting us all at risk.
October 1, 1997... I am writing this column in early July 1997. Over the past few months a number of high-profile murder trials have captured public attention, partly because some accused persons have been acquitted by the courts. In one most gruesome case, the...

Space age Godiva.
October 1, 1997... It was an extremely hot day in July. A 20 year old university student in Guelph ambled along city streets for an hour or so, spoke to a man doing yardwork and others, and eventually settled down on a neighborhood porch. A group of young men...

Sites for the sandwich generation.
October 1, 1997... It is estimated that by the year 2016 there will be six million Canadians over the age of 65. By 2041, that number will rise to 10 million or one in four Canadians. Combined with the other pressures, we can expect the sandwich generation to...

Who's helping you buy?
October 1, 1997... In our previous column, we defined the elements of a typical residential real estate transaction in the Province of Alberta and commenced a review of the role that the real estate agent plays in residential real estate. In this column we will...