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What you need to know about common-law relationships

/ Family Law /

By LegalMatters Staff • Couples entering a common-law relationship need to understand there are significant legal responsibilities that come with that partnership.  Many are similar to those that govern a legal marriage, though there are differences. In Alberta, the legal term for such a partnership is “adult interdependent relationship” (AIR). Edmonton family lawyer Peter Ewanchuk […]

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It is a ‘God-given’ right to flip the bird at someone, judge rules

/ Criminal Law /

By LegalMatters Staff • Offending others with crude hand gestures may not be polite but it does not rise to the level of criminal behaviour, a judge in Montreal recently ruled. The case involved neighbours who lived on a small street in Beaconsfield, Que. According to the judgment, police charged a 45-year-old with criminal harassment

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There will be new sheriffs in town, but is that what Alberta needs?

/ Criminal Law /

By LegalMatters Staff • Alberta is getting more sheriffs to handle specific tasks that are mostly indirectly related to fighting crime. When the provincial budget was released in April, it set aside $2 million to create a Fugitive Apprehension Sheriffs Support Team (FASST) team. This group – consisting of 10 sheriffs based in Calgary and

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Proposed federal amendments to the sex registry fall short

/ Criminal Law /

By LegalMatters Staff • At the end of April the federal government proposed changes to the National Sex Offender Registry. The modifications, contained in Bill S-12, are in response to a 2022 Supreme Court of Canada (SCC) decision that found two Criminal Code provisions relating to the registry were inconsistent with the Canadian Charter of

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Vacation planning advice for divorced/separated parents

/ Family Law /

By LegalMatters Staff • Separated and divorced parents want to enjoy a summer vacation with their children but problems can arise if they do not communicate effectively about their holiday plans. In most cases, the parenting schedule they have agreed to will include language defining each parent’s right to vacation with their children, such as

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New Crown prosecutors will speed up Alberta’s justice system

/ Criminal Law /

By LegalMatters Staff • Alberta is implementing an important change in the province’s criminal justice system that should see caseloads drop by one-fifth. The recent provincial budget included $30 million in funding for the Alberta Crown Prosecution, with just under $5 million to be used to hire 16 pre-charges assessment prosecutors. These new prosecutors will

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Canada needs a ‘consistent’ definition of an assault-style weapon

/ Criminal Law /

By LegalMatters Staff • The Criminal Code currently includes long lists of banned weapons in Canada. That may change. According to a government announcement early in May, Bill C-21 would abandon the “approach of spelling out each make and variety of banned firearm in lengthy lists” and instead provide a “clear, consistent” definition of assault-style

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Avoid mistakes that can make a divorce even more stressful

/ Family Law /

By LegalMatters Staff • If you are going through a divorce you can expect many stressful situations. You must reach a separation agreement with your ex-partner, spelling out the division of assets and agree on a parenting schedule if you have children Templates for these agreements can be found online but if you do not

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