Monday, March 18, 2024

Law Commission of Ontario Report on A New Environmental Bill of Rights for Ontario

The Law Commission of Ontario (LCO) has published A New Environmental Bill of Rights for Ontario: Final Report.


The report examines Ontario's existing Environmental Bill of Rights (EBR) and makes a series of major recommendations to enhance environmental accountability in the province.

The EBR was proclaimed in February 1994 and it introduced a number of mechanisms to improve public participation, transparency, and government accountability for environmental decision-making. 

The LCO concludes that the EBR has not always been meeting its stated objectives and needs updating.

The report's 58 recommendations for change are listed in Appendix A of the report.



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Thursday, March 14, 2024

March 2024 Issue of In Session E-Bulletin of Canadian Association of Law Libraries

The March 2024 issue of In Session has been published. 

It is the monthly e-newsletter of the Canadian Association of Law Libraries (CALL) and contains news from CALL committees and special interest groups, member updates and events. 

The current issue has news about the upcoming annual conference of the association in Montreal in June, deadlines for awards and scholarships, and an April 16 webinar on legal data analytics.


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Wednesday, March 13, 2024

Legal Research Video Tutorials from York University

Osgoode Hall Law School at York University in Toronto has produced a series of video tutorials on how to perform various legal research tasks.

It is always fun to see what tools and methods other law libraries have developed for their library instruction activities.

There are video about finding secondary sources, legislation and case law research, and legal citation.


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Tuesday, March 12, 2024

Statistics Canada Article on Police-Reported Online Child Sexual Exploitation

The Statistics Canada publication Juristat today published an article on Online child sexual exploitation: A statistical profile of police-reported incidents in Canada, 2014 to 2022:

"The Internet has become an integral part of life for most Canadians, with an estimated 99% of households having access ...While increased accessibility to the Internet has provided society with limitless opportunities for enhancing daily life, concerns related to online safety—particularly for children and youth—have emerged."

"Advancements in technology have changed the ways that perpetrators lure and groom their victims. For example, increased accessibility to—and use of—smartphones among children and youth has made it easier for offenders to communicate with potential victims through online chatrooms and social media platforms. As digital technologies continue to evolve, there are increased opportunities for committing Internet-related crimes, including online child sexual exploitation ..."

Among the highlights of the article:

  • Between 2014 and 2022, there were 15,630 incidents of police-reported online sexual offences against children and 45,816 incidents of online child pornography.
  • Making or distributing child pornography accounted for almost three-quarters (72%) of all incidents of child pornography between 2014 and 2022, with possessing or accessing child pornography accounting for the remaining 28% of incidents. The rate of online child pornography increased 290% between 2014 and 2022.
  • Girls were overrepresented as victims for all offence types over the nine-year period. The majority of victims of police-reported online sexual offences against children were girls, particularly girls between the ages of 12 and 17 (71% of all victims).
  • Incidents of non-consensual distribution of intimate images most often involved a youth victim and a youth accused. Nearly all (97%) child and youth victims between 2015 to 2022 were aged 12 to 17 years. Nine in ten (90%) accused persons were youth aged 12 to 17. For one-third (33%) of youth victims, a casual acquaintance shared the victim’s intimate images with others.

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Monday, March 11, 2024

Canadian Government Publishes 2024-2025 Departmental Plans

The federal government recently published the departmental plans for 2024-2025.

Every year, the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat tables plans in the House of Commons on behalf of dozens of federal government agencies and departments.

They set out departmental/agency priorities, provide performance measurement indicators, and explain expected results.

The plans are part of the federal government's budget estimates process. 

There are many justice-related agencies and departments in the list, including the Supreme Court of Canada. 

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Wednesday, March 06, 2024

Alberta Law Reform Institute Report on Alteration and Revocation of Electronic Wills

The Alberta Law Reform Institute (ALRI) has published its final report on the Alteration and Revocation of Electronic Wills.

This comes as a companion to the ALRI's 2023 report on the Creation of Electronic Wills.

"ALRI recommends that the alteration and revocation of electronic wills should be governed largely by the same rules currently found in Alberta’s Wills and Succession Act (“WSA”), with additional witness requirements for certain acts of revocation (...)"

"What is the problem?
Testators should be able to change or alter their electronic will after it has been created. Similarly, testators should be able to revoke an electronic will. However, electronic wills present a unique challenge. Unlike a pen mark on a paper will, it is harder to identify when an electronic will has been altered or revoked by a key stroke. It is also harder to identify whether or not the person making the changes actually intended them to alter or revoke their electronic will. To ensure the law properly supports people changing or revoking electronic wills, these issues must be adequately addressed. Additionally, the rules surrounding electronic wills should reflect the expectations of testators to ensure that the probate system continues to function justly and efficiently."

"Legal Research
ALRI conducted in-depth legal research for this project. That research included a review of the current wills law in Alberta, and comparative research with other jurisdictions. The review of Alberta law provided ALRI with a background on the formalities required to alter or revoke a paper will under the WSA, and the purposes those formalities serve. ALRI’s comparative research provided insight into how other jurisdictions have adopted formalities for the alteration or revocation of electronic wills that continue to serve these same four purposes. In both circumstances, the formalities for the alteration or revocation of a will are intended to:

  • protect testators and their estates,
  • provide evidence of testamentary intention,
  • channel estates through probate justly and efficiently, and
  • provide a sense of ritual to highlight the importance of changing or revoking a will."

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Tuesday, March 05, 2024

Canadian Association of Law Libraries AI Working Group Seeks Feedback

The Canadian Association of Law Libraries (CALL) set up a working group on artificial intelligence in 2023.

Its raison d'être is to develop guidance on the use of AI in legal databases.

As announced on the website Slaw.ca last week, the working group is seeking input from the legal profession.

People can fill out a simple form listed in the Slaw.ca article to share their opinions.

As the form explains, the purposes of the survey are:

  1. To gather information about user needs and preference pertaining to these standards.
  2. To raise awareness of this standards initiative.
  3. To build consensus about user requirements.

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Monday, March 04, 2024

LawBytes Podcast on 20th Anniversary of Landmark CCH Copyright Case

In his most recent LawBytes podcast, University of Ottawa law professor Michael Geist talks with Scott Jolliffe, an IP litigator with the law firm Gowlings, about the Supreme Court of Canada decision in CCH Canadian v. Law Society of Upper Canada:

"Twenty years ago today the Supreme Court of Canada released CCH Canadian v. Law Society of Upper Canada, a decision that stands as perhaps the most consequential in Canadian copyright law history as it would firmly establish fair dealing as a users right and serve as the foundation for copyright law in Canada for decades to come. Leading off the hearing several months earlier for the Law Society was Scott Jolliffe, an IP litigator with the law firm Gowlings. Jolliffe was charged with arguing the fair dealing aspects of the case, but it was only at last moment that users right entered the picture. To mark its 20th anniversary, Jolliffe joins the Law Bytes podcast to talk about the CCH case, his strategy and insights from the hearing, and his thoughts on its impact many years later."

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Sunday, March 03, 2024

March/April 2024 Issue of AALL Spectrum

The March/April 2024 issue of AALL Spectrum is now available online.

It is a publication of the American Association of Law Libraries. 

Among the feature articles in this issue:

  • From 0 to 7 Staff Members: Essential Tips From the Trenches for First-Time Managers
  • Who Are You? An Introduction to Professional Identity Formation
  • Ask A Director: Balancing Hybrid/Remote Work

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Law Library of Congress Report on Selected Issues in Biotechnology Regulation

The Law Library of Congress in Washington, D.C. recently published a comparative report on Selected Issues in Biotechnology Regulation that looks at the main statutes and policies in multiple countries relating to the development of biotechnology products, in particular genetically-modified organisms:

"The jurisdictions reviewed are Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, China, England, the European Union (EU), Germany, India, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, Singapore, South Africa, South Korea, and Taiwan, all of which have a variety of official sources (including laws, regulations, and policies) governing biotechnology matters."

"A number of these sources provide definitions of relevant terms in this field, including “genetic engineering” and “genetically modified organisms,” which are included in the study. Due to the technical complexity of these topics, a basic understanding of these definitions is a helpful introduction to each surveyed jurisdiction’s framework on biotechnologies. Multilateral and bilateral agreements addressing international cooperation on the development of these technologies are also covered in this survey."

The Law Library of Congress is the world’s largest law library, with a collection of over 2 and a half million volumes from all ages of history and virtually every jurisdiction in the world.

Over the years, it has published dozens of comparative law reports which are a treasure trove for legal research on a huge variety of issues.

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Thursday, February 29, 2024

New Statistics Canada Articles: Online Hate and Resentencing of Adults Released from Custody

Statistics Canada recently published 2 justice-related articles:

  • Reconvictions among adults sentenced to custody or community supervision across five provincial correctional programs, 2015/2016 to 2018/2019: "This Juristat article presents data and information on reconvictions among adults released from full-time custody, starting an intermittent custodial sentence, or starting a community supervision sentence across five provincial correctional programs in 2015/2016. Reconvictions were examined for up to four years, from 2015/2016 to 2018/2019. Findings are disaggregated by age, gender, criminal history and population group, including Indigenous, Black and other racialized groups."
  • Online hate and aggression among young people in Canada: "Frequent social media and Internet use can place younger people at a higher risk of experiencing or being incited to perpetrate online harms and cyberaggression, from exposure to harmful online content to cyber-related hate crimes and other acts of cyberbullying, such as sexual exploitation targeting specific individuals. Today, in advance of Pink Shirt Day (February 28), Statistics Canada is releasing new analysis on cyberaggression among young people ..."


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Wednesday, February 28, 2024

Treasury Board of Canada Guide on Use of Artificial Intelligence by Federal Institutions

The Treasury Board Secretariat, a central agency of the Canadian federal government that develops policy on how government is managed and how it regulates, has published a Guide on the use of generative AI:

"Federal institutions should explore potential uses of generative AI tools for supporting and improving  their operations. However, because these tools are evolving, they should not be used in all cases. Federal institutions must be cautious and evaluate the risks before they start using them. The use of  these tools should be restricted to instances where risks can be effectively managed."

"This document provides preliminary guidance to federal institutions on their use of generative AI tools. This includes instances where these tools are deployed by federal institutions. It provides an overview of generative AI, identifies challenges and concerns relating to its use, puts forward principles for using it responsibly, and offers policy considerations and best practices."

"This guide also seeks to raise awareness and foster coordination among federal institutions. It highlights the importance of engaging key stakeholders before deploying generative AI tools for public use and  before using them for purposes such as service delivery (...)"

"The guide complements and supports compliance with many existing federal laws and policies,  including in areas of privacy, security, intellectual property, and human rights. The guide is intended to be evergreen as TBS recognizes the need for iteration to keep pace with regulatory and technological change."

It also comes with a very useful series of FAQS near the end of the document:

The Guide was listed in the most recent issue of the Government of Canada's Weekly Acquisitions List, a great tool for discovering new research reports published by various public bodies and agencies of the federal government. 

It is a record of all federal publications catalogued in the previous week.

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posted by Michel-Adrien at 4:55 pm 0 comments

Tuesday, February 27, 2024

Value of Law Reform Commissions

I like reports written by law reform commissions, whether here in Canada or from other jurisdictions.

As independent bodies, they often have the time to dive deep into an issue and look at its historical evolution and they often do a comparative analysis of what authorities in other countries have tried to do.

These organizations make recommendations to governments that can go a long way to improve access to justice, modernize the justice system, and reduce harm for vulnerable groups.

A few years ago, the Law Commission of England and Wales asked economists to try to quantify the benefits generated by the projects that it had undertaken over the years.

The Commission recently published an update:

"The report establishes that the Law Commission’s projects make a difference in myriad ways: efficiency gains, technology driven growth, harm prevention, well-being improvement, rule of law, access to justice, modernising the legal system and thought leadership (...) The estimated economic gains from the five highest value projects completed since 2019 is about £670 million over 10 years."

The projects include new rules on surrogacy, confiscation of the proceeds of crime, simplifying the rules for marriage, simplification of immigration rules, and anti-money laundering changes.


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posted by Michel-Adrien at 7:41 pm 0 comments

Monday, February 26, 2024

Law Library of Congress Comparative Table on Carbon Neutrality Legislation Around the World

The Law Library of Congress in Washington, D.C. recently published a table on Carbon Neutrality Legislation Around the World:

"This table shows the 57 jurisdictions around the world that the Law Library of Congress has identified as having a net zero emissions or climate neutrality goal set forth in existing or pending legislation. The table highlights existing legislation with established targets and the most recent legislative proposals that are not yet enacted. Existing legislation includes that of the European Union (EU) and its 27 member states, where a June 2021 regulation sets 2050 as the target date for climate neutrality. Fifteen EU member states have passed their own legislation in addition to the directly applicable regulation, including three that have set an earlier target date. To date, 25 jurisdictions outside the EU have passed legislation containing a carbon neutrality or net zero emissions goal, with four jurisdictions (Gibraltar, Iceland, Maldives and Scotland) setting a target date earlier than 2050, while two jurisdictions (Kazakhstan and Nigeria) target the achievement of carbon neutrality later that 2050. At least two other countries (Argentina and Israel) have proposed legislation that includes the goal, and one nation (Chile) has proposed legislation specifying electricity transmission as an enabling sector for carbon neutrality. Two jurisdictions (Russia and the United Kingdom) have enacted laws with carbon neutrality or net zero goals at the subnational level, while Brazil has proposed legislation with the goal of net carbon neutrality in the Brazilian Amazon."

The Law Library of Congress is the world’s largest law library, with a collection of over 2 and a half million volumes from all ages of history and virtually every jurisdiction in the world.

Over the years, it has published dozens of comparative law reports which are a treasure trove for legal research on a huge variety of issues.

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posted by Michel-Adrien at 3:58 pm 0 comments

Thursday, February 22, 2024

English Law Commission Consultation on Digital Assets in Private International Law

The Law Commission in England has launched a short consultation exercise on proposed legislation on digital assets and electronic trade documents.


A summary of the Commission's work on the issue can be found on the project's page:

"The UK Government asked the Law Commission to make recommendations for reform to ensure that the law is capable of accommodating both crypto-tokens and other digital assets in a way which allows the possibilities of this type of technology to flourish."

"In our final report, we conclude that the common law system in England and Wales is well placed to provide a coherent and globally relevant regime for existing and new types of digital asset."

"We conclude that the flexibility of common law allows for the recognition of a distinct category of personal property that can better recognise, accommodate and protect the unique features of certain digital assets (including crypto-tokens and cryptoassets). We recommend legislation to confirm the existence of this category and remove any uncertainty. On 22 February 2024 we published a short consultation on draft clauses which would implement this recommendation."

"To ensure that courts can respond sensitively to the complexity of emerging technology and apply the law to new fact patterns involving that technology, we recommend that Government create a panel of industry experts who can provide guidance on technical and legal issues relating to digital assets."

"We also make recommendations to provide market participants with legal tools that do not yet exist in England and Wales, such as new ways to take security over crypto-tokens and tokenised securities."

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Wednesday, February 21, 2024

CanLII Expands AI Summarization Projects

CanLII, the Canadian Legal Information Institute, has been offering case summaries generated through artificial intelligence for some time, starting with decisions from Saskatchewan. 

According to a recent blog post, CanLII will expand AI-created summaries to all Alberta, Manitoba, and Prince Edward Island

"In total, these projects will involve the summarization of 4,000 cases and 1,100 statutes and regulations from PEI, 28,000 cases and 3,000 statutes and regulations from Manitoba, and 120,000 cases and 3,000 statutes and regulations from Alberta. Furthermore, as part of a special project extension, the next three years’ worth of new Manitoba primary law documents will also be summarized."

CanLII is a portal funded by Canada’s provincial and territorial law societies to make legal information content (court judgments, tribunal decisions, statutes and regulations, and commentary) available to Canadians free of charge.

 

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posted by Michel-Adrien at 6:37 pm 0 comments