Author: Jonnette Watson Hamilton Page 3 of 42

B.A. (Alta.), LL.B. (Dal.), LL.M. (Col.).
Professor Emerita.
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By: Jennifer Koshan and Jonnette Watson Hamilton

Legislation Commented On: Alberta Human Rights Act, RSA 2000, c A-25.5

PDF Version: Grounding the Alberta Human Rights Act and the Proposal to Protect Vaccination Status

The Alberta Human Rights Act (AHRA) has been in the news lately as a result of Premier Danielle Smith’s announcement – consistent with her platform for leadership of the United Conservative Party and its promise of no more lockdowns – that she would seek an amendment to the AHRA to add vaccination status as a ground protected from discrimination (here, here and here). In her mandate letter to Minister of Justice Tyler Shandro, released on November 10, 2022, Smith included as her second priority – second only to a Sovereignty Act – the instruction to “take any necessary legislative or regulatory steps to prohibit discrimination on the basis of COVID-19 vaccination and/or booster status.”

Who is Responsible for Damage to Rental Premises Caused by Mouse Infestations – and Why?

By Jonnette Watson Hamilton

On September 19, 2022

In Property

By: Jonnette Watson Hamilton

Case Considered: Hometime Property Services Ltd v Girumnesh, 2022 ABPC 172 (CanLII)

PDF Version: Who is Responsible for Damage to Rental Premises Caused by Mouse Infestations – and Why?

The plaintiff, a corporate landlord, sued the defendant, their former residential tenant, for almost $8,000 in damages plus costs, claiming the rental premises were infested with mice when the tenant vacated. The damages were for exterminating the mice and restoring the premises to their pre-infestation condition. The tenant, who was served personally with the landlord’s civil claim, did not file a dispute note and was noted in default. Because they were noted in default and the claim was heard in Provincial Court, the tenant was deemed to have admitted the facts that were alleged in the landlord’s civil claim. Nevertheless, the landlord lost; their claim was dismissed in its entirety. Why that happened is worth taking note of.

The Importance of Move-In Inspection Reports to the Return of Security Deposits in Residential Tenancies

By Jonnette Watson Hamilton

On July 8, 2022

In Landlord/Tenant

By: Jonnette Watson Hamilton

Case Commented On: Safri v Maclean, 2022 ABPC 113 (CanLII)

PDF Version: The Importance of Move-In Inspection Reports to the Return of Security Deposits in Residential Tenancies

The judgment of Judge Jasmine Sihra of the Northern Region Provincial Court is a good reminder to both landlords and tenants that a move-in inspection report is required by section 19(1) of the Residential Tenancies Act, SA 2004, c R-17.1 (RTA). Not only is it mandatory, but a landlord cannot deduct from a tenant’s security deposit without a move-in inspection report (section 46(5) RTA). That does not mean a landlord cannot sue a tenant for damage to the rental premises that goes beyond normal wear and tear. They can. But Judge Sihra’s decision in Safri v Maclean illustrates that it is much harder for a landlord to win if they do not have a move-in inspection report.

The Alberta Sovereignty Act and the Rule of Law

By Jonnette Watson Hamilton

On June 22, 2022

In Constitutional, Rule of Law

By: Martin Olszynski, Jonnette Watson Hamilton, and Shaun Fluker

Matter Commented On: The Alberta Sovereignty Act and the Free Alberta Strategy

PDF Version: The Alberta Sovereignty Act and the Rule of Law

Last week, United Conservative Party (UCP) leadership hopeful Danielle Smith announced that, upon her election as Premier, she would introduce the Alberta Sovereignty Act, legislation described as the “cornerstone” of the Free Alberta Strategy (Strategy), published back in the fall of 2021 (see story here). Briefly, this law would purport to grant the Alberta Legislature the power “to refuse enforcement of any specific Act of Parliament or federal court ruling that Alberta’s elected body deemed to be a federal intrusion into an area of provincial jurisdiction” (Strategy at 22). Legal academics have dismissed the idea as one that would clearly offend Canada’s constitutional order, but to date mainstream media commentary has failed to acknowledge the fundamentally unlawful and undemocratic nature of this proposal.

Residential Tenancies, Mental Disabilities, and Evictions

By Jonnette Watson Hamilton

On May 3, 2022

In Equality, Landlord/Tenant, Mental Health

By: Jonnette Watson Hamilton

Case Commented On: AG obo ZG v FirstService Residential Alberta Ltd, 2022 AHRC 38 (CanLII)

PDF Version: Residential Tenancies, Mental Disabilities, and Evictions

This case concerns a challenge to an eviction from a rented condominium – a challenge claiming the eviction discriminated against a tenant’s child on the ground of mental disability. There is something wrong with this decision to confirm the Director’s dismissal of the tenant’s complaint. The conclusion that there was no reasonable basis in the evidence to proceed to a hearing does not follow from the facts that are recounted. This may simply be because all the relevant facts are not set out in the decision. But based on the facts that are summarized, the most plausible –perhaps the only possible – inference is that the tenancy was terminated because the tenant’s son had a mental disability that the landlord, building manager, and other residents of the condominium building thought meant the son would endanger them or their property in the future, and no accommodation was possible.