Admin

ABlawg: Year in Review 2023

On December 29, 2023

By: Admin

PDF Version: ABlawg: Year in Review 2023

The Numbers

ABlawg had another very prolific year, publishing 81 posts in 2023. Our site had a total of 838,001 visits from 222,372 visitors this year. We saw a particularly busy fall with 13 posts in November, 12 posts in October, and 8 posts in September, averaging out to just over 1 post every three days. Remarkably, in the period from the last week of September to the first week of December, ABlawg published a post on 32 out of a potential 50 days!

ABlawg Year in Review 2022

By Admin

On December 29, 2022

In Blogs and Websites

By: Admin

PDF Version: ABlawg Year in Review 2022

ABlawg is pleased to provide this compilation of highlights from 2022, consisting of some statistics, some examples of ABlawg’s impact, and a synthesis of our bloggers’ contributions in substantive areas of law.

ABlawg: Year in Review 2021

By Admin

On December 31, 2021

In Announcements

By: Admin

PDF Version: ABlawg: Year in Review 2021

ABlawg is pleased to provide this compilation of highlights from 2021, consisting of some statistics and synthesis of our bloggers’ contributions in substantive areas of law.

Bill C-7 Amends Medical Assistance in Dying Laws in Canada

By Admin

On April 1, 2021

In Health Law

By: Fiona Balaton and Lorian Hardcastle

PDF Version: Bill C-7 Amends Medical Assistance in Dying Laws in Canada

Legislation Commented On: Bill C-7, An Act to amend the Criminal Code (medical assistance in dying), 2nd Sess, 43rd Parl, 2021 (assented to 17 March 2021)

On March 17, 2021, changes to Canada’s Criminal Code provisions on Medical Assistance in Dying (MAiD) under Bill C-7 received Royal Assent and are now in effect. These changes mark a significant milestone in Canada’s MAiD laws, which have been under constant debate and criticism since the Supreme Court of Canada held in Carter v Canada (Attorney General), 2015 SCC 5 (CanLII), that in certain circumstances, the criminal laws prohibiting assistance in dying limited the rights to life, liberty and security of the person under section 7 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms in a manner that was not demonstrably justified under section 1 of the Charter. This blog post reviews the judicial and legislative history of MAiD in Canada, outlines the major new changes, and discusses some ongoing concerns with the MAiD laws.

Federal Government Declines Emergency Order for Southern Mountain Caribou

By Admin

On March 25, 2021

In Environmental, Protection of Species

By: Shaun Fluker

PDF Version: Federal Government Declines Emergency Order for Southern Mountain Caribou

Matter Commented On: Government of Canada, Statement: Government of Canada’s approach to addressing the imminent threats to the recovery of Southern Mountain Caribou (18 March 2021)

The federal government recently added a Statement on Southern Mountain Caribou to the species at risk public registry announcing that the Governor in Council has declined to issue an emergency protection order under section 80 of the Species at Risk Act, SC 2002, c 29. This statement was a response to the recommendation for the order made by the federal Minister of the Environment following her finding in March 2018 that the southern mountain caribou face an imminent threat to their recovery. I wasn’t planning to comment on this announcement because it is fully consistent with the federal strategy of deference to the provinces on the woodland caribou file, a strategy which I debunked recently in Canada and Alberta Agree to More Pie-In-The-Sky on Woodland Caribou. Accordingly, this announcement was not surprising, or particularly newsworthy in Alberta. However, I changed my tune last Friday afternoon while perusing my inbox looking for a weekly fix of Alberta government spin, and Jason Nixon, the Alberta Minister of Environment and Parks, did not disappoint with his comments in Federal recognition of Alberta’s caribou recovery efforts: Minister Nixon, expressing that the federal Statement is a recognition of Alberta’s strong caribou recovery efforts to date.