Category: Access to Justice Page 9 of 18

By: Jennifer Koshan

PDF Version: Costs Not Appropriate in Protection Against Family Violence Act Litigation

Case Commented On: Denis v Palmer, 2016 ABQB 54 (CanLII)

This is a short comment on a short decision by the Court of Queen’s Bench on whether costs are appropriate in reviews of emergency protection orders (EPOs) under the Protection Against Family Violence Act, RSA 2000, c P-27 (PAFVA). The case is rather notorious, as the party seeking costs was Jonathan Denis, former Justice Minister and Solicitor General for Alberta, against whom an EPO was made right before the provincial election last spring. Breanna Palmer, Denis’s former wife, obtained an ex parte EPO from the Provincial Court against Denis and his mother Marguerite on April 25, 2015. Following the review hearing that must be held for all EPOs (see PAFVA s 3), Justice C.M. Jones gave an oral decision on May 4, 2015 in which he rejected the Denises’ request for an order setting aside Palmer’s application before the Provincial Court for an EPO nunc pro tunc (i.e. retroactively); granted their request to abridge the time for service, and revoked the EPO. He left it to the parties to reach an agreement regarding costs, but when they were unable to do so, the Denises brought the costs issue back before Justice Jones.

Access to Legal Services in Women’s Shelters

By Alysia Wright

On February 10, 2016

In Access to Justice, State Responses to Violence

By: Alysia Wright

PDF Version: Access to Legal Services in Women’s Shelters

Report Commented On: Canadian Research Institute for Law and the Family, Access to Legal Services in Women’s Shelters

In December 2015, the Canadian Research Institute for Law and the Family (CRILF) published a new report, Access to Legal Services in Women’s Shelters, authored by myself and Dr. Lorne Bertrand, examining access to legal services among clients of women’s domestic violence shelters. The study sampled the views of staff and clients at three domestic violence shelters with the goals of improving understanding of clients’ legal service needs; examining the challenges clients attempting to access legal services encounter; and making recommendations for improvement. Although domestic violence affects both men and women, women are disproportionally victims of domestic violence compared to men and there are no shelters for male victims of domestic violence in Alberta.

We conclude that clients’ service needs are complex and often involve legal problems, yet shelters face specific organizational barriers to coordinating legal services. We recommend that a further Alberta-wide study be undertaken to examine the legal access patterns of women experiencing domestic violence, to assess the prevalence of the barriers identified in the study and to determine whether further barriers are present in other shelters.

What Happens when a Self-Rep Steps on a Procedural Landmine during Judicial Review

By Sarah Burton

On August 31, 2015

In Access to Justice, Civil Procedure

By: Sarah Burton

PDF Version: What Happens when a Self-Rep Steps on a Procedural Landmine during Judicial Review

Case Commented On: Raczynska v Alberta Human Rights Commission, 2015 ABQB 494

The Alberta Court of Queen’s Bench recently rejected an application to judicially review the dismissal of a meritorious human rights claim. Why? The self-represented applicant did not name and serve the correct respondent on time. The fatality of this misstep would have been reasonably evident to any lawyer familiar with the Rules of Court, Alta Reg 124/2010 and case law governing judicial review. For self-represented litigants, however (and particularly those coming from the relatively forgiving forum of the Alberta Human Rights Commission) this is just one of the endless procedural landmines that can destroy their claim.

Expensive, Complex Appeals from Residential Tenancy Dispute Resolution Service Orders

By Jonnette Watson Hamilton

On July 16, 2015

In Access to Justice, Landlord/Tenant, Property

By: Jonnette Watson Hamilton

PDF Version: Expensive, Complex Appeals from Residential Tenancy Dispute Resolution Service Orders

Case Commented On: Nee v Ayre & Oxford Inc, 2015 ABQB 402 (CanLII)

The decision by Justice Donald Lee in Nee v Ayre & Oxford Inc is one of several decisions that he has made dismissing tenants’ appeals of Residential Tenancies Dispute Resolution Service (RTDRS) orders because the tenant failed to file a transcript of the oral hearing that took place before an RTDRS officer. This decision builds on Justice Lee’s prior judgment in Herman v Boardwalk Rental Communities, 2011 ABQB 394 (CanLII), as it reproduces twelve paragraphs of his Herman decision to provide the reasons for dismissing Ms. Nee’s appeal. It is also very similar to Justice Lee’s decisions in Zibrowski v Nicolis, 2012 ABQB 236 (CanLII). Although Nee v Ayre & Oxford Inc does not make any new legal points, it is worth a post because it once again highlights how complex and expensive appeals from RTDRS orders are, especially for many self-represented litigants who are, after all, the people for whom the RTDRS process was designed.

What exactly does that complex and expensive appeal process entail?

Law Students, Legal Services, and Access to Justice

By Eleanor Carlson

On July 2, 2015

In Access to Justice

By: Eleanor A. Carlson

PDF Version: Law Students, Legal Services, and Access to Justice

Legislation and Rules Commented On: Legal Profession Act, RSA 2000, c L-8; Rules of the Law Society of Alberta; Law Society of Alberta Code of Conduct

In June, an ABlawg post reviewed the decision of R v Hanson, 2015 ABPC 118, written by Judge Gaschler. The judgment included an analysis of Calgary based court agent Emmerson Brando’s personal history, his ability to appear as agent on behalf of his client, and the factors that should be considered in making this decision. Judge Gaschler denied Mr. Brando’s leave to appear, finding that to do so would undermine the integrity of the justice system due in part to Mr. Brando’s criminal past as well as the deceptive information found on Mr. Brando’s website where he advertised his agent services (at paras 21 & 22). In their blog post (read the post here), Heather White and Sarah Burton discuss Judge Gaschler’s decision in relation to the unregulated nature of agents and paralegals in Alberta, access to justice, and the disparity in the quality of justice for the those who can afford lawyers and those with lower incomes who cannot. They conclude with the hope that Judge Gaschler’s decision will facilitate a conversation surrounding the regulation of agents in Alberta. In this post, I highlight an additional important player in the conversation surrounding the provision of legal services by non-lawyers and access to justice, the Alberta law student.