Access to Justice

Opinion: The Tension Between Access to Justice and Conservation of Resources in British Columbia (Attorney General) v Council of Canadians with Disabilities

Written by Calvin Ediger  The Supreme Court has recently clarified the law with regards to public interest standing in British Columbia (Attorney General) v. Council of Canadians with Disabilities. Public interest standing allows organizations or individuals to bring a matter to court even though they are not directly impacted or had their rights infringed. This improves access […]

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News: Department of Justice Releases Dual Reports on Legal Aid in Canada

Written by Calvin Ediger In July 2021 the Department of Justice’s Evaluation Branch released a report entitled Evaluation of the Legal Aid Program. Presented within was an evaluation of the effectiveness in federal funding for legal aid programs covering the fiscal years 2016-2017 to 2019-2020.[1] More information was released by the Department of Justice’s Research and Statistics

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News: Manitoba Revises Court of Appeal and Provincial Court Rules

Written by Calvin Ediger The Manitoba Legislature has recently passed the Court of Appeal and Provincial Court Amendment Act. The act serves to advance the cause of access to justice in Manitoba. Specifically, the act allows for the Chief Justice of Manitoba to appoint a judge to meet with the parties to attempt to settle issues

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Opinion: Open Courts and Access to Justice in the Digital Age

Written by Calvin Ediger In its recent report No Turning Back: CBA Task Force Report on Justice Issues Arising from Covid-19, the Canadian Bar Association remarked on the rapid adoption of new technology by Canadian legal actors. Many of these newly adopted technologies promise to save time, costs, and improve access for individuals seeking to access

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Opinion: Manitoba Should Look to Ontario’s Lead in Summary Judgment Availability

Written by Calvin Ediger Summary judgment motions are a powerful tool in the hands of modern courts that can greatly decrease the cost and time commitment of court proceedings for litigants. The Supreme Court endorsed summary judgment as a substitute for full trials in the case of Hryniak v. Mauldin, a case that arose in Ontario

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Report: Issues Regarding Bail Hearings in Northern Manitoba

Written by Calvin Ediger In 2019 the Manitoba Court of Queens Bench made its ruling in the case of R. v. Balfour and Young.[1] In it, the Court identified several issues occurring in the Thompson judicial area. For context, the Thompson area is not only the largest judicial area in Manitoba, it also handles a high

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Attraction and Retention of Lawyers in Rural Manitoba

By Eric Epp It is clear there are not enough lawyers practicing in rural and remote Manitoba. The attraction and retention of lawyers in rural and remote communities is increasingly becoming a deep issue of accessibility to justice. The majority of Manitobans, around 60%, reside in or around Winnipeg. Manitoba’s legal profession is not reflective

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Legal Help Centre (LHC) is Looking for an Executive Director

Written by Natasha Brown Legal Help Centre (LHC) is looking for an Executive Director to manage all aspects of its pro bono community law clinic.  This is a great career opportunity and a chance to be a leader in the efforts to improve access to justice for those who need it most. LHC’s mission is to improve access to legal

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Rule 2.04: An Underutilized Rule in Manitoba Civil Procedure?

Written by Gerard Kennedy Effective January 1, 2018, many amendments were made to the Manitoba Court of Queen’s Bench Rules (the “QB Rules”), designed to resolve cases more proportionately, and thus more in accordance with access to justice. One of these, Rule 2.04 of the QB Rules, has rarely been used. But after the Manitoba Court of Appeal

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