Hunter Litigation Chambers’ Post

Check out this video from Premier Smith on our upcoming amendments to the Alberta Bill of Rights.

Well said, Premier! In a few weeks, the UCP government will introduce legislation to amend and strengthen the Alberta Bill of Rights, a long-standing safeguard for civil liberties. Recognizing essential freedoms like speech, religion, and equality before the law, the Bill of Rights has served Albertans well, but must evolve to address modern challenges. The upcoming amendments will focus on three key areas: Medical Freedom: Reinforcing the right of every Albertan to make personal medical decisions, including the choice to receive or refuse vaccinations or medical procedures. Property Rights: Strengthening protections to ensure no one is deprived of their property without due process and just compensation, reaffirming the right to personal property. Firearms Rights: Clarifying the right to legally acquire, own, and use firearms, protecting law-abiding citizens, particularly farmers, ranchers, and hunters, from federal overreach.

I'm looking forward to seeing the final version of the amendments to the Bill of Rights. It's interesting that the two class actions against the government I am involved in are related to these amendments: 1) Lack of informed consent and government duress regarding C0vid shots. 2) Compensation for businesses that were closed due to C0vid mandates. What I find difficult to reconcile is, if these rights and protections are so important to Alberta and the Premier, why is the province of Alberta fighting so hard against Albertans who have already suffered harm due to these breaches?

Interesting case out of the Supreme Court of Canada last week -- Canada (Attorney General) v. Power 2024 SCC 26 https://lnkd.in/eWzEi3XK  -- establishing the test for when the government can be held liable for damages when it has enacted legislation later found to be unconstitutional. The SCC found that when the government has enacted legislation that was later found to be unconstitutional, it does not have absolute immunity from liability for damages. But don’t start drafting a statement of claim yet. Despite the fact that the government doesn’t have absolute immunity, the test for liability for damages is extremely high: “[T]he defence of immunity will be available to the state unless it is established that the law was clearly unconstitutional, or that its enactment was in bad faith or an abuse of power. This is a high threshold.  But it is not insurmountable.” So is sending people to Mars. Any bets on which happens first?

🗣 In April 2022, Alberta's Legislative Assembly unanimously passed my motion calling on the provincial government to "deploy every legal, economic, and constitutional tool at the province's disposal to maximize its ability to achieve a fair deal for Alberta within the Canadian federation." But over 2 years later, we've seen 💫ZERO ACTION💫 from the United Conservative government to actually advance this motion and fight for a better deal for Alberta. 📜 The motion passed 32-0, with all parties agreeing Alberta needs to push for reforms to put us on more equal footing with other provinces. Whether it's an outdated equalization formula, lack of pipeline capacity, or federal overreach into provincial areas - Albertans are being shortchanged. 💰 Yet the UCP has done virtually nothing concrete beyond empty rhetoric to actually utilize our "legal, economic, and constitutional tools" to rectify these injustices, as demanded by this Legislature motion. ⚖ From establishing provincial revenue and tax powers, to asserting more jurisdictional control, to challenging federal overreach in court, there are many levers Alberta could pull. But so far, they've been left untouched gathering dust. Albertans deserve a government that will fight tooth and nail for a fair deal, not just give lofty speeches. It's been over a year - the time for action on this motion is long overdue. When will the UCP walk the walk? 🤷 #ableg #abpoli #fairdealforalberta #nomoredelays

In this paper, Brad Hanna and Anthony Labib detailed how the Supreme Court of Canada | Cour suprême du Canada 2020 decision in C.M. Callow v. Zollinger expanded the contractual duty of good faith, requiring parties to correct their counter-party's mistaken belief arising from the contractual relationship ⚖️ This duty, which includes addressing misleading omissions or half-truths, applies broadly to commercial contracts, impacting the financial industry significantly 🙌 This paper analyzes post-Callow jurisprudence to clarify when and how the duty to correct arises, offering four key principles and practical considerations for contracting parties to avoid liability. The findings are relevant to commercial actors, financial services, legal practitioners, and academics 💯 #BFLR #DutyofGoodFaith

While Austin Ward and I's Year In Review on wrongful dismissals and Alberta's new streamlined trial process might not be as exciting as your Spotify Wrapped, it's worth a read. Whether you are an employer or employee, it's wise to stay informed on how this revised trial process might affect your situation. Get in touch to learn more about how we can support you with your employment needs. #EmploymentLaw #yyc #albertalaw #wrongfuldismissal

Alberta's streamlined trial rules aimed to simplify legal processes, but their applicability to wrongful dismissal cases has been limited over the past year. Key decisions—such as Arsenault, Hou, and Bailey—show that wrongful dismissal cases often involve factual disputes and complex issues unsuitable for expedited trials. In this month's edition of our Workwise newsletter, Austin Ward and Ben Civil reviewed these rulings, which underline the importance of assessing the suitability of streamlined trials in wrongful dismissal actions, ensuring procedural strategies align with case specifics to avoid unnecessary complications. https://field.law/wwstream #Dismissal #Trials

2024 was a banner year for competition in Canada. From major reforms to outdated laws and rising enforcement and advocacy activity, it can be hard to keep track of everything going on in the space. To that end, CAMP has put together a brief facetsheet of the exciting competition law and policy work undertaken by Canada's competition cop, the Competition Bureau, in 2024. This work is just beginning, and we look forward to publishing an even longer list next year. https://lnkd.in/gz6SnFRz

Municipal Misinformation Having noted that the CBC frequently disables comment, I decided to put this one right up in the open on a story that CBC is again choosing to misrepresent, along with a municipal elected servant. Andrew Knack , try reading the Municipal Government Act. 1) You are *not* a member of a government, because no municipal politician is. Municipalities are not governments, they are corporations that exist at the pleasure of the Alberta Government. 2) Also there in the MGA that you are supposed to know, is that the Alberta government has always had the sole discretion to remove councils and that has happened several times in the last fairly short amount of time. This being reinterpreted to include removing aldermen is completely at the Province's discretion. CBC , we all know you don't like the way the political winds are blowing. This does not relieve you from an obligation to try, just a little bit, to be impartial and report all the facts.