Bill 96: Quebec public servants to rely on ‘good faith’ of people seeking service in any language but French

With Quebec’s new law to protect the French language poised to come into effect June 1, the government has sent provincial agencies a list of criteria clients must meet in order to be served in a language other than French. CBC News has obtained the instructions the ministry responsible for the French language has given to those agencies and institutions on how to apply the law, known as Bill 96. The law’s wide scope limits the use of English in the courts and by civil servants, and imposes stricter language requirements on small businesses, municipalities and CEGEPs. Provincial civil servants…
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The Ontario law federation raises alarm over dwindling number of lawyers in remote areas

The Federation of Ontario Law Associations (FOLA) is raising concerns over access to justice as the number of practicing law professionals in rural and remote areas of the province of dwindles. FOLA, which represents 46 district and county associations in Ontario, put forward a motion last week that calls on the Law Society of Ontario to develop a strategy for attracting and retaining law professionals in underserved communities. “We hear from communities all across Ontario about the lack of lawyers who are moving to fill gaps in service in smaller communities, and these are predominantly northern communities and rural communities,”…
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Two hospitals broke law by denying abortion

A health screeningUS federal health officials say two hospitals broke the law by denying an abortion to a woman experiencing a life-threatening emergency. The hospitals, in Kansas and Missouri, are now being investigated by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). The investigation is the first of its kind to be launched since the Supreme Court invalidated the national right to an abortion last year. Numerous states have issued regulations and bans on abortion since that ruling. Following the Supreme Court ruling, the White House warned hospitals that doctors must provide abortions if the patient’s health is at…
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Opinions | Fox News settlement with Dominion is good for defamation law

Comment on this storyComments“I could stand in the middle of Fifth Avenue and shoot somebody, and wouldn’t lose any voters.” — Donald TrumpFox News could plop one of its prime time anchors at a desk in the middle of Sixth Avenue, in front of Fox’s headquarters, and the anchor could report that John Wilkes Booth killed Marilyn Monroe on the grassy knoll in Dallas’s Dealey Plaza. And Fox News would not lose its core viewers.In recent months there has been an avalanche of evidence that Fox News thinks of its audience as akin to campus snowflakes easily…
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Ian Mulgrew: Top lawyer accused of mishandling millions

Breadcrumb Trail Linksopinion News Crime columnistsColumn: The Law Society of BC has accused one of the province’s most senior and respected lawyers, Michael Bolton, of mishandling $20 million in trust accounts.Published April 14, 2023 • Last updated 1 day ago • 5 minute readLawyer Michael Bolton speaks with reporters outside the BC Supreme Court house in 2010. Photo by Ward Perrin /PROVINCEArticle content The Law Society of BC has accused one of the province’s most senior and respected lawyers, Michael Bolton, of permitting his trust account to be used in a manner that he ought…
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Charging Trump hush money case as felonies involves uncertain legal path | Donald Trump

Prosecutors in the Manhattan district attorney’s office escalated 34 charges against Donald Trump to felony by arguing the former president concocted a scheme to conceal election law violations and deceive tax authorities, the unsealed indictment showed on Tuesday.The grand jury charged the former president with falsifying business records after Trump’s reimbursement to his then fixer Michael Cohen for $130,000 in hush money paid to adult film star Stormy Daniels in 2016 were falsely recorded as legal expenses. But falsifying business records is normally a misdemeanor offense, unless prosecutors can show that a defendant intends to commit, aid or conceal…
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Employers who withhold workers’ passports to face steeper fines under the proposed Ontario law

Employers who withhold the passports or work permits of foreign nationals could soon face hundreds of thousands of dollars in new penalties under legislation being introduced in Ontario today. Labor Minister Monte McNaughton is tabling an omnibus bill today that includes the protections for migrant workers, expanding the reasons military reservists can take job leave, and requiring more washrooms on construction sites as well as some for women only. Currently, labor inspectors can levy penalties of $250 for each passport or work permit that is held, but with the proposed changes, that would rise to $100,000. As well, if an…
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