Ensuring Equitable Parentage: Proposed Reforms for Part 3 of the Family Law Act

In July 2024, We released a report with recommendations for reforming Part 3 of the Family Law Act, which outlines the legal framework for parentage in British Columbia. Parentage plays a crucial role in establishing a child’s identity, including family name, relationships, nationality, and cultural heritage. It also determines important legal rights and responsibilities, such as inheritance rights. The report examines how the rules have been working in practice, with the goal of modernizing the Read more…

Legislative Assembly of British Columbia

Advancing Social Justice: Recent Legislative Acts Passed in B.C.

The B.C. Legislative Assembly recently passed 27 bills, including 17 amendments to existing acts and 10 new acts. Highlighted in this post are acts that address social justice issues with the goal of improving life for B.C. residents.  Tackling inflating housing costs  What: Bill 15, informally known as the “Home Flipping Act,” creates a 20% tax rate on residential properties if they are sold within one year of purchase. Over time the tax rate will Read more…

Photos of the new and departing people at BCLI

New Faces, Fond Farewells: A Record Year of New Faces

We’d like to introduce our new team members and bid a farewell to our departing board member. This year, we’re especially excited to welcome a record number of students joining us across the country. Here’s a bit about everyone: New Staff and Students Marie Ong, Staff Lawyer Marie completed her law degree from UBC and was called to the BC Bar in 2022. Before joining us, she articled and worked at a Vancouver-based national law Read more…

Economic abuse

Stories in Economic Abuse: Tools of Harm

Our project on economic abuse and family litigation is well underway. Currently, our research is delving into case law to uncover how family business can be used as tools of economic abuse. The analysis reveals fascinating and important patterns in the behavior of perpetrators and the legal responses to them. An example, Droit de la famille 22274, 2022 QCCS 638 Economic abuse often is just one form of violent behavior present in a relationship. Perpetrators Read more…

Release of Report on Artificial Intelligence and Civil Liability

If you are injured by a robot waiter, hit by a driverless taxi, or libelled by chatbot, what should the legal consequences be? With BCLI’s release (in May 2024) of the Report on Artificial Intelligence and Civil Liability, we offer answers to this question and many others regarding civil justice in cases involving harm caused by AI and AI-directed machines. The foibles of large language models have shown the world that AI isn’t infallible and Read more…