Print entire newsletter

November 25, 2009

Changes coming to legal aid offices, services, and staff

You've probably already heard that the Legal Services Society (LSS) is making changes, effective April 1, 2010. Find out about the changes coming to legal aid offices, services, and staff. read more>>

Clicklaw update

The Clicklaw team has been working behind the scenes to make the website even more effective at helping the public and service providers find public legal education and information materials in BC. Find out what they've been up to and when the HelpMap is coming. read more>>

LSS reaches out to more remote communities

As part of our ongoing commitment to reach out to advocates in remote communities, LSS has planned six regional one-day workshops before March 2010. Find out about the first one and what's still to come. read more>>

Hot off the press from LSS

Read about three new publications available from LSS: the Poverty Law Primer, Living Together or Living Apart (in French), and Your Guide to the Refugee Claim Process (in simplified Chinese) read more>>

Enhancements coming to the Family Law in BC website!

The LSS family law website team has begun modifying the navigation on the Family Law website and will change the way pages are organized to make it easier and faster for you to find useful information. read more>>

True or false? When an Aboriginal person is being sentenced in criminal court, before giving the person jail time, the criminal court judge must first consider all other available options that are reasonable in the person's circumstances. Answer here and find out more.

See the Our Reports page of the Representative for Children and Youth website for a link to Representative for Children and Youth Mary Ellen Turpel-Lafond's report: "Honouring Christian Lee — No Private Matter: Protecting Children Living With Domestic Violence."

See Section 718.2(e) of the Criminal Code and the 1999 Supreme Court of Canada case R. v. Gladue, which state that a judge sentencing an Aboriginal offender must consider the cultural and adverse background factors experienced by many Aboriginal people before imposing a sentence. The application of "Gladue rights" may result in a non-custodial sentence or a lesser jail term, reducing the problem of over-representation of Aboriginal people in prison. If an Aboriginal offender does not tell the court how he or she has been personally affected by adverse background factors, then he or she may have waived the right to particular consideration under Gladue. The Justice Education Society website contains information on Aboriginal sentencing. Mary Ellen Turpel-Lafond also wrote an interesting paper about Gladue rights called "Sentencing Within a Restorative Justice Paradigm."