Non-Pecuniary Damages in Wrongful Death Actions, Final Report 66

This report recommends four significant changes in respect to recovery of damages for non-pecuniary loss in wrongful death action of the 1979 enacted section 8 of Fatal Accidents Act. First, the new term “damages for grief and loss of the guidance, care and companionship of the deceased” is used to describe more accurately what is being compensated. Second, the levels of damages (the existing level of damages has been rejected as totally inadequate) are raised to […]

May 30, 1993

The Domestic Relations Act (DRA) – Phase 1. Family Relationships: Obsolete Actions, Final Report 65

With the changes in attitude toward marriage and family that have occurred over past decades many provisions of the Domestic Relations Act have become outmoded. This report recommends the abolition of six obsolete matrimonial actions: restitution of conjugal rights, judicial separation, damages in tort for adultery, enticement or harbouring a spouse; damages in tort for harbouring of a child, damages in contract for breach of a promise of marriage, and jactitation of marriage. This report also recommends […]

March 29, 1993

Advance Directives and Substitute Decision-Making in Personal Health Care, Final Report 64

Present law relating to substitute healthcare decision-making is deficient, as it requires that consent be obtained but does not provided a practical mechanism for doing so. The law also fails to provide individuals with a mechanism for planning for their own incapacity with respect to healthcare decisions. This report contains 28 recommendations and contains draft legislation entitled Health Care Instructions Act which would create the advance directive, create the healthcare agent or proxy, and integrate the scheme […]

March 28, 1993

Section 195 of the Land Titles Act, Final Report 63

This report recommends that section 195 of the Land Titles Act be amended so that purchasers may rely on the Land Titles Office register. The amended section should make it clear that actual or constructive notice of an off-register interest does not affect a non-fraudulent purchaser who acquires an interest from the registered or caveated owner of the interest. This report contains a draft of an amended section 195. Section 195 protects the purchaser against finding that […]

February 1, 1993

Proposals for the Reform of the Public Inquiries Act, Final Report 62

November 29, 1992

Report on Liens, Report for Discussion 13

A lien is an interest in property, similar to a security interest, which enables a creditor to retain (usually) or seize (occasionally) property belonging to a debtor. The rules governing liens in Alberta (at the time of publication) were widely varied, and controlled by a number of different statutes. This report suggests the creation of a unified Liens Act which would resolve problems such as the registration of liens, the priority of different interests on […]

September 2, 1992

Non-Pecuniary Damages in Wrongful Death Actions, Report for Discussion 12

The Fatal Accidents Act (at the time of this report’s publication) governed the right of surviving family members to recover non-pecuniary damages such as the loss of guidance, companionship, and care of a family member from someone who wrongfully causes their relative’s death. Section 8 of the Act provided that in the event of the loss of a family member, the following awards will be paid: $3000 to be split by the deceased’s parents; $3000 for the […]

June 2, 1992

Public Inquiries, Issues Paper 3

The Public Inquiries Act, RSA 1980, c P-29, invested the Lieutenant Governor in Council with the power to create public inquiries, when he or she deemed it expedient so to do, on any matter within the jurisdiction of the Province which was connected with its good government or public business. Aside from its function in regulating public inquiries (and their especially the commissioners), the Act is often used as a reference to describe the powers given […]

November 4, 1991

Advance Directives and Substitute Decision-Making in Personal Health Care, Report for Discussion 11

Present law relating to substitute healthcare decision-making is deficient, as it requires that consent be obtained but does not provided a practical mechanism for doing so. The law also fails to provide individuals with a mechanism for planning for their own incapacity with respect to healthcare decisions. This report contains 28 recommendations and contains draft legislation entitled Health Care Instructions Act which would create the advance directive, create the healthcare agent or proxy, and integrate the scheme […]

November 2, 1991

Revision of the Surrogate Rules, Report for Discussion 10

This report aims to amend Alberta’s outdated Surrogate Rules, which govern the procedure for the administration of an estate. A complicated, detailed endeavour, it was completed in partnership with the Surrogate Rules Committee, and focused solely on the procedural statutory provisions involved. Substantive provisions are examined in another project now underway. Some recommendations are: That one court have carriage of all applications dealing with the administration of a given estate so that courtroom efficiency is […]

October 2, 1991