Defamation: Fair Comment and Letters to the Editor, Final Report 35

This report is concerned about the law as it has stood since the decision of the Supreme Court of Canada in Chernesky v Armadale Publishers Ltd. and King [1978]6 WWR 618. It reviews the existing law of defamation, fair comment, the media, and the effect of the Chernesky decision and proposes twos changes to existing legislation. The law laid down by the Cherneskey case places a publisher in greater jeopardy for publishing opinions of others, […]

October 1, 1979

The Role of a Judge in Matrimonial Support Upon Divorce: A Profile of Mr. Justice Miller

August 2, 1979

Statutory Provisions Affecting the Law of Contracts

August 1, 1979

Service of Documents During Postal Interruptions, Final Report 34

Some statutes or statutory instruments provide for the service of a document by mail. This report addresses the issue of whether or not this purported service by mail is effective in the event of a mail strike. This report recommends that a provincial statute be enacted that will invalidate service by mail when the mail service is not in operation. In such a case the statute should allow a person to effect service personally or […]

June 1, 1979

Interspousal Tort Immunity, Final Report 33

This report addresses the issue of whether inter-spousal tort immunity should be abolished. It addresses the present state of the law in Alberta, other common law provinces of Canada, and other Commonwealth countries. It assesses arguments for retaining interspousal tort immunity, and looks particularly at the reasons for domestic harmony, collusion, indirect benefit from own wrongful conduct, and subrogation. This report concludes that there is no merit in placing any restriction upon the type of […]

April 3, 1979

Guest Passenger Legislation, Final Report 32

Neither the common law nor statute law has taken a consistent approach to the guest or gratuitous passenger. This report presents arguments in favour of the guest passenger legislation and arguments in favour of repealing the guest passenger legislation. The report notes that today a large number of guest passengers do not get “something for nothing” and that the probability of reciprocal benefit makes it fair to impose liability on the driver for his or […]

April 2, 1979

Contributory Negligence and Concurrent Wrongdoers, Final Report 31

The Contributory negligence Act and the Tortfeasors Act are valuable pieces of law reform and have made fundamental improvements in tort law. However, there are some gaps in the Acts that give rise to problems of interpretation. This report examines the Acts in order to reconcile them, to clarify them, to fill in any gaps, and to consider whether or not their principles should be extended to cases not currently included within them. This report […]

April 1, 1979

Statute of Frauds and Related Legislation, Research Paper 12

This report examines the provisions of the Statue of Frauds and the Guarantees Acknowledgment Act, an Alberta statute. Where the provisions of these Acts are still useful, the report recommends that it be retained and reformed, where they are not useful that they be abolished. The Statue of Frauds was enacted by the English Parliament in 1677 to prevent false claims being accepted by the courts by requiring that a number of kinds of contracts and dispositions of interest in […]

March 4, 1979

The Builders’ Lien Act: Certain Specific Problems, Final Report 30

This report recommends several amendments to the Builders’ Lien Act and also briefly discusses whether a Builders’ Lien Act is necessary or should be repealed. A draft Builders’ Lien Amendment Act is attached. This report recommends that the period of time that the holdback or lien fund must be retained by the owner is 35 days after abandonment or substantial performance of the contract. The report recommends that the Act provide that an owner or […]

March 1, 1979

Family Relief, Final Report 29

This report was undertaken as part of ALRI’s studies on the reform of family law. The Family Relief Act provides for an award from an estate for the maintenance of the surviving spouse and a limited class of children. The maintenance must come from the net estate after payment of claims against the deceased. An eligible dependant may apply to the court within six months of the grant of probate or administration. There is provision […]

June 1, 1978