Publications
The Residential Tenancies Act: General Issues
The Alberta Law Reform Institute (ALRI) has published Residential Tenancies Act: General Issues. This is the first in a series of reports summarizing issues in the law that affects tenants and landlords on a daily basis. The Residential Tenancies Act is important because it affects over 25% of households in Alberta and often involve not just money, but also the basic necessity of shelter, quality of life, health and well-being of landlords, tenants and families […]
| AREA OF LAW | Landlord and Tenant Personal Property Property Real Property |
| TAGS | rental, apartment, townhouse, housing, evict, roommate, pest, vacancy, manager, neighbour, homeless, condo, home, house, dispute, agreement, contract, control, eviction, landlord, lease, Property, rent, residential, tenant |
| FORMAT | Publications |
| FILE | IPNo.6.pdf |
March 25, 2025
Dower Act, Final Report 118
The Alberta Law Reform Institute (ALRI) is recommending replacing the Dower Act with new legislation. The Dower Act protects a spouse if the couple’s home is solely owned by the other spouse. It has two features that prevent a non-owner spouse from losing their home unexpectedly: Consent to disposition: The owner cannot sell, lease, mortgage, or otherwise transfer the homestead without the non-owner’s consent. Life estate: After the owner’s death, the non-owner can keep the homestead for […]
| AREA OF LAW | Wills and Succession Family Law Property |
| TAGS | home, disposition, real estate, wills, consent, contract, dower, estate, marriage, Rights |
| FORMAT | Publications |
| FILE | FR118.pdf |
September 26, 2022
Arbitration Act: Stay and Appeal Issues, Final Report 103
The Alberta Law Reform Institute has published Final Report 103 – Arbitration Act: Stay and Appeal Issues. Many legal disputes are arbitrated outside the court system using the Alberta Arbitration Act. Over the years, certain issues have arisen which affect the ideal functioning of the arbitration system. Following public consultation, the Alberta Law Reform Institute has now released Final Report 103 – Arbitration Act: Stay and Appeal Issues.
| AREA OF LAW | Administration of Justice Alternate Dispute Resolution |
| TAGS | mediation, stay, dispute, resolution, arbitrate, Appeal, arbitration, contract, Court |
| FORMAT | Publications |
| FILE | FR103.pdf |
January 1, 2014
Contracts for the Sale and Purchase of Land: Purchasers’ Remedies, Report for Discussion 21
This report addresses the current state of the law (as of the time of publication) concerning situations where a purchaser of land has fulfilled his or her obligations under the purchase contract, but the vendor has not transferred the land. In Semelhago v. Paramadevan, [1996] 2 SCR 415, the Supreme Court of Canada determined that in most such cases, the purchaser will be entitled to damages, but not specific performance (i.e., receipt of the land in […]
| AREA OF LAW | Corporate and Commercial |
| TAGS | obligation, paramadevan, performance, semelhago, contract, damages, Land, purchase, remedy, sale |
| FORMAT | Publications |
| FILE | rfd021.pdf |
March 2, 2009
Limitations Act – Standardizing Limitation Periods for Actions on Insurance Contracts, Final Report 90
Presently limitation periods for bringing actions against insurers for failing to honour insurance policies depends on the type of insurance. The Insurance Act contains statutory provisions that specifically set out limitation periods for certain types of insurance and requires other specific types of insurance policies to contain “Statutory Conditions” that prescribe their own limitation periods. Inconsistent limitation periods have caused confusion for both insured and for lawyers, and have resulted in a considerable amount of litigation over […]
| AREA OF LAW | Corporate and Commercial Limitation of Actions Procedure |
| TAGS | period, contract, insurance, Limitations |
| FORMAT | Publications |
| FILE | fr090.pdf |
August 29, 2003
Enduring Powers of Attorney, Issues Paper 5
The Alberta Law Reform Institute is considering whether to prepare a report and recommendations for the adoption of additional safeguards against abuse of Enduring Powers of Attorney (“EPAs”). In order that its consideration may be properly informed, the Institute solicits the comments and advice of the reader on these two questions: Should the law provide additional safeguards against abuse of Enduring Powers of Attorney (“EPAs”)? If the law should provide additional safeguards, what should the […]
| AREA OF LAW | Wills and Succession Family Law |
| TAGS | mental, agency, capacity, contract, enduring, power of attorney |
| FORMAT | Publications |
| FILE | IPNo.5.pdf |
February 4, 2002
Standardizing Limitation Periods for Actions on Insurance Contracts, Consultation Memorandum 10
When the new Limitations Act came into force on March 1, 1999, a number of changes were made to the limitation law in Alberta. The limitation periods for actions on insurance contracts is in a state of confusion, several of the limitation periods that the Insurance Act prescribes are inconsistent with the general limitation periods in the Limitations Act. The scope of this project addresses issues which relate to rationalizing limitation periods for actions against insurers. The issues addressed and […]
| AREA OF LAW | Administration of Justice Corporate and Commercial Courts Limitation of Actions Procedure |
| TAGS | insurer, period, contract, insurance, Limitation |
| FORMAT | Publications |
| FILE | cm10.pdf |
December 4, 2001
Enduring Powers of Attorney, Final Report 59
This report addresses the desire by those who are contemplating their own possible mental incapacity to assign to someone power of attorney over their affairs. At the time of this report, at common law, a power of attorney would automatically terminate as soon as the donor of that power had become mentally incapable. As a result, many people who suffered mental incapacity would have a trustee assigned by a court to care for their affairs. […]
| AREA OF LAW | Wills and Succession |
| TAGS | agency, capacity, contract, enduring, power of attorney |
| FORMAT | Publications |
| FILE | fr059.pdf |
December 1, 1990
Enduring Powers of Attorney, Report for Discussion 7
This report addresses the desire by those who are contemplating their own possible mental incapacity to assign to someone power of attorney over their affairs. At the time of this report, at common law, a power of attorney would automatically terminate as soon as the donor of that power had become mentally incapable. As a result, many people who suffered mental incapacity would have a trustee assigned by a court to care for their affairs. […]
| AREA OF LAW | Wills and Succession |
| TAGS | mental, agency, capacity, contract, enduring, power of attorney |
| FORMAT | Publications |
| FILE | rfd7.pdf |
February 2, 1990
Statute of Frauds and Related Legislation, Final Report 44
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 […]
| AREA OF LAW | Corporate and Commercial Property |
| TAGS | contract, Evide, goods, guarantee, Land, Property, real, sale, Statute of Frauds |
| FORMAT | Publications |
| FILE | fr044.pdf |
June 1, 1985