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Le Code civil du Québec prévoit désormais que Vadoption coutumière autochtone produit des effets civils lorsqu'elle est attestée par l'autorité compétente désignée par une communauté ou une nation autochtone. Cette reconnaissance met fin au monopole des institutions étatiques concernan t la modification de la filiation et accroît le rôle de la coutume comme source de droit. A cet égard, elle se distingue d'autres réformes qui, elles aussi, avaient pour objet de rapprocher le droit de la pratique familiale. Des réticences de la part du système de protection cle la jeunesse et de la magistrature sont donc prévisibles au moment cle l'application du nouveau mécanisme. Ainsi, l'ingérence étatique par l'entremise du critère de l'intérêt de l'enfant risque d'être problématique. Les séquelles causées par l'appareil de la protection de la jeunesse en milieu autochtone appellent les autorités étatiques à respecter la pratique coutumière, y compris les interprétations de l'intérêt de l'enfant qui diffèrent des leurs. Under the Civil Code of Québec, an Aboriginal customary adoption now produces civil effects once it has been attested by a competent authority in the Aboriginal community or nation. This recognition ends the monopoly of state institutions regarding changes to filiation and increases the role of custom as a source of law. The changes therefore depart from other reforms that aimed to narrow the gap between law and family practice. It is possible that judges and the youth protection system will hesitate as they apply the new mechanism. In particular, state interference through the criterion of the best interests of the child may prove problematic. In light of the serious past and ongoing harms caused by the youth protection system in Aboriginal communities, the state authorities should be mindful of the need to respect customary practice, including interpretations of the best interests of the child that differ from their own. El Código Civil de Quebec prevé que la adopción de la costumbre autóctona produzca efectos de carácter civil una vez que la autoridad competente de una comunidad o de una nación autóctona la refrende. Este reconocimiento ha puesto fin al monopolio de las instituciones estatales relacionadas con la modificación de la filiación, y ha ampliado el rol de la costumbre como fuente del derecho. En este aspecto, se distingue de otras formas, las cuales también han tenido como objetivo concertar el derecho y el uso familiar. Es posible que exista reticencia tanto por parte del sistema de protección de la juventud como de la magistratura en lo referente a la aplicación del nuevo mecanismo, ya que la intervención estatal, particularmente en lo que concierne el criterio del interés del menor, conllevaría a una situación problemática. Las secuelas que el mecanismo de la protección de la juventud puede causar en el medio autóctono exhortan a las autoridades estatales a respetar la práctica consuetudinaria, lo cual incluye las interpretaciones dadas al interés del menor y que pueden diferir de las suyas., Aboriginal Customary Adoption in Quebec Civil Law La adopción consuetudinaria autóctona en el derecho civil quebequense 1 L'ouverture du Code civil du Québec aux pratiques autochtones 1.1 Le cadre de [...]

Le présent texte examine la réceptivité du système de droit mixte québécois à l'égard de l'emprunt à la common law et le pouvoir des tribunaux de première instance de faire évoluer le droit. L'auteur étudie le cas de l'enrichissement injustifié en matière d'union de fait. Invités à s'inspirer de l'affaire de common law Kerr c. Baranow traitée par la Cour suprême du Canada, les juges en soulignent les origines étrangères, prennent acte du fait que la Cour d'appel en a déclaré les principes applicables et se taisent parfois sur leur provenance. La notion de la complétude du droit civil, selon laquelle il n'y a pas lieu de se référer aux sources de common law, ne s'est pas entièrement imposée. Toutefois, les traces de l'origine étrangère de l'emprunt s'estompent rapidement. Ce processus d'intégration de l'emprunt donne l'apparence d'un évènement ponctuel plutôt que d'un processus d'échange constant entre le droit civil et d'autres traditions. How open is the mixed jurisdiction of Quebec towards ideas from the common law, and what is tried judges' scope for developing the law? Unjust enrichment in the cohabitation context serves as a case study. Encountering the approach in the Supreme Court of Canada's common-law judgment Kerr v. Baranow, judges have emphasized its foreignness, noted that the Court of Appeal declared its principles applicable, and sometimes made no mention of its source. The idea of the civil law's completeness or autonomy--under which reference to the common law has no place--has not wholly prevailed. Nevertheless, signs of the transplant's origins fade quickly. This process of integration looks like an occasional occurrence, rather than an ongoing exchange between legal traditions. Este texto examina la receptividad del sistema de derecho mixto quebequense se que ha sustentado del common law, y del poder que tienen los tribunales de primera instancia para que el derecho evolucione. El texto estudia el caso del enriquecimiento injustificado en materia de unión ele hecho. Exhortados para inspirarse del caso de common law de Kerr contra Baranow, el cual fue pronunciado por la Corte Suprema de Canadá, los jueces han hecho hincapié en fuentes extranjeras, han considerado el hecho que la Corte de Apelaciones haya declarado los principios aplicables, y algunas veces, han guardado silencio sobre su proveniencia. La noción de cabalidad del derecho civil, según la cual no procede referirse a las fuentes del common law no se ha impuesto en totalidad. No obstante, los indicios de origen extranjero que se han tomado, se desvanecen rápidamente. Este proceso de integración del préstamo tiene la apariencia de ser un evento puntual, más que el de un proceso de intercambio constante que se realiza entre el derecho civil y otras tradiciones., Unjust Enrichment, De Facto Unions and Borrowing from the Common Law in the Mixed Jurisdiction of Québec El enriquecimiento injustificado, la unión de hecho y el préstamo del common law [...]

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The settler state's taking of Indigenous children into care disrupts their communities and continues destructive, assimilationist policies. This article presents the perceptions of lawyers, social workers and judges of how Indigenous parents experience child welfare in Quebec. Our participants characterized those experiences negatively. Barriers of language and culture as well as mistrust impede meaningful participation. Parents experience epistemic injustice, wronged in their capacity as knowers. Mistrust also hampers efforts to include Indigenous workers in the system. Emphasizing state workers' ignorance of Indigenous family practices and the harms of settler colonialism, participants called for greater training. But critical literature on professional education signals the limits of such training to change institutions. Our findings reinforce the jurisdictional calls away from improving the system towards empowering Indigenous peoples to run services of child welfare. The patterns detected and theoretical resources used are relevant to researchers of other institutions that interact with vulnerable populations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

L'auteur soutient dans le texte qui suit que les aspects par lesquels l'harmonisation du droit fédéral avec les droits communs provinciaux, qui a été entreprise par le gouvernement fédéral, diffère de son éponyme, l'harmonie musicale, soulèvent de cruciales controverses relatives aux théories du fédéralisme canadien et à la philosophie du droit. Tandis que le projet d'harmonisation juridique, tel qu'il a été conçu par ses architectes, peut être caractérisé comme une approche par le haut (top-down), approche conforme avec le positivisme juridique, l'harmonie musicale est mieux décrite comme une approche par le bas (bottom-up), approche plus conforme au pluralisme juridique. Si elle atteignait ses objectifs, l'initiative d'harmonisation juridique fédérale aurait comme effet d'enchâsser une vision selon laquelle le droit civil appartient exclusivement au gouvernement québécois. Or, malgré les ambitions de ses architectes, l'initiative d'harmonisation, dans sa mise en oeuvre, se révèle indisciplinée, soulevant de nombreux débats et interrogations. D'ailleurs, loin d'être un signe négatif, les débats et les désaccords font eux-mêmes partie de la pratique de l'harmonisation. The ways in which the harmonization of federal and provincial law undertaken by the federal government differs from its namesake, musical harmony, illuminate crucial controversies regarding theories of Canadian federalism and legal philosophy. While the legal harmonization project, as conceived by its designers, can be characterized as top-down, and consistent with legal positivism, musical harmony is better viewed as bottom-up, an approach more consistent with legal pluralism. Were it to attain its objectives, the legal harmonization project would entrench a vision of the civil law as belonging exclusively to the government of Quebec. Despite its architects' ambitions, however, the harmonization project, in its implementation, has shown itself to be unruly, generating many debates and questions. Far from being negative, these debates and disagreements are themselves part of the practice of harmonization., 1 L'harmonisation juridique et l'harmonie musicale 1.1 L'harmonisation juridique et ses caractéristiques 1.1.1 Le contexte constitutionnel et les techniques privilégiées 1.1.2 Une approche par le haut 1.2 L'ecart entre l'harmonisation [...]

In an act of minor comparativism, this Article studies feminist writings on unmarried cohabitation from Canada's jurisdictions of the common law and civil law. It examines activist texts and legal scholarship for and against regulating cohabitants. Reading the English-language literature from the common law provinces and the French-language literature from Quebec, it reports differences in substance, in emphasis, and in what is common sense. Differing approaches to ideas of freedom, autonomy, and choice run throughout. The Quebec literature shows disagreement between activists and scholars. Over time, that literature has moved towards the view in the common law literature. Lessons for comparatists relate to varieties of difference, the definition of legal sources, the asymmetrical role that legal traditions play in majority and minority contexts, and the limits of law in explaining differences. Given the unreliability of initial observations of difference and sameness, comparatists should read a broad range of sources with care and humility. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article studies judges' early treatment of a new law on parentage and assisted reproduction. During decades of legislative inaction, Ontario's judges adapted the law to evolving familial practices, at times boldly. A legislative overhaul in 2016, aiming to recognize all children's families equally and inclusively, raised the question whether judges would adopt a more restrained role post-reform. In two early cases, where the new conditions for automatic recognition of a parental arrangement were unmet, the judges emphasized the intention of involved adults. Closely reading the legislation, the article presents bases for deciding the cases otherwise and for reducing their potential to incentivize litigation. Where the legislature has set out a broad range of accessible paths to parentage, even judges who champion family diversity may have reasons to stick to those paths. For legislative drafters, the difficulty of anticipating the variety of contemporary forms of family may counsel against purporting to limit judicial discretion. Ontario's experience also favours including transitional measures in major reform. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper shares results of a study of judgments applying the common law as adapted to the cohabitation context. Specifically, the Supreme Court of Canada has held that couples who formed a 'joint family venture' may need to share the wealth gained during cohabitation. The study compares the couples leading to positive and negative findings of a joint family venture. Positive findings correlate with traditional markers of family and economic integration, such as joint bank accounts and the presence of children. Despite the discourse of family diversity, gendered patterns run across all the couples, with women assuming primary care of children, shouldering domestic labour, and making career sacrifices for the family. In a sign of the limits of judge-made reforms, the doctrine may be harder for some claimants to access than for others, in ways not necessarily tracking commitment and economic integration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Objective To create a consensus statement on the considerations for treatment of anticoagulated patients with botulinum toxin A (BoNTA) intramuscular injections for limb spasticity. Design We used the Delphi method. Setting A multiquestion electronic survey. Participants Canadian physicians (N=39) who use BoNTA injections for spasticity management in their practice. Interventions After the survey was sent, there were e-mail discussions to facilitate an understanding of the issues underlying the responses. Consensus for each question was reached when agreement level was ≥75%. Main Outcome Measures Not applicable. Results When injecting BoNTA in anticoagulated patients: (1) BoNTA injections should not be withheld regardless of muscles injected; (2) a 25G or smaller size needle should be used when injecting into the deep leg compartment muscles; (3) international normalized ratio (INR) level should be ≤3.5 when injecting the deep leg compartment muscles; (4) if there are clinical concerns such as history of a fluctuating INR, recent bleeding, excessive or new bruising, then an INR value on the day of injection with point-of-care testing or within the preceding 2-3 days should be taken into consideration when injecting deep compartment muscles; (5) the concern regarding bleeding when using direct oral anticoagulants (DOACs) should be the same as with warfarin (when INR is in the therapeutic range); (6) the dose and scheduling of DOACs should not be altered for the purpose of minimizing the risk of bleeding prior to BoNTA injections. Conclusions These consensus statements provide a framework for physicians to consider when injecting BoNTA for spasticity in anticoagulated patients. These consensus statements are not strict guidelines or decision-making steps, but rather an effort to generate common understanding in the absence of evidence in the literature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Who sues when cohabiting relationships unwind, before and after reform that extends matrimonial sharing of family property to cohabitants? This article reports findings from the Canadian provinces of Saskatchewan and British Columbia, where reform aimed to divert cohabitants from claims in unjust enrichment. The article reports on a comparison of the litigants in judgments in unjust enrichment pre-reform and under the extended family legislation. Factors studied include the sexes of the plaintiffs and defendants, distribution of household labour, presence of children, relationship duration, and money awarded. The findings show continuity in the profile of litigants, with relatively few claims from short unions post-reform. Money awards increased and patterns of household labour diversified somewhat. Findings highlight that intensifying the financial consequences of cohabitation may multiply disputes over the nature of unions and their duration. These disputes flag up the unlikelihood of achieving wholly identical treatment for married and unmarried partners. The findings might lead opponents and proponents of law reform to temper their discourse. Extending property sharing to cohabitants after a relatively short union (minimum 2 years) did not flood the judicial system. Nor did it eliminate procedural and evidentiary hurdles distinctive to cohabitants relative to married spouses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article offers a review of comparative law from the field of sociolegal studies. An overview on the insights and potential for sociological scholars in comparative law from the discussions of method and varieties in surrounding society and law, is provided. Also emphasized is the separated various activities of comparative law.

In contrast with prescriptions for law reform for unmarried cohabitants, this article studies legislative inertia on the subject. It compares France and the Canadian province of Quebec, drawing on theoretical treatment of boundaries from critical geography, queer theory, and sociolegal work on law reform. Abstinence from legislating for cohabitants has not secured legal stasis. Informally and indirectly, ad hoc responses to cohabitation have amended the boundaries of marriage and fundamental legal categories. A conservative approach to marriage and cohabitation has failed to conserve marriage. We identify a gap, not between law and social life but between law and its prevailing justification, that cohabitants are free to choose to marry or to conclude contracts. Legislative and judicial developments show that this justification fails to persuade. Finally, we read France and Quebec’s approach to cohabitation as symptomatic of an impoverished misreading of the civil law tradition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article raises a dissenting voice against the widespread scholarly view that discretion in remedying legislative infringement of rights can be dialogic, gentle, and cooperative. It focuses on delayed and prospective orders under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms and the South African Bill of Rights. Scholars have neglected remedial discretion's significant negative consequences. It harms litigants and other right bearers, potentially producing perverse systemic effects. In particular, keeping a rights-infringing criminal prohibition temporarily in force is unlikely to achieve legal certainty and risks undermining the rule of law. Far from being restrained and deferential, remedial discretion increases the reach of judicial decision-making and enables judges to shape new law more boldly. The widespread exercise of remedial discretion calls for refashioning the conception of a bill of rights' place in a supreme constitution. If delayed or prospective remedies are sometimes appropriate, they are not something to celebrate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article examines judges' practice of delaying, under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms; discusses the features of the British Human Rights Act 1998; and mentions Canadian practice in terms of constitutional culture and judicial strategy.

This paper engages critically with the new orthodoxy holding that individuals have a "right" to know their genetic origins and that such knowledge is crucial to realizing their identities. It examines two case studies: the Pratten litigation under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms regarding anonymous donor conception and scholarship approving a reform to Quebec's adoption law. It addresses the supposed "identity gap" between those who are adopted or donor-conceived and those who are neither. Arguments for law reform exaggerate that gap, opposing the incomplete, insecure identity of the adopted or donorconceived to the ostensibly complete, secure identity of those raised by their putatively genetic parents. A result is to overstate what is distinct and harmful about being adopted or donor-conceived. The paper also identifies a mistaken perception of law's role in fashioning identity and recognizing family ties, including what law does for those who are not adopted or donor-conceived and what it might do for those who are. Some claims for law reform in the service of identity expect more from law than it can or should provide. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper pushes against the successful rhetoric of formal equality by which same-sex couples are the same as different-sex couples and opening existing regimes of marriage to them best recognises their equal moral worth. Drawing on social science research that indicates differences in the economic organisation of same-sex couples, the paper explores the possibility that a different marriage regime for the spouses' reciprocal duties might combine recognition of their equal moral worth with sensitivity to their needs. The study sharpens the understanding of contemporary investments in marriage law for everyone and offers a better justification for formal equality: same-sex couples may be treated identically to different-sex couples not because they are the same, but despite their differences. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]