CBA Influence - Public Policy and Advocacy

The Municipal Law and Criminal Justice Sections of the Canadian Bar Association, in a letter to the Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights, offer comments on the review of the Protection of Communities and Exploited Persons Act.

The registration provisions of Canada’s Indian Act discriminate against women, writes the Aboriginal Law Section of the Canadian Bar Association in a letter to the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women of the United Nations.

The President of the Canadian Bar Association, Stephen Rotstein, wrote to Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly, Immigration Minister Sean Fraser, Justice Minister David Lametti and Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino to urge them to fulfill its promise to resettle 40,000 Afghan nationals in Canada, particularly those lawyers, judges and other individuals who share Canada’s commitment to justice, democracy and the rule of law

The President of the Canadian Bar Association, Stephen Rotstein, writes to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland, Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly and Immigration Minister Sean Fraser to urge them to take immediate action to bring vulnerable Ukrainians to Canada.

The Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Community Section, the Federal Courts Bench and Bar Liaison Committee and the Supreme Court of Canada Liaison Committee of the Canadian Bar Association have suggestions on how to make the Supreme Court of Canada and Federal Courts more welcoming of gender-diverse people.

A charity’s disbursement quota, or DQ, is the minimum amount of money it must spend each year on its charitable activities or gifts to qualified donees.

The Immigration Law Section of the Canadian Bar Association shares its priorities with three new ministers following the September 2021 federal election.

The situation is so dire for vulnerable Afghan nationals hoping to resettle to Canada as refugees that the government should use every legal mechanism at its disposal to help save their lives. That, in a nutshell, is the message sent to Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Sean Fraser by the Immigration Law Section of the Canadian Bar Association.

The Immigration Law Section of the Canadian Bar Association strongly expresses its commitment to access to justice and a robust refugee determination system. But it has concerns with Immigration, Refugee and Citizenship Canada’s new Refugee Protection Portal, introduced on October 6, 2021 as the primary means for submitting a refugee protection claim.

Negotiation, not litigation, is the way towards reconciliation. This is the central message sent by the Aboriginal Law, Child and Youth Law and Constitutional and Human Rights Sections of the Canadian Bar Association in a letter to the Minister of Indigenous Services and the Minister of Justice, urging the government to cease further litigation in the matter of Canada (Attorney General) v. First Nations Child and Family Caring Society of Canada.