Saving for retirement is sound financial advice, but what if life throws a distinctly curved ball at us that strains our finances beyond the breaking point? Should we be allowed to access some of the money we’ve squirreled away over the years to cover unexpected medical expenses or avoid having our house repossessed due to financial hardship caused by conditions outside our control?

CBA Sections make a series of recommendations to bring about the best deal for both countries.

The CBA Competition Law and Foreign Investment Review Section urges MPs reviewing the Act to proceed with caution.

Environmental, Social, and Corporate Governance (ESG) are factors we use to measure the social impact of investments. ESG factors matter to pension funds for many reasons, including demonstrable interest in sustainable investing from plan participants. But what does it mean for plan administrators?

The Constitutional and Human Rights Section of the Canadian Bar Association added its voice to those of the Canadian Association of Black Lawyers (CABL) and other legal community groups, calling for the federal government to allow direct access, in most cases, to the Human Rights Tribunal.

The introduction of Bill C-15, the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act, in the House of Commons on December 3, 2020, was a high point in a decades-old campaign to protect the individual and collective rights of Indigenous peoples. But it’s not the end of the road.

In a democracy it is important that each voice be counted, we learn early in life. But what we don’t hear as often is that how accurately we are counted matters, too. That’s especially true when we are part of a minority or marginalized group.

Canada is and always has been a trading nation. According to Global Affairs Canada in 2018 we had “14 free trade agreements in force with 51 countries, totalling a combined gross domestic product of US$52 trillion.”

When Parliament was prorogued in August 2020 a number of bills died on the order paper. Among them Bill C-5, which would have made judicial appointments contingent on applicants undertaking to take courses on sexual assault law and social context. Bill C-5 was similar to Bill C-337, a private member’s bill that also died on the order paper when the 2019 election was called.

Modernizing the legal framework protecting the privacy rights of Canadians can sometimes feel like an endless process, and not just because technology keeps evolving. We want government institutions to use relevant data in their programs and policies, but we also insist on protecting the privacy of Canadians whose data is necessary for the elaboration of those programs and policies. Expect the push and pull to continue.