Economic threats to national security may not grab headlines as much as other dangers with the potential to affect Canada, but that doesn’t mean they’re not dangerous to the safety and prosperity of Canadians. Earlier this year the federal government struck a task force to study and address new and emerging threats and asked stakeholders to give feedback.

“Organizing summits is not enough.” This is the clear message sent on behalf of the Canadian Bar Association by its President Bradley D. Regehr to Minister of Diversity and Inclusion and Youth Bardish Chagger and Justice Minister David Lametti.

The Canadian Bar Association’s Charities and Not-for-Profit Law Section acknowledges how successful the Canada Revenue Agency, or CRA, has been in increasing the proportion of charity applications that are accepted thanks to the Charities IT Modernization Project, or CHAMP. But lawyers acting for charities face a number of difficult challenges with the MyBA online portal that result in extensive delays for clients.

The Insolvency Law Section of the Canadian Bar Association believes the directives and regulations under the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act, or BIA, as well as the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act need to be updated to encourage the use of technology and facilitate the process of bankruptcy.

The Immigration Law Section of the Canadian Bar Association urges Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada to address the serious and systemic issue of legal representative exclusion.

The Elder Law and Criminal Justice Sections of the Canadian Bar Association, in a submission and an appearance in front of the Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights’ study of elder abuse, say the way to address elder abuse is not to add offences in the Criminal Code but to create a Pan-Canadian Elder Abuse Strategy.

The Digital Economy Partnership Agreement, or DEPA, between Chile, New Zealand and Singapore came into force January 7, 2021. Canada had previously expressed its interest in joining DEPA, and started exploratory discussions as well as consultations to that end.

An independent judiciary is essential to the promotion of improvements in the administration of justice and in the maintenance of a high-quality system of justice in Canada.

The current method of calculating child support obligations in cases of shared care is not working for most families in that situation. In a letter to Justice Canada the Canadian Bar Association’s Family Law Section says the government ought to make changes to the Federal Child Support Guidelines for situations of shared care.

The government of Canada wants to gain a better understanding of the realities of today’s workers in federally regulated industries, especially those engaged in the so-called “gig economy” as well as Canadians’ digital work-life balance. The Canadian Bar Association’s Labour and Employment Law Section is favourable to amending the Canada Labour Code to clarify the status of gig workers but wants the government to delay consultations on the right to disconnect until after the pandemic.