Regimes In Canada Research Articles

Redefining “Family” and Reconstructing Child Custody in Canada


 
 
 This paper examines the historical revolution of custody regimes in Canada, with an emphasis on the twentieth century to custody practices in courts today. The law has undergone numerous critical reforms to restructure what it means to be a ‘political family’ from a socio-legal perspective. The last decade we have seen a shift in the framework that is used to define the concept of family that has paralleled changes in cultural values, gender roles and parental responsibilities. The family model now largely focuses on the child as the centerpiece of the framework, which has been reflected in recent legal reform and ongoing revisions. The shared responsibility of raising a child as a married couple reflects both the slight shift in the gender roles defined by society and the changing configuration of family dynamic from the nuclear family norm (traditional) towards a “political family”. In the political family, whether the family is “traditional” or “alternative”, each family is understood as a product of collective decisions and values. As a result of the shift towards the understanding of intersectionality within families, and acceptance of the complexity of families, legal activism in family law studies are pushing for legislation that can provide an all- encompassing framework to better aid judges within the family courts to reduce the potential for bias in judicial review. Family law studies are challenging the language around rights and obligations within a family and pushing for a “responsibility framework”. Further, the field is emphasizing a child-centered approach to divorce cases, to assess what is ultimately in the best interest of the child. As we understand the role of the family in society, we need to emphasize the responsibility of a parent and what it means to be a parent to better understand what ‘custody’ of a child entails in today’s society.
 
 

A Comparison of Automobile Insurance Regimes in Canada

This article compares and contrasts automobile insurance provisions across Canadian jurisdictions, with particular emphasis on comparing how British Columbia (BC) fares relative to other provinces. A brief discussion of the different automobile insurance regimes is provided, as well as the mandated packages in each province. Price quotes are obtained by jurisdiction for the mandated package as well as for enhanced packages, for a hypothetical driver (either male of female) with a driving record that is good or poor, who is 45 years of age and drives a Honda Civic. We find that prices in Vancouver, BC are in the middle of the pack, and are much lower than in Toronto, Ontario for a driver with a good record. BC average prices are similar to those in Saskatchewan and Manitoba. Loss ratios vary quite a bit over the period 2011-2015, with no clear pattern except that they are always higher in public regimes than private ones. Because these ratios fluctuate from year to year, no one single province has performed consistently or significantly better than the others. One must be very careful when drawing hard and fast conclusions because of the differences in insurance packages across provinces and the aggregated and limited nature of much of the available data. Four conclusions are notable: (i) Automobile prices charged in BC are in line with those of Manitoba, (ii) a driver in Vancouver pays significantly less than an otherwise comparable driver in Toronto, (iii) in the private system, Ontario has the lowest loss ratios while, in the public system, there is no discernable, stable, relationship across the jurisdictions, and (iv) average claim costs cannot be compared across regimes.

Structural Genocide and Institutionalized Racism in Canada: The Department of Indian Affairs and Framing of Indigenous Peoples

This review problematizes the health and socio-economic disparity between Indigenous and non-Indigenous communities, which I argue is due to the role of the Canadian government. Specifically, I analyse the continuous process of Indigenous administrative subjugation under Canadian rule to uncover the intrinsic racial predilections of Canadian government policy toward First Nations peoples in Canada’s Prairie West provinces through the application of diagnostic frame analysis as a multidisciplinary research method to analyse how people understand situations and activities. My research results reveal the racialized marginalization of First Nation peoples through the administrative regimes in Canada as a continuous contemporary process established in the late nineteenth and twentieth century. In exposing the structural discrimination of First Nations peoples, my research introduces the reader to the concept of political master narratives, or ‘imaginaries’. These imaginaries foster the health and socio-economic disparities between Indigenous and non-Indigenous groups in Canadian society. The critical analysis of these historically structural government instituted imaginaries and the indirect, exponentially higher chances of tuberculosis and related diseases and deaths among Indigenous peoples’ challenge conclusions of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) on cultural genocide. This study proposes structural genocide as a more accurate and inclusive term for the continuous institutional marginalization of not only Indigenous peoples as seen in this case study of the Department of Indian Affairs (DIA) but for all Indigenous peoples in Canada.

Ultimate Tests: Children, Rights, and the Politics of Protection

Whether in the rhetorical strategies of the campaign to ban landlines, appeals for famine relief, or the present historical apex of mass refugee migration, deployed images of abject childhood are central to the visual economies of humanitarian crisis. As the quintessential innocents deemed in need of protection, children are constructed outside of meaningful subjecthood and objectified as the evocative ‘scenery’ of the politics of protection. As such, children’s place in these visual economies together with their relative voicelessness are particularly revealing of how the concept of protection is beset by a paradox it cannot resolve: simultaneously imperative in consequence of diminished political subjecthood and itself demeaning of that same subjecthood. Tracing the problematique of children’s agency and subjecthood through the un Convention on the Rights of the Child and applicable aspects of legal regimes in Canada both beholden to the Convention and charged with care and protection of children, this article offers insights relevant to but perhaps less immediately apparent in the context of the R2P regarding the tricky and fraught intersections of childhood, subjecthood, and protection.

Lakes as a Source of Short‐Period (0.5–2 s) Microseisms

AbstractWe identify and document microseisms produced by wave action in six lakes: The Great Slave Lake, Lake Ontario, Yellowstone Lake, Dianchi Lake, Fuxian Lake, and Erhai Lake. The lakes span more than 2 orders of magnitude in size (areas of 210–27,000 km2) and sample a range of climatic and tectonic regimes in Canada, the U.S., and China. Lake‐generated microseisms create spectral peaks at periods near 1 s and are often polarized as Rayleigh waves propagating away from the lake. In contrast to ocean‐generated microseisms, lake‐generated microseisms are only observed within about 25–30 km of the shoreline. This is consistent with the well‐known high attenuation of short‐period Rayleigh waves (Rg). It is unclear if lake‐generated microseisms are produced by a linear shoaling process, analogous to primary ocean microseisms, or a nonlinear wave‐wave interaction process, analogous to secondary ocean microseisms. If they are mainly produced by shoaling, lake‐generated microseisms might provide a spatially integrated measure of shoreline erosion. Regardless of the source mechanism, lake‐generated microseisms appear to provide a record of ice phenology for lakes that freeze in the winter. Such data could contribute to assessing the effects of climate change on high‐latitude lakes in remote areas. Finally, it is likely that lake‐generated microseisms are useful for imaging the geological structure of the shallow crust, information that is important for quantifying seismic hazard and can be difficult to obtain in urban areas where active source imaging is not feasible.

Acculturation strategies: a policy of francization in a context of Jesuit mission in New France in first half of the XVII century

Formation of the difficult and branched out network of the unions with the American Indian tribes, based on mutually advantageous economic and military-political relations was one of the main features of the French colonial regime in Canada of XVII century. As a result, in the first decades of XVII century the most outstanding representatives of secular and spiritual colonisation of New France (Champlain, Recollects and Jesuits) started working out the most effective strategy of Franco-Amerindian rapprochement and the cooperation, embodied in the program francization, i.e., ideas of acculturation and assimilation of the native population of Canada by Frenchmen as basic means of social and economic and political development of a colony. Catholic missionaries including members of a Jesuit order were interested in realisation of this program at the initial stage of development of new territories and formation of a colonial infrastructure, as material basis of their apostolate activity among the American Indian peoples. From this point of view, Civilisation of Indians on the French sample was considered priority in relation to Christianization. In the process of Jesuit mission network expansion among the cores of trading and military colony partners and the Jesuit missionary transformation into the main intermediary in Franco-Amerindian relations in the middle of XVII century, on the one hand, and growth of contradictions with the secular colonial power on a wide spectrum of problems (including trade in alcoholic drinks), Jesuits began to audit initial positions of the francization program, resulted in 2nd half of the century to full refusal of them and the statement of a primacy of the religious reference over the cultural.

Estimation of Volatility in International Business Cycles in Korea and Selected Developed Countries under the Financial Crises

This study examined the structural changes in volatility in the international business cycles using the real GDP during financial crises within the 1971-2016 period. The coefficients did not appear to reflect unstable structural changes during a financial crisis as seen in Chow tests. On the other hand, the 1-Step tests showed stable and/or unstable coefficients except in Canada and Korea, but these were persistently stable in the N-Step tests except for Germany and Japan where such coefficients were unstable. In the CUSUM tests, the coefficients were stable over the periods. The CUSUMSQ tests showed stable coefficients in the country except Korea and UK. Korea exhibited higher regime switching volatility probability which suggests that significant changes in SWARCH model may have to be made. Transition probability showed the highest duration in the low regime in Canada. The MS-VAR models demonstrated significant simultaneous structural changes in volatility in international economic cycles as a result of the market crash. Korea was significantly affected and transmitted by the real GDP of the countries through the Asia and Global financial crisis. Therefore, we found structural changes in volatility in the international business cycles as a result of simultaneous symmetric or asymmetric shocks between Korea and major developed countries and we confirmed that the high volatility (contraction) regime coincided with the financial crises.

Pharmaceutical patent law: the Canadian perspective.

This article provides an overview of the patent regime in Canada, with a focus on issues most relevant to the pharmaceutical industry. The process of applying for a patent is discussed, as well as enforcement and litigation. Recent developments in the case law dealing with patentability requirements - novelty, obviousness, utility and sufficiency - are reviewed. Finally, the impact of recently negotiated trade agreements on Canadian patent law is addressed. In this article, we aim to provide an overview of the patent regime in Canada, with a focus on issues that are particularly relevant to the pharmaceutical industry.

The Effectiveness of Fracking Disclosure Regimes in Canada

In response to the rapid adoption of hydraulic fracturing and horizontal drilling (collectively, “fracking technology”) over the past few decades, some provincial governments have developed legislation and regulations to delimit, monitor and safeguard fracking practices. Among these rules are guidelines requiring fracking companies (“operators”) to disclose a wide array of fracking-related information to the regulators that oversee these activities. This information serves several purposes, and has the potential to provide the public with timely and useful information regarding the activities that take place in their communities and potential harms that may result. In this report, we provide an analysis of existing disclosure regimes in the four Canadian provinces where fracking is actively taking place: Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba and Saskatchewan. We assess the effectiveness of these disclosure practices, benchmarked against current theoretical and empirical scientific knowledge. Our analysis yields four main conclusions, summarized below.In Some Provinces, Regulation Provides a Good Basis for Public Disclosure. Alberta and British Columbia, the provinces with the greatest fracking activity, have strong legislative structures that require operators to disclose information to regulatory bodies. Subsequent reports to the public are based on this information. Moreover, websites currently in use such as BCOGC.ca, AER.ca and Fracfocus.ca provide good infrastructure in terms of accessibility. However, even in Alberta and British Columbia, disclosure regarding some fracking-related issues has not received specific regulatory attention, and in Manitoba and Saskatchewan, relevant regulations are almost non-existent.Legislation Specifying Public Disclosure of Information Related to Hydraulic Fracturing is Minimal. The vast majority of current relevant legislation covers operator-to-regulator disclosure, and not regulator-to-public disclosure. In fact, only two regulatory provisions (both in British Columbia) require the Oil and Gas Commission to report directly to the public on fracking-related risks. Although various provincial websites enable public inquiry into additional issues, the Canadian public largely lacks regular, legally mandated reporting on fracking issues. Information that is Disclosed to the Public is Difficult for Ordinary Citizens to Access and Comprehend. Although websites currently in use such as AER.ca, BCOGC.ca and Fracfocus.ca provide good infrastructure for public disclosure, an additional layer of processing is required to make data easily accessible. At the same time, possibly one of the most conspicuous pitfalls of disclosure systems is the overuse of scientific jargon or language that is otherwise obscure for potential users. We found that almost none of the information that is currently available to the public has been disclosed in a manner that is meaningful to non-specialists. Public Disclosure and Access Should be Promoted Despite Scientific Uncertainty. Regulation related to public disclosure need not necessarily depend on the status of ongoing scientific endeavours to unveil the actual risks that fracking poses. Rather, we recommend that decision-makers and public policy leaders adopt a precautionary approach that provides greater public awareness while scientific certainty is being pursued.

Identification of changes in floods and flood regimes in Canada using a peaks over threshold approach

AbstractRecent flood events in Canada have led to speculation that changes in flood behaviour are occurring; these changes have often been attributed to climate change. This paper examines flood data for a collection of 132 gauging stations in Canada. All of these watersheds are part of the Canadian Reference Hydrometric Basin Network (RHBN), a group of gauging stations specifically assembled to assist in the identification of the impacts of climate change. The RHBN stations are considered to have good quality data and were screened to avoid the influences of regulation, diversions, or land use change. Daily flow data for each watershed are used to derive a peaks over threshold (POT) dataset. Several measures of flood behaviour are examined based on the POT data, which afford a more in‐depth analysis of flood behaviour than can be obtained using annual maxima data. Analysis is conducted for four time periods ranging from 50 to 80 years in duration; the latter period results in a much smaller number of watersheds that have data for the period. The changes in flood responses of the watersheds are summarized by grouping the watersheds by size (small, medium, and large) and also by hydrologic regime (nival, mixed, and pluvial). The results provide important insights into the nature of the changes that are occurring in flood regimes of Canadian rivers, which include more flood exceedances, reduced maximum flood exceedance magnitudes for snowmelt events, and earlier flood events. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Victim Impact Statements at Sentencing: Towards a Clearer Understanding of Their Aims

The aims of victim impact statements (VIS) can be classified into two main categories – instrumental and expressive. These different sorts of aims are associated with different, and often conflicting, sentencing objectives. This article argues that the VIS regime in Canada remains a legal no man’s land, with neither its role nor its aims being clearly defined and articulated. Indeed, recent appellate court decisions have shown a number of inconsistencies and conflicts in the instrumental and expressive purposes that VISs in Canada are meant to serve. Further, it is also argued, the proposed legislative amendments under Bill C-32 are not very promising, since this scheme also fails to clearly articulate the aims and rationales behind the statements and behind the proposed changes. It is shown, throughout the article, that VIS regime guidelines and parameters can take different shapes and forms, depending on the aims retained. Moreover, while a dualist scheme that reconciles instrumental and expressive aims may be possible, clarity would be necessary in order to craft adequate parameters. Certainly, more protective measures are necessary if instrumental aims are to be retained. Finally, having laid out the conceptual and foundational grounds required to understand the possible aims of VISs and how these different aims can shape the relevant parameters, the article proceeds by laying out an initial, more normative, proposal for a VIS multi-functional model inspired by evidence-based findings.

Vulnerability of timber supply to projected changes in fire regime in Canada’s managed forests

The frequency of forest fires is predicted to increase in Canada, which may affect the availability of timber for industrial purposes. We therefore carried out an evaluation of the timber supply vulnerability to current and future fire risk through simplified calculations involving historical forest growth and harvest rates and current and projected forest burn rates. Calculations were performed at the level of forest management areas (FMAs) across the boreal and montane ecozones of Canada. For some FMAs, the vulnerability of timber supply to fire was estimated to be high to extreme by the middle of the century. For those FMAs, the increases in tree growth necessary to negate these risks were generally unrealistic. A modest simulated decrease in tree growth over time, however, was sufficient to raise the vulnerability of many other FMAs from low to moderate. Known biases in the analysis suggest that our assessment might underestimate the level of vulnerability in all FMAs. Other natural disturbances are not included in the analysis but their impact on timber supply may be additive to that of fire. Some adaptation measures to face these increasing risks are discussed.

The colour of skill: contesting a racialised regime of skill from the experience of recent immigrants in Canada

This article contests a racialised skills regime in Canada. Canadian studies of the labour market transitions of skilled immigrants are analysed through the lens of critical race theory. The analysis shows that knowledge and skills of recent immigrants in Canada are racialised and materialised on the basis of ethnic and national origins. Skin colour is a central basis of social marking. Through processes of de-skilling and re-skilling, a racialised regime of skill has become a social engineering project for manufacturing normative, white, docile corporate subjects who conform to Canadian norms and workplace cultures. The study demonstrates that skill is not colour-blind; it is coloured. Skill is not only gendered and classed, but it is also racialised. The findings move us beyond the traditional colour-blind, gender- and class-based analyses of skill that fail to account for racial differences in the social construction of skill.

An ecological perspective on floods in Canada

This review presents a summary of the influences of floods on river ecology, both instream and on the adjacent floodplain, mostly in a Canadian context. It emphasizes that ecological impacts and benefits can be highly dependent on flood-generation processes and their magnitude and timing. In Canada, floods can occur under open-water or ice-influenced river conditions. The ecological impacts of floods generated from ice jamming are particularly relevant in Canadian ecosystems due to the potentially higher water levels produced and suspended sediment concentrations that can be detrimental to instream aquatic habitat, but beneficial to floodplains. Large floods provide a major source of physical disturbance. Moderate floods with shorter return periods can be beneficial to aquatic habitats by providing woody debris that contributes to habitat complexity and diversity, by flushing fine sediments and by providing important food sources from terrestrial origins. Floods also influence water-quality variables such as sediment loads, metals and pH, which further influence river ecology. This review points out important links between floods and habitat connectivity and refugia, and the ability of aquatic resources to recover from flood disturbances. The floodplain vegetation also influences bank erosion and channel configuration, as well as many processes contributing to the river ecology, such as allochthonous inputs of carbon, preventing bank erosion, food-web dynamics and other effects. Many species of riparian trees are dependent on floods for reproduction, and floods can limit competitive encroachment of upland vegetation. Floods play a critical role in deltaic environments where high flows provide nutrient supplies and overflows maintain water balances within these environments. Two substantial factors that will likely influence future flood regimes in Canada are climate change and flow regulation. Future research should focus on enhancing our understanding of how floods affect river ecology, including under winter conditions, to better manage important natural resources.

Changes in floods and flood regimes in Canada

Flood events in Canada result in larger costs, in terms of property damage, than any other natural disaster. Changes in land use, and more recently the impacts of climate change, can lead to changes in the flood regime. This paper describes research examining changes in the flood regime for watersheds across Canada. To distinguish between changes resulting from land-use changes and those occurring due to changes in climate, the analysis of flood data is conducted only on watersheds that are either part of a formal Reference Hydrologic Network (RHN), or which exhibit RHN-like characteristics. A total of 280 gauging stations have been analyzed for changes to a number of attributes of the flood regime. Changes in the magnitude and timing of flood events as well as the frequency and duration of high-flow events are examined for all 280 sites. Using all 280 sites and different groupings of the sites, based on timing of floods, drainage area and the RHN designation, changes were determined in the annual number of sites at which the flow exceeded the 25-, 50- and 100-year return period events. An examination of the results leads to important insights into the nature of changes that are occurring in the flood regimes in Canada. The results have important implications for the design of hydraulic infrastructure, flood preparedness and the provision of adequate flood protection for populations at risk.

Victim impact statements at sentencing: Towards a clearer understanding of their aims

The aims of victim impact statements (VIS) can be classified into two main categories – instrumental and expressive. These different sorts of aims are associated with different, and often conflicting, sentencing objectives. This article argues that the VIS regime in Canada remains a legal no man’s land, with neither its role nor its aims being clearly defined and articulated. Indeed, recent appellate court decisions have shown a number of inconsistencies and conflicts in the instrumental and expressive purposes that VISs in Canada are meant to serve. Further, it is also argued, the proposed legislative amendments under Bill C-32 are not very promising, since this scheme also fails to clearly articulate the aims and rationales behind the statements and behind the proposed changes. It is shown, throughout the article, that VIS regime guidelines and parameters can take different shapes and forms, depending on the aims retained. Moreover, while a dualist scheme that reconciles instrumental and expressive aims may be possible, clarity would be necessary in order to craft adequate parameters. Certainly, more protective measures are necessary if instrumental aims are to be retained. Finally, having laid out the conceptual and foundational grounds required to understand the possible aims of VISs and how these different aims can shape the relevant parameters, the article proceeds by laying out an initial, more normative, proposal for a VIS multi-functional model inspired by evidence-based findings.

Characteristics and distribution of natural flow regimes in Canada: a habitat template approach

Extremes of flow and patterns of flow variability limit the distribution and abundance of riverine species via a natural disturbance regime. Using a habitat template approach, we describe the distribution and characteristics of natural flow regimes in Canada based on the severity of flows, flow predictability, and flow variability. Bayesian clustering was used to group 888 gauged watersheds across Canada into 10 classes. Some flow classes were found in all provinces, whereas others showed greater regional grouping related to land physiography (e.g., Canadian Shield and ecozones). Ontario and British Columbia had the greatest diversity of flow classes. Larger river systems tended towards less harsh flow regimes and greater flow regularity than small systems. A stream–lake network pattern, particularly the presence of lakes, decreased the severity of flow. The flow metric flood-free interval was found to be a potentially misleading indicator of reduced disturbance for high-latitude streams in Canada where ice formation and persistence are important stress factors for biota. Most flow stations had an 80% or higher chance of belonging to their primary membership class. Quantifying uncertainty in class assignment can help fellow scientists and resource managers appropriately apply our findings.

Some Historical Remarks on American and Canadian Banking Reform

This article makes several historical remarks on the structural differences between the Canadian and American banking systems. It argues that consideration of the context, form, and substance of banking legislation can help determine the distinct regulatory culture of legislative reform; in comparison to the United States, Canada's response to financial crisis is noticeably conservative. Part II of the article characterizes the regulatory steps taken by both countries during the years 1933–35. Part III provides basic background to the current banking legal regime in Canada; a discussion of the dual banking system in the United States is beyond the scope of this article. Part IV concludes by discussing the global financial crisis in 2008 and contemplates whether several themes from 1933–35 resurface despite legislative development throughout the historical period. The historical approach highlights Canada's distinctive legacy of commercial banking regulation, which perhaps is still pertinent today when comparing banking laws, their enforcement, and their general impact on the respective economies.

Short-run dynamics in bank credit: Assessing nonlinearities in cyclicality

This paper explores whether the procyclicality of private credit changes during the business cycle. To this end, we rely on the estimation of smooth transition regression models for a sample of 17 OECD countries over the 1986–2010 period. Our findings show that credit procyclicality is nonlinear, depending on economic conditions. More specifically, credit is highly procyclical in extreme – booms and busts – regimes in Canada, the UK and the US, while procyclicality is less pronounced in one or both extreme regimes in Australia, Belgium, France, Finland, the Netherlands, Norway, and Spain. Our results also emphasize the importance of financial factors in explaining the short-run behavior of private credit.

Lights, Judges, Access: How Active Judicial Review of Discretionary Decisions Protects Access to Government Information

This article discusses the role of judicial review in access to information regimes in Canada. It provides a review of recent court decisions that show how the Canadian courts are actively supervising the exercise of administrative discretion over access to information. It argues that although efforts to reform Canada’s access to information legislation have so far been met with limited success, the judiciary has provided significant and important scrutiny, providing a key means of enforcing access to information rights in Canada.