Resources

Section Handbook

For a complete backgrounder on all the issues, download Agenda for Justice – Backgrounders.

There are no legislated rules that define how accumulated property is distributed when unmarried couples separate. Accordingly, the process can be inconsistent, complicated, and can lead to increased conflict. Individuals struggling with issues related to the breakdown of their relationship are a heavy demand on an already taxed judicial system. Many other provinces have in the last 10 years enacted legislation to fill this void.

The independence of the judiciary from the executive and legislative branches is a cornerstone of Canada’s justice system, promoting democracy and the rule of law. An independent judiciary is essential to our democratic society. An independent judiciary serves as a means to maintain public confidence in the administration of justice.

Legal Aid Alberta requires adequate, sustainable and predictable funding to ensure Alberta’s most vulnerable have access to justice.

The Reforming Family Justice System initiative was co-convened by Justice Andrea Moen, Court of Queen’s Bench and Ms. Lynn Varty, Assistant Deputy Minister of Resolution and Court Administration Services, Justice and Solicitor General. The Law Society of Alberta joined as a co-convener in early 2015.

Funding for the Calgary Drug Treatment Court (CDTC) was set to expire on December 31, 2013. The CDTC formally opened in 2007 with funding from the Safe Communities Initiative of the Government of Alberta. The charitable organization aligns its resources so as not to reproduce existing expertise and to reduce redundancies and limit costs.

Over the past several years, Court infrastructure expenditures and Court Services budgets have been cut while Alberta’s population has risen and the pressures on the court system have increased.

By The Hon. Judge A.A. Fradsham