The French Speaking Common Law Members Section of the Canadian Bar Association is reiterating past concerns and adding new suggestions to improve Bill C-13, An Act for the Substantive Equality of Canada’s Official Languages. The concerns expressed in the letter, addressed to the Chair of the Standing Senate Committee on Official Languages, are summarized below.

The Criminal Justice Section of the Canadian Bar Association, in a letter to Correctional Service Canada, provides feedback and suggestions on Pathways initiatives.

In separate letters to the House of Commons Standing Committee on Finance and to the Senate Standing Committee on National Finance, the Commodity Tax, Customs and Trade Section of the Canadian Bar Association expresses concerns that the Budget Implementation Act, 2023 contains tax measures that apply retroactively.

Canada should prioritize regulating the status of undocumented workers who are contributing to Canadian society, says the Immigration Law Section of the Canadian Bar Association in a letter to Immigration Minister Sean Fraser, offering recommendations on how best to achieve this objective.

The importance of Canada’s economic sanctions as a tool for foreign policy is such that the government needs to strike the right balance in its legislative tools such as the Special Economic Measures Act and the Justice for Victims of Corrupt Foreign Officials Act (Sergei Magnitsky Law) (Magnistky Act) in the Budget Implementation Act 2023.

The Charities and Not-for-Profit Law Section of the Canadian Bar Association used the opportunity of government consultations on ways to improve the regulatory system to suggest again that changes be made to the Canada Not-for-Profit Corporations Act, or CNCA. In its submission, the Section offers further suggestions on the 12 issues it had previously identified. The most salient ones are summarized below.

The Immigration Law Section of the Canadian Bar Association, in a letter to Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, offered comments on the Home Child Care Provider Pilot and Home Support Pilot programs.

Further delays to the eligibility for medical assistance in dying, or MAiD, in circumstances where the sole underlying condition is a mental illness are deeply concerning and should not be prolonged. That’s the gist of a letter to Justice Minister David Lametti and Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos from the Canadian Bar Association’s End of Life Working Group.

The delays for trademark examinations in Canada have reached unacceptable proportions and need to improve, says the Intellectual Property Section of the Canadian Bar Association in a letter to the deputy minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada as well as to the deputy director of the Canadian Intellectual Property Office, or CIPO.

Two recent letters by the Joint Committee on Taxation of the Canadian Bar Association and Chartered Professional Accountants of Canada make recommendations on technical amendments to the Income Tax Act.