Author: Clicklaw Editor

New Law Focuses on Aboriginal Matrimonial Rights on Reserve

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Aboriginal Legal Aid BCThe Family Homes on Reserve and Matrimonial Interests or Rights Act brings into force new laws regarding homes on reserve as of December 16, 2014. The law details who can stay in the family home on a reserve if you and your spouse split up or your spouse passes away.

The law highlights the issue of status. You may be able to remain in the family home even if you’re not a First Nation member and your spouse is.

LSS’s Aboriginal Legal Aid BC website has resources and information to help guide you through the new law.

Why the law was needed

If you were not a First Nations member or status Indian, and your relationship ended or your spouse died, you may not have been allowed to remain in the family home. Due to the negative impact on families – particularly women and children – the law was needed to provide families with rights and options.

What you’ll need to know

Aboriginal Legal Aid BC lists for whom the law applies:

  • At least one of you is a First Nation member or status Indian
  • You’re married (spouses)
  • You’re common law (living with your partner for at least a year)
  • You live on a First Nation reserve

Who the Law Doesn’t Apply To

The Aboriginal Legal Aid BC website has a list of persons the new law doesn’t apply to including if your reserve has a self-government agreement, its own land code or its own matrimonial real property laws.

Any upset to the family dynamic can be stressful. For families on reserve, the added weight of matrimonial real property rights and who can remain in the family home on reserve can potentially increase pressure and stress on all parties involved. It is important to note courts will consider the best interests of the children as keeping connections to their First Nations culture, social and family ties are essential.

New Law Reform Reports from West Coast LEAF

Community posts
By Laura Track
Legal Director, West Coast LEAF

 

West Coast LEAF has published two new law reform reports in the last couple of months, and we hope you’ll check them out!

CyberMisogynyIn June, we released #CyberMisogyny: Using and Strengthening Canadian Legal Responses to Gendered Hate and Harassment Online. Cyber misogyny is the term we use to describe sexualized bullying, harassment, and hate speech directed at women and girls online. While harassment and discrimination against women and girls are nothing new, the Internet has created new opportunities to perpetuate harassment and abuse widely and anonymously, and the law has been slow to respond.

We analyzed five common manifestations of cyber misogyny:

  • “revenge porn” (non-consensual sharing of intimate images, often by an ex-partner)
  • “sexting” among youth
  • child sexual exploitation
  • cyberstalking
  • gender-based hate speech online.

We provide an overview of the current legal responses available to victims of these forms of cyber misogyny under criminal, civil, and human rights law, and make 35 recommendations for how Canadian and BC law and policy could be strengthened to better protect the equality rights of women, girls, and other vulnerable communities online.

Able MothersThen in September, we released Able Mothers: The intersection of parenting, disability and the law. This report takes a critical look at the discriminatory misconceptions and stereotypes that can influence decisions affecting mothers with disabilities. It also makes recommendations for law and policy reforms to better protect the dignity, equality, and rights of disabled mothers and women seeking to become mothers.

Governments have a legal obligation to provide the supports necessary so that parents can provide a safe and nurturing environment for their children. However, our research shows that government is failing to meet this obligation, with devastating results for both children and their disabled mothers. Rather than removing children from their disabled parents and placing them in foster care, we believe that government should be providing the supports these parents need, in the best interests of their children.