It also eases support payment across provinces and allows legislative security to carry firearms
Alberta’s Minister of Justice and Attorney General Tyler Shandro has proposed legislation updating six laws. It will help former spouses and partners collect support payments across the country more efficiently and provide broader access to Alberta’s provincial court.
The Justice Statutes Amendment Act will amend the Interjurisdictional Support Orders Act, the Legislative Assembly Act, the Provincial Court Act, the Referendum Act, the Sale of Goods Act and the Trustee Act.
Updates to the Provincial Court Act
The Justice Statutes Amendment Act would institute changes to the Provincial Court Act, allowing the government to increase the civil claims limit in Alberta’s provincial court from its current $50,000 limit to a maximum of $200,000.
The Provincial Court of Alberta and the Court of King’s Bench supported the proposed amendments. The last time Alberta saw a raise in the provincial court’s civil claims limit was in 2014.
“I want to thank Premier Smith and my colleagues for supporting my request to advance this bill,” Shandro said. “Increasing the civil claims limit will increase access to affordable legal services for Albertans. I commend the provincial court and the chief judge for their work to make this a reality.”
Changes to the Legislative Assembly Amendment Act
The Justice Statutes Amendment Act would allow the Legislative Assembly Security Service to carry firearms in the legislature building and surrounding precinct and provides security measures upon entry into and within the legislative precinct. The proposed legislation followed the Speaker’s security review, which concluded that legislative security officers should be allowed to carry weapons in the building.
The security review was prompted by the 2019 suicide at the steps of the Alberta legislature building and, five years earlier, the shooting on Parliament Hill, Ottawa. The amendment would bring Alberta in line with other jurisdictions.
Changes to the Interjurisdictional Support Orders Act
The proposed changes would make collecting spousal and child support payments across Canada easier by allowing the electronic exchange of certified documents for inter-jurisdictional enforcement orders, in line with legal amendments already introduced by British Columbia, Nova Scotia, Manitoba and Saskatchewan.
The remaining provinces continue to work towards enacting similar changes.
Updates to the Sale of Goods Act
The Justice Statutes Amendment Act would eliminate red tape for grain dealers, allowing buyers to get good title when grain is sold and delivered at a grain elevator. It would also use the same language as the federal Canada Grain Act to avoid confusion.
Changes to the Trustee Act
The proposed changes would ensure that a trust does not fail in the temporary absence of a trustee but allow the trust property to move directly to a newly appointed trustee instead of first transferring it to the court.
Clarification of the Referendum Act
The Justice Statutes Amendment Act also aims to strengthen the voice of Albertans by clarifying that only constitutional questions put to electors require a resolution to be brought to the legislature.
