pro bono

Increasingly, charities are looking at using their funds and other resources to contribute to positive social change, as well as to obtain a financial return. But does the law permit them to do so?

Are charities legally permitted to make impact investments with their funds? Yes, but, getting to "yes" is not straightforward, and depends on the circumstances.

In Canada, size is still an acceptable basis for discrimination, not protected by human rights legislation. It ought to be.

With the MeToo movement, many victims are more willing to report sexual harassment and assault. But we are also hearing about instances where perpetrators are trying to silence their victims.

There's a distinction between rules to protect people's rights and arbitrary requirements that limit them. We must be ready to fix outdated and discriminatory rules.

As B.C. prepares to reinstate its Human Rights Commission, it would do well to learn from Ontario, where the introduction of a direct access system has been only a qualified success.

As marijuana is legalized by the federal government, it will be up to provinces to regulate how it can be used in some spheres. Ontario is asking: where can cannabis be used and who gets to decide?

The Rental Fairness Act makes some key amendments to the rental law in Ontario. Here's what they mean for affordable housing in the province.

At the beginning of May, a group of tenants in Toronto went on a rent strike, taking a creative and courageous stand to fix the issue of affordable housing.

It's been long recognized that there are problems with how Ontario deals with care for adults with developmental disabilities. The problem is now being taken to court as a proposed class action.

Ontario municipalities have newly expanded powers to implement "inclusionary zoning." What will these changes mean for new affordable housing in the province?

Law is a tool. Lawyers and judges have a responsibility to talk and write clearly so that others can effectively use the tool.

Charities, as advocates for the public interest, should be at least as unfettered as the voices of private interests when engaging in advocacy that advances their charitable purposes.

An application for an injunction preventing the dissemination of the team name of the "Cleveland Indians" has drawn renewed attention to the issue of racial stereotyping in sports.

While new regulations governing the growth of medical marijuana provide a quick solution for the issue of reasonable access, they leave the tough questions for tenants and housing providers.

An inquiry into the conduct of Federal Court Judge Robin Camp when he presided over a sexual assault trial raises some hard questions about the impartiality of the Canadian justice system.

The treatment of athletes like Caster Semenya at the Rio Olympics shows that the rights of women who do not conform to binary understandings of sex are deemed less worthy of protection than others.

What should the institutions that are privy to our private information do when they have to deal with competing privacy and secrecy concerns? Michael Hackl looks at Canada's privacy laws to find out.

In April, a jury found David and Collet Stephan guilty of "failing to provide the necessaries of life" when their son Ezekiel died of meningitis. Where does morality enter in, and should it?