Family law cases in doubt as province asks top court to 'fill' legal gap
CBC
New Brunswick's family court system is still sorting out the potential impact of a legislative mistake that created a 43-day legal void in the province's child protection regime.
Lawyers who represent some of the most vulnerable children in the province say news of the mistake last Friday had the potential to throw their cases into turmoil.
"The news is a little bit spotty," said Rothesay lawyer Patricia Gallagher-Jette, who didn't realize the extent of the problem until she read media coverage last Friday evening.
"All I need to know — my only source is the media — is, 'is that the extent of an error, just that this happened?'" she said.
That's a reference to the fact judges apparently issued custody orders, supervisory orders and guardianship orders for six weeks without any legal authority because of an error in a bill approved by the legislature.
"Step two for me is: before I start advising my clients
While his party has made a cause célèbre out of its battle with the Speaker, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre has periodically waxed poetic about the House of Commons — suggesting that its green upholstery is meant to symbolize the fields of the English countryside where commoners met centuries ago before the signing of the Magna Carta.