Family Law Lawyers: The ECLC Needs Your Help

The Edmonton Community Legal Centre (ECLC) has been offering free legal advice clinics to low income people for over 15 years—and the need has never been greater. Even a bit of help goes a long way! At least 25 volunteer shifts per month are needed. To volunteer, please call 780.702.1725 ext. 285, or email Giselle. Daytime and evening appointment times are available.

Did You Know?

We have introduced an Upcoming Events section to our website. View and submit events here.

Alberta Crown Bail Update

The Alberta Crown Prosecution Service is expanding a Crown bail model to the entire province. In the new bail model, Crown prosecutors will speak to first appearance bail from 8:00 a.m. to midnight, 365 days a year. Implementation is occurring in stages with several law enforcement agencies transitioning to Crown bail approximately every two weeks, with full implementation in the province by August 8, 2017.

Effective April 12, 2017, the Hearing Offices will be hearing bail matters for 16 hours a day (between 8:00 a.m. and midnight) 365 days a year. Priority 1 applications (emergency applications) will continue to be heard on a 24 hour basis.

Defence counsel will be able to speak to the provincial Crown about any first appearance bail matter to:

• request a summary of the Crown’s case on bail in the form of an abridged disclosure package;
• discuss possible terms of release, if applicable;
• register intention to appear before the Justice of the Peace for the bail hearing, or
• make further inquiries.

The Alberta Crown Bail Office can be reached:

By email or by phone: 1-855-432-8828 (Toll Free) or 403-476-4624 (Calgary Area)

For federal prosecutions, the Public Prosecution Service of Canada Bail Crown can be reached:

By email during regular business hours – 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. or by phone: 1-844-851-9574 (Toll Free).

The list of implemented law enforcement agencies is available on the Alberta Crown Prosecution Service website and will be updated regularly.

Deposit Insurance for Trust Accounts

Canadian Deposit Insurance Corporation

The Canadian Deposit Insurance Corporation (CDIC) is a Canadian federal Crown corporation created by Parliament in 1967. It insures Canadian deposits held in Canadian banks up to $100,000 in case of bank failure. A list of CDIC members is available on their website.

Under the Canada Deposit Insurance Corporation Joint and Trust Account Disclosure By-Law, a member institution has the obligation to annually notify certain trustee depositors about their disclosure requirements. The notification is to be sent during the month of April in each year and the trustee depositor must make its disclosure to the member institution by May 30^th of each year. This by-law is supported by the Law Society Rule 119.32:

A law firm that maintains a trust account at a depository that is insured by the CDIC shall comply with the reporting and disclosure obligations as set forth in the Canada Deposit Insurance Corporation Act.

Updating this information ensures that the deposit monies, if otherwise eligible for deposit insurance, will be covered by CDIC up to a maximum of $100,000 per beneficiary. It also ensures that the deposit will be insured separately from other deposits in your name. Without this information, the account deposit will only be eligible for coverage of $100,000 total.

This report requires the name, address and balance attributed to each beneficiary. In the case of a law firm, the name and address can be substituted by a code as long as that code can be found in the trustee’s up-to-date records.

Credit Union Deposit Guarantee Corporation

Credit Unions are financial cooperatives that may require clients to join a cooperative as a member. In Canada, credit unions are usually governed by the laws of the provinces where they operate.The Credit Union Deposit Guarantee Corporation (CUDGC) monitors and regulates the performance of credit unions in Alberta and the compliance of Alberta credit unions with the Credit Union Act.The primary role of the Corporation is to guarantee deposit protection to deposit holders with credit unions in Alberta.The Credit Union Act provides that the Government of Alberta will ensure that this obligation of the corporation is carried out. Because the CUDGC insures the total deposit of up to any amount, no reporting is required for accounts in trust with multiple beneficiaries.

Federal Credit Unions

In 2012, the Government of Canada put in place a framework that allowed Credit Unions to expand their business nationally. Once operating federally, federal Credit Unions become members of CDIC. As such, eligible deposits are insured by CDIC. After a transition period of 180 days, during which CUDGC rules apply, CDIC coverage rules will apply.

Deposit Insurance for Trust Accounts Summary

You must make your disclosure to your member institution by May 30^th of each Year. In the event that you miss the deadline, section 6(2) of the Canada Deposit Insurance Corporation Joint and Trust Account Disclosure By-Law states that:

(2) A depositor may remedy a failure to disclose the information referred to in paragraph (1)(b) in respect of a particular year within the time required by that paragraph by disclosing, at any time before the determination date, the required information as of April 30 preceding the day on which it is disclosed.

If you have any questions about deposit insurance for trust accounts, contact Trust Safety.