Access to Justice
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March 17, 2025
Life as a prisoner | David Dorson
I wrote a few months ago about some of the differences between minimum security and higher security levels. Minimum is definitely an easier place to be, where, unlike medium or maximum, you can actually have a kind of life.
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March 14, 2025
SCC extends Charter-guaranteed presumption of innocence to inmate discipline proceedings
Overruling its own 35-year-old precedent while expanding the Charter’s protections for the presumption of innocence into new legal territory, the Supreme Court of Canada split 6-3 to strike down a Saskatchewan regulation that authorized inmate segregation or loss of earned remission to be imposed on those found to have committed a prison disciplinary offence, based only on proof on a “balance of probabilities” standard rather than on the heightened standard of proof “beyond a reasonable doubt.”
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March 14, 2025
Nunavut to consult residents on new health privacy laws
Nunavut’s government is seeking residents’ input on the planning of new “health specific” privacy laws. According to a March 13 news release, Nunavut’s department of health will be conducting territory-wide consultations “to gain community feedback on laws related to personal health information.”
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March 13, 2025
Veteran’s conditional class action certification set aside for lack of identifiable class
The Ontario Court of Appeal has allowed an appeal of an injured veteran’s conditional class action certification, finding that the motion judge made a procedural error that was “central to the certification process.” However, the court rejected arguments that there was no proximity with Canada in administering veterans’ benefits.
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March 13, 2025
Hartman defence showcases complicated factors in determining appropriate sentence
Judges in criminal cases often say that sentencing is the most challenging part of their work. It requires them to balance a dichotomy and find harmony and effectiveness when dealing with seemingly opposite or contradictory ideas or concepts.
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March 12, 2025
The legal stage: Exploring famous operas with legal themes | Connie L. Braun
Opera originated in Italy during the late 16th century to present a positive image of the ruler and his court to visiting dignitaries. With grand narratives and emotional depth, opera has long been a medium through which complex societal issues are explored.
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March 11, 2025
Law Society of Ontario awards honorary doctorate at ceremony
During the Law Society of Ontario’s (LSO) Call to the Bar ceremony that took place on March 10, Ronald D. Manes received a degree of doctor of laws, honoris causa (LLD).
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March 11, 2025
Yukon seeking input on upgrading Human Rights Act
Yukon’s government is inviting residents to “share their thoughts” on proposed “improvements” to its human rights legislation.
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March 11, 2025
Saskatchewan Appeal Court reaffirms judge need not be ‘sphinx’
Past behaviour is the best predictor of future behaviour. That is a precept often heard at parole board hearings. Tyler Robert Vandewater appeared via video link in Miramichi, New Brunswick provincial court on Feb. 27, 2012, and pleaded guilty to an assault that took place Nov. 19, 2010, in the Atlantic Renous Institution.
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March 10, 2025
Court certifies class action against Newfoundland town, paper company over flooding damage
The Newfoundland and Labrador Court of Appeal has certified a class action against a town and a paper company over alleged damage to residences by flooding caused by the water control system of a hydroelectric power generating system.