Access to Justice
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August 14, 2024
Ontario Court of Appeal overturns fraud convictions, citing ineffective defense counsel
The Ontario Court of Appeal has set aside two fraud convictions, finding that the legal representation the defendant received at trial fell below the standards of reasonable professional judgment and undermined the fairness of his trial.
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August 14, 2024
Appeal court decision offers lesson in relying on Jordan
It all seems so simple. Anyone wanting to know if a trial occurs within the 18-month time limit set out in the Jordan decision must calculate the time spent from the date of arrest until the trial date.
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August 13, 2024
Failed Albanian refugee claimants get new H&C review of Canadian-born kids’ best interests
The Federal Court has quashed the denial of an Albanian couple’s application for permanent residence that is based on humanitarian and compassionate (H&C) grounds because the immigration officer didn’t properly take into account the best interests of the pair’s two Canadian children but, instead, wrongly applied a more onerous “hardship” test.
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August 13, 2024
Ontario court decides on carriage motion for securities class actions related to mining landslide
The Ontario Superior Court of Justice has granted a carriage motion in a case of competing class actions related to a landslide at a mining site in Turkey.
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August 13, 2024
Alberta creates new scholarship in public law
Alberta’s government has introduced a new scholarship to honour outstanding public law students.
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August 13, 2024
Comparison of various parole systems yields surprising results| Michael Crowley
A few weeks ago, I read an article about how parole in South Carolina had virtually disappeared in recent years. The focus of the article (in the Marshall Project newsletter) was on the declining rate of parole grants and the disheartening effect that this had on incarcerated people, their families and their legal representatives.
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August 12, 2024
New human rights chief ‘steps down’ following law firm probe of his history & hiring
Federal Justice Minister and Attorney General Arif Virani has accepted Birju Dattani stepping down as the chief federal human rights watchdog, following a report from an independent law firm that the recently hired head of the Canadian Human Rights Commission (CHRC), among other things, failed to disclose during the hiring process his sometime-use of an alternative name “Mujahid Dattani” on Twitter (now known as X) and in other public fora.
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August 12, 2024
Do Canadians really have the right to a fair trial? | David Dorson
When I was first arrested, I knew very little about our legal system. I suppose I assumed what we hear all the time, that each person has a right to a fair trial and to be convicted of a crime only when the evidence is “beyond a reasonable doubt.” I soon learned that this admirable principle is not what actually happens. In reality, hardly anyone accused of a crime in Canada gets a fair trial or any trial, nor can the right to a fair trial possibly be the norm given the way our system operates.
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August 12, 2024
Quebec discreetly issues directive that favours non-judicial treatment of simple drug possession
Quebec criminal lawyers have welcomed a discreet directive issued without fanfare by the provincial minister of justice calling on Quebec’s Crown prosecutors to weigh public interest and the risk to public safety before prosecuting people suspected of simple drug possession for personal consumption.
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August 09, 2024
N.B. Crowns reach labour deal with province
A “catastrophic” situation has been avoided in New Brunswick now that its Crown prosecutors voted in favour of a new collective agreement with the provincial government.