Access to Justice
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November 11, 2024
Cons, pros of unlimited paid time off policies
Unlimited paid time off (PTO) policies have something to offer employers and employees. However, this concept needs careful consideration before being implemented or accepted.
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November 11, 2024
Overturned sex assault charge destined to attract critics
When A.R. and J.E. moved to Ontario in 2012, A.R.’s daughter from a previous relationship, T.R.S., stayed behind to live with her father. But when T.R.S. was 11 years old, her father became terminally ill and could not take care of T.R.S. A.R., and J.E. agreed to take her in.
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November 08, 2024
SCC elaborates on framework, scope for judicial review of regs and other subordinate legislation
The Supreme Court of Canada has ruled 9-0 that the Vavilov “reasonableness” standard for judicial review — informed by some of the Katz Group principles — presumptively applies when courts review whether subordinate legislation is authorized by law.
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November 08, 2024
Appeal court urges caution in use of ‘extrinsic misconduct’ evidence in criminal trials
Criminal court judges must be mindful to not allow “bad character” evidence to “creep” its way into proceedings without first weighing its validity and potential impact, says the lawyer for a Saskatchewan man given a new trial for alleged sex crimes against a stepchild.
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November 06, 2024
Police-reported sexual assaults went up, but charges, convictions & custodial sentences went down
Sexual assaults reported to police went up from 2015 to 2019, but such offences were less likely to result in charges, court proceedings, convictions or jail time than in the previous five-year period, Statistics Canada reports.
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November 07, 2024
NWT child protection report lacks detail, mention of alcohol abuse: lawyer
A recent report flagging the large number of Indigenous children in the Northwest Territories child protection system fails to give detailed reasons why they are placed in care — and does not address the role alcoholism plays in the problem, says a local lawyer.
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November 07, 2024
The crisis of delays in the family court system: Justice delayed is justice denied | Steve Benmor
Timely resolution of legal disputes is not merely an ideal in family law, it is a vital necessity for families who are undergoing the traumatic process of divorce.
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November 06, 2024
IRCC officer failed to come to grips with Iranian girl’s application to study in Canada: Fed. Court
The Federal Court has set aside an immigration officer’s refusal to allow a 16-year-old Iranian to come to Canada for high school, where she seeks to pursue her goal of becoming a professional musician — an elusive, if not impossible, dream for a girl growing up in the Islamic Republic of Iran.
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November 06, 2024
What if the Menendez case happened in Canada? | John L. Hill
The 1989 murders of Kitty and Jose Menendez gripped the American and, to a lesser degree, Canadian public. During their trials, the lawyers for Erik and Lyle Menendez urged juries to believe they were victims of emotional, physical and sexual abuse. But the brothers were young men (then aged 18 and 21), and many believed men weren’t subject to being raped. Men were expected to tolerate extreme pressures without having to act out violently. The district attorney found an even more probable motive. The Menendez siblings were portrayed as rich kids scheming to abscond with their parents’ fortune. They went to court in 1993, but a mistrial was declared. Then again, in 1995, they admitted to shooting their parents with weapons purchased a few days before the murders. They claimed self-defence. The defence failed, and they were convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to life imprisonment without eligibility for parole.
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November 05, 2024
Charter did not provide immunity for criminal conduct in COVID protest: Alberta Court of Appeal
Alberta’s top court has upheld a conviction of inciting mischief against a Calgary pastor for his role in protests against COVID-19 restrictions that saw the Canada-U.S. border shut down for two weeks, with his lawyer calling the ruling a “landmark” that provides a framework to law enforcement to curtail political speech and criminalize those who speak in favour of protestors.