Access to Justice
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January 14, 2025
Spontaneous exculpatory statement examined in drug smuggling appeal denial
Both the RCMP and the Canada Border Services Agency investigate and prosecute narcotic smuggling. These agencies charged Narado Richardo Henry with importing a controlled substance when he arrived at Toronto’s Pearson Airport carrying 1.9 kilograms of cocaine hidden in the lining of his suitcase.
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January 13, 2025
Police are wrong: Deep-fake porn of teenage girls is illegal | Naomi Sayers
In the summer of 2014, I received an email. I was selected to testify at Canada’s Parliamentary Justice and Human Rights Committee and I would be testifying against the proposed bill coming down the pipeline after a successful Charter challenge to then-prostitution law provisions in the Criminal Code.
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January 13, 2025
Appeal Court affirms conditional sentence for teen in sex case
In 2014, Parliament passed the Protection of Communities and Exploited Persons Act. The legislation was based on the premise that prostitution is a form of sex or gender inequality and that it is associated with human trafficking and violence.
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January 10, 2025
Federal Court grants review of Jordan’s Principle decision involving Indigenous dad and his children
Indigenous Services Canada must notify applicants making requests under Jordan’s Principle of any essential documents they must provide before it makes a decision, the Federal Court of Appeal has held, calling out ISC’s “passive approach” to procedural fairness.
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January 10, 2025
Ontario legal aid changes an important first step, Criminal Lawyers’ Association president says
The organization overseeing legal aid in Ontario has proposed a three-year increase in financial eligibility thresholds aimed at allowing more low-income people to access the justice system, a move the president of the provincial Criminal Lawyers’ Association characterized as an important first step.
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January 10, 2025
Starbucks, Tim Hortons, Second Cup sued over alleged ‘abusive’ overcharging for non-dairy milk
A proposed class action has been brought against Starbucks, Tim Hortons and Second Cup in the Quebec Superior Court alleging bad faith price gouging of customers who requested non-dairy substitutes in their drinks.
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January 10, 2025
B.C. court authorizes class action against Home Depot over sharing of customer data with Meta
The B.C. Supreme Court has certified a class action against Home Depot over allegations that it violated the privacy rights of its customers when it shared their email address and details of their purchases with social media giant Meta Platforms, Inc.
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January 09, 2025
StatsCan report finds significant drop in court-ordered monetary penalties in criminal cases
Monetary penalties and fines ordered by criminal courts in Canada dropped from 31 per cent of guilty cases between 2011 and 2019 to 23 per cent from 2020 to 2023, according to a Jan. 9 report from Statistics Canada.
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January 09, 2025
Should harsh pretrial conditions play a role in sentencing?
In one of its first judgments of 2025, the Ontario Court of Appeal has given direction on two perplexing issues: (1) How much weight should be placed upon an accused’s prior convictions as a youth when that person is later convicted as an adult, and (2) what are the considerations to be applied when credit is requested for pretrial custody and credit for serving that time under harsh conditions?
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January 08, 2025
Trudeau faces court challenges for Parliament prorogation, parties urged to continue work on bills
Ottawa-based non-profit Democracy Watch and two lawyers are launching separate legal challenges to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's decision to prorogue Parliament, which they argue was unconstitutional and “clearly in the Liberal Party’s self-interest."