Constitutional
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January 29, 2024
UNDRIP in action: White and Montour decision new chapter in Aboriginal rights prudence
In late 2023, the Quebec Superior Court (QCSC) issued a landmark decision in R. v. Montour [2023] Q.J. No. 11554, attracting considerable attention and a Crown appeal. This ruling marks a pivotal moment in Aboriginal law, potentially reshaping legal interpretations and Canadian jurisprudence.
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January 26, 2024
Nova Scotia to shore up its prosecutor’s office with new jobs
Nova Scotia is adding new job positions to its Crown's office in a bid to address backlog and prosecutor burnout. The province’s government announced Jan. 25 that it would be adding 27 permanent positions to its Public Prosecution Service (PPS): 11 Crown lawyers, six legal assistants and 10 new positions for the PPS’s “intake team pilot project.”
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January 26, 2024
Judge erred in entering stay before considering alleged infringement of right to counsel: SCC
The Supreme Court has ordered trials to be held for 31 people arrested as part of a drug trafficking investigation, saying a Quebec Superior Court judge erred by entering a stay of proceedings before determining whether each accused’s right to counsel had been infringed.
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January 25, 2024
RCMP race data project to search for bias among officers
Officials with the RCMP hope its new race-based data project will help the force identify implicit biases on the part of front-line officers and address any resulting differential treatment of people by police.
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January 24, 2024
New House of Commons law clerk, Parliamentary counsel
Parliamentary interim law clerk and counsel since June 2022, Michel Bédard has been appointed law clerk and parliamentary counsel of the House of Commons.
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January 22, 2024
Federal tribunal erred in considering Crown’s breach of fiduciary duty in land surrender: Court
The Federal Court of Appeal has ruled a government tribunal made several errors when considering the Crown’s fiduciary duty when considering the case of a land surrender by a First Nation that goes back several decades.
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January 17, 2024
Alberta court rules former children’s ministers need not be questioned in class action
The Alberta Court of Appeal has allowed the appeal of former children's services ministers in a case where children were alleged to be harmed due to the province’s failure to sue itself in regards to delayed care plans.
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January 17, 2024
RCMP must follow up on race data from officers: scholar
A new RCMP pilot project aimed at examining officers’ perceptions of race is a positive step toward building equality — but its effectiveness depends on whether the force uses the results to identify “at-risk” officers, strengthen accountability and engage in early intervention, says a human rights scholar.
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January 15, 2024
Freedom of religion is not absolute, B.C. judge says in dispute over church records
A B.C. judge has ruled against Jehovah’s Witness elders who fought the disclosure of documentation to two former congregants, saying that while the elders' religious freedoms had been violated, that violation could be reasonably justified under s. 1 of the Charter.
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January 08, 2024
When will government recognize true cost of trial delays? | Bruce Baker
COVID can no longer be used as an excuse for the lack of process to place individuals on the bench. The federal and provincial government’s lack of attention to this matter provides some reason to doubt the present administration’s ability to deal effectively with a complicated vetting process, or they are complicating matters by looking to provide avenues of patronage to ideological supporters of their choosing.