Criminal
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March 21, 2025
Quebec legislative proposal to create Unified Family Tribunal panned by experts
In its latest effort to revamp family law, Quebec introduced a bill that lays the groundwork to establish a unified family court to curb delays, simplify proceedings, and handle the majority of family legal proceedings, with an eye towards eventually stripping Superior Court of family matters, an undertaking family law experts have panned as ill-conceived and riddled with shortcomings as it is currently drafted.
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March 21, 2025
Saskatchewan investing in community safety via policing, staffing, border security
As part of its 2025-26 budget, Saskatchewan is investing more than $800 million in the areas of policing, prisons, public safety and border security. According to a March 19 news release, the investment will include $679.4 million for the Ministry of Corrections, Policing and Public Safety; $118.9 million for the Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency (SPSA); and $8.8 million for the Saskatchewan Firearms Office (SFO).
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March 21, 2025
Charter breach, conditional sentence order overturned by British Columbia Court of Appeal
The Court of Appeal for British Columbia has overturned a lower court decision mitigating the prison sentence of a man found guilty of two counts of possession of a loaded shotgun, and one count of possession in contravention of a firearm’s prohibition. The unanimous decision, in R. v. Jaramillo, 2025 BCCA 77, announced March 12, found the trial judge erred in law and principle in applying s. 7 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, and also incorrectly applied the law in imposing a conditional sentence order (CSO).
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March 21, 2025
Can a dog cause a Charter breach?
The use of a police service dog during an arrest became a key concern in a recent British Columbia appeal. Preston Hale Jaramillo pleaded guilty to two counts of possessing a loaded handgun in contravention of a firearms prohibition.
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March 21, 2025
SENTENCING - Criminal harassment - Abduction of person under 16 - Theft and offences resembling theft
Sentencing of Balasooriyan for possession of stolen property exceeding $5000, attempted abduction of a minor below 14 years, mischief and criminal harassment and breach of release order.
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March 20, 2025
Quebec roadworks company to pay $150k for illegal paving contract allocation scheme
A Quebec roadworks company, Pavex Ltd, has agreed to pay $150,000 for entering into illegal agreements with competitors through a former employee to allocate territories for paving contracts awarded by the ministère des Transports du Québec.
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March 20, 2025
B.C. Court of Appeal affirms B.C. jurisdiction over Quebec companies in opioid class action
The B.C. Court of Appeal has affirmed British Columbia’s jurisdiction over Quebec-based opioid suppliers in the province’s class action to recover healthcare costs linked to the opioid crisis.
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March 20, 2025
Federal plan aims to end over-criminalization of Indigenous people & support Indigenous legal orders
The minority Liberal government has rolled out its “Indigenous Justice Strategy”— the first federal roadmap toward revitalizing Indigenous laws and legal orders and ending the over-criminalization of Indigenous people in Canada, Ottawa says. The single-spaced 46-page document was developed by the federal government over more than four years, taking into account extensive consultations with Indigenous community members, representative organizations and governments, as well as with provincial and territorial governments.
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March 20, 2025
Controversial ruling examines value of joint submissions in criminal proceedings: scholar
The Nunavut Court of Appeal’s recent finding that a trial judge was wrong to reject lawyers’ joint submission in a horrific case of attempted murder will further incentivize plea bargaining, says a legal mind.
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March 20, 2025
Unreliability of ‘sexting’ in determining sexual intention | Elaine Craig
“Sexting” is a frequent form of sexual activity, including for young women — a group at higher risk of experiencing sexual violence. Unsurprisingly, the admissibility of sexual assault complainants’ sexual text messages (and other digital communications) has been at issue in numerous, recent appellate court decisions in Canada. This issue is one of substantial importance for the dignity, privacy and equality interests of sexual assault complainants, and society’s interest in encouraging sexual assault survivors to come forward.