Immigration
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November 19, 2024
Public has low confidence in criminal courts; believes politics influences SCC appointments: poll
If public confidence is a litmus test for the health of the justice system, a new national poll suggests Canada’s courts have room to improve.
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November 19, 2024
Feds announce consultations on housing financialization, ending GST on new student residences
The federal government has launched consultations on “confronting the financialization of housing” and on removing GST on the construction of new student residences to incentivize the building of more student housing and ease rental housing pressures for students.
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November 18, 2024
Successful appeal addresses principles behind sentencing
There have been several cases in Ontario involving the possession of handguns and their use in threatening situations. The sentences imposed upon conviction have been in the range of four years even for youthful first offenders.
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November 15, 2024
Federal government overestimating impact of reduced immigration on housing supply, says PBO report
The Office of the Parliamentary Budget Officer (PBO) is predicting that the federal government's decision to sharply cut immigration levels from 2025 to 2027 will significantly improve the availability of housing in Canada, leading to an estimated 45 per cent reduction in the housing gap by 2030.
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November 15, 2024
AI in the courtroom: Canadian Judicial Council’s new guidelines
With the rapid advancement of artificial intelligence (AI) technology, Canadian courts are under increasing pressure to address its impact. While some view AI as a possible threat to the rule of law and democracy within Canada’s justice system, AI also holds promise for enhancing court operations, reducing workloads, supporting judicial functions and improving access to justice.
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November 15, 2024
Importance of sufficient funds for study permit applications in Canada
In the case of Mohammadi v. Canada (Citizenship and Immigration), 2024 FC 598, an 18-year-old Iranian national, who wished to complete Grade 12 at a private high school in Ont., submitted a study permit application in which he showed parental funds of $168,000 to cover $32,5000 costs for tuition and room and board. He provided the following parental financial evidence: bank statement, land title deeds, tax payment receipts, insurance premium receipts and employee salary amounts.
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November 14, 2024
Removal of untranslated English decisions on website won’t end novel lawsuit against SCC: plaintiff
The Supreme Court of Canada’s removal of thousands of pre-1970 (mostly unilingual-English) judgments from its website won’t end an unprecedented Federal Court lawsuit that aims to compel the top court’s registry to fix alleged violations of the Official Languages Act by translating the court’s unilingual decisions into the other official language, says the plaintiff language rights group Droits collectifs Québec.
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November 13, 2024
Analysis of Nygard bail denial appeal
Peter Nygard is being detained in custody awaiting an appeal from conviction and sentence for sexual assaults that he has been accused of committing between 1988 and 2005. On Oct. 7, 2024, he was denied appeal bail (R. v. Nygard, 2024 ONCA 744).
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November 12, 2024
The surprising versatility of the U.S. B-1 Business Visitor Visa
B-1 is the alphanumeric that describes the status of a business visitor to the United States. It covers the normal business visitor activities such as meetings, marketing goods or services and attending trade shows or conferences. But it also covers some significant activities that may be surprising.
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November 12, 2024
Ontario Court of Appeal dismisses son’s attempt to blame parents
The fifth commandment, “Honour your father and your mother that your days may be long in the land that the Lord your God is giving you,” is a commandment and a blessing repeated throughout the Old and New Testaments of the Bible. But does it constitute a legal defence?