The Friday Brief: Managing Editor’s must-read items from this week

Matthew Grace

Here are my picks for the top stories we published this week.

SCC says conditional sentences are not terms of ‘imprisonment’ leading to immigration deportation
In a judgment welcomed by immigration lawyers, but called “disappointing” on the administrative law front, the Supreme Court has ruled that permanent residents sentenced in Canada to conditional sentences cannot be deported for “serious criminality” under s. 36(1)(a) the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA).

Liberals’ tweaks to impaired driving bill can’t fix Charter flaws, lawyer groups say
The Liberal government has tweaked its proposed drug-and-alcohol-impaired driving legislation, but the changes to Bill C-46 are minor and do not assuage the constitutional concerns raised by major legal organizations.

Staffing, legal aid issues plaguing B.C. courtrooms: lawyers
Concerns are being raised about the lack of sheriffs in British Columbia's courtrooms, a shortfall the provincial attorney general is promising to address. But a prominent criminal lawyer said staffing is only the “tip of the iceberg” when it comes to issues in B.C.'s judicial system.

Public’s ‘appetite for reform’ paves way for pledged record suspension changes
The Liberal government is paving the way for much-anticipated Criminal Records Act (CRA) reform by unveiling public feedback supportive of rolling back Conservative-era changes that make it slower, costlier and harder for law-abiding offenders to get their criminal records removed from the database of the Canadian Police Information Centre (CPIC).

Law Society of Upper Canada surveys members, public for opinion on new name
With “Upper Canada” being officially dropped from the title of Ontario’s law society, the regulator is in the process of determining what its new name should be.

An ill wind blowing: Insurers are bracing for challenges from climate change
In their analysis article, Dominic Clarke and Zack Garcia write: “The extent to which climate change was a factor in … extreme weather events, such as recent hurricanes Irma and Maria in the Atlantic, may arguably remain uncertain, but such events demonstrate the challenges that climate change poses to Canada’s insurance industry.”

Matthew Grace is the Managing Editor of The Lawyer's Daily.