Criminal

Tuesday, June 15, 2021 @ 2:04 PM

In the first article in this series on the decision in Sherman Estate v. Donovan 2021 SCC 25, we discussed why the Supreme Court of Canada ordered that the probate files of murdered Toronto billionaires, Barry and Honey Sherman, be unsealed. In this second article, we will look at what kind of information will suffice for this kind of order. ... [read more]

Tuesday, June 15, 2021 @ 12:56 PM

There are few things people like less than feeling actively deceived. Feeling misled, feeling hoodwinked, feeling as though things just aren’t what they believed. The introduction of Bill C-31 has left many with precisely that feeling. It has left us with hope for criminal justice policies that are unlikely to become real. As Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness Bill Blair knows, the Act to Amend the Criminal Records Act will not become law before the summer recess. If the rumours of an upcoming election are true, then this bill will surely die. ... [read more]

Tuesday, June 15, 2021 @ 12:36 PM

On June 15, Mélanie Joly, minister of economic development and official languages, supported by Jean‑Yves Duclos, president of the Treasury Board, and David Lametti, minister of justice and attorney general of Canada, introduced Bill C-32, an Act for the Substantive Equality of French and English and the Strengthening of the Official Languages Act. ... [read more]

Tuesday, June 15, 2021 @ 9:49 AM

Can hosts of a party during the pandemic be charged with manslaughter? This question has increasingly been central to a powerful scholarly and legal debate across the country. The catalyst was the sentencing of Mohammad Movassaghi, in R. v. Movassaghi 2021 BCPC 112, who was charged with violating the British Columbia Public Health Order (PHO) for hosting a party for 78 people in a penthouse condo. During this time, provinces across Canada had issued similar public health orders that made illegal any non-essential indoor gatherings outside one’s own household. ... [read more]

Monday, June 14, 2021 @ 1:47 PM

In Sherman Estate v. Donovan 2021 SCC 25, released on June 11, the Supreme Court of Canada ordered that the probate files of murdered Toronto billionaires, Barry and Honey Sherman, be unsealed. The result is that the public will be able to access the Shermans’ estate files notwithstanding that the identity of the perpetrator(s) of the murders, and their motives, if any, remain unknown. ... [read more]

Monday, June 14, 2021 @ 1:06 PM

When a prisoner is released into the community, the major difficulties in reintegration involve what most of us take for granted: getting a job and a place to live. When living conditions are worse outside the prison walls than within, it is all too tempting to do some criminal act to return to a place where basic human needs are met. ... [read more]

Monday, June 14, 2021 @ 12:51 PM

On June 14, the Ontario government announced an investment of $5 million over two years to “enhance services and supports available to victims of intimate partner violence and human trafficking” through a new Victim Support Grant (VSG) program. According to a government release, all municipal and First Nation police services, as well as the Ontario Provincial Police can apply for funding through the program. ... [read more]

Monday, June 14, 2021 @ 9:48 AM

Provincial court of Saskatchewan Chief Judge Shannon Metivier announced that effective Sept. 1, 2021, Lloydminster will be converted into a circuit court location, to be served from North Battleford. ... [read more]

Monday, June 14, 2021 @ 9:32 AM

Appeal by the accused, Singh, from a conviction for uttering threats, forcible confinement and sexual assault. The accused, age 20, and complainant, age 17, met through an online dating platform. ... [read more]

Monday, June 14, 2021 @ 8:52 AM

In A Biography of Loneliness, published in 2019, author Fay Bound Alberti observed that the loneliness of bereavement is “a great leveller of experience; there is a depth of social and familial isolation linked to widow(er)hood, whether one is princess or pauper.” ... [read more]