Access to Justice
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September 23, 2024
Early election could kill proposed miscarriage of justice review body if bill not soon enacted
With the possibility of an early federal election looming this fall, advocates for the creation of an independent body to investigate suspected wrongful convictions are urging the Senate to move expeditiously to study and pass Bill C-40, proposed government legislation that would give birth to a long-awaited independent review body.
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September 23, 2024
Federal Court rules Ottawa had no duty to consult in funding cut for Francophone jurists group
The Federal Court has ruled that the federal government was not obligated to consult an organization advocating for French-language access to justice before cutting its core funding under an Official Languages Action Plan.
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September 23, 2024
B.C. law society sets 2025 fees, amends policies on administrative penalties at recent meeting
Benchers of the Law Society of British Columbia (LSBC) set fee rates for 2025 at their Sept. 20 meeting while making changes to the regulator’s administrative penalty regime and external appointments policy.
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September 23, 2024
Exemptions to abortion bans: More reasons why they don’t work — police reports | Abby Hafer
In my articles of Sept. 12 and Sept.18, I discussed some severe problems with rape exemptions to abortion bans. These included the fact that they effectively punish women for having sex voluntarily as though that is in some way a crime and that they fail to provide access to abortion to those who qualify, since in states with bans abortion clinics all shut down, so those wishing to exercise the rape exemption cannot get an abortion in state anyway.
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September 23, 2024
Alberta Court of Appeal weighs in on neighbours’ fist fight
“That’s what neighbours do; they help each other …” Aaron Jeremschuk started expressing gratitude to his neighbour, Robert Jakubec, who volunteered to help Jeremschuk hang a heavy boxing bag in his garage.
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September 20, 2024
New rules in Nova Scotia represent a ‘minimum practice’ for regulation of policing, academic says
Nova Scotia has outlined new policing standards for police services in the province, brought in as part of its response to recommendations from a commission set up to look into a violent 2020 shooting spree that led to the death of nearly two dozen people.
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September 19, 2024
Bar groups, regulators condemn Manitoba NDP’s ouster of lawyer MLA over Nygard connection
The Law Society of Manitoba, the Federation of Law Societies of Canada (FLSC) and Crown and defence bar groups are deploring comments publicly made by Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew and Mike Moyes, chair of the governing NDP caucus, that purported to justify expelling a Winnipeg criminal lawyer from their caucus because he works at a law firm that defends Peter Nygard, a high-profile Manitoban recently convicted of multiple sex crimes.
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September 19, 2024
Ontario estate decision ‘very pragmatic’ in approach to limitation periods, legal expert says
Ontario’s top court has ruled that a claim for unjust enrichment against an estate was statute-barred under the province’s Trustee Act, and a legal expert is saying the decision suggests a need to update the legislation to clarify limitation periods for claims against an estate.
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September 19, 2024
Successful appeal of sex assault sentence parses locations described in s. 161(a) of Code
Some say the rising cost of tickets makes it impossible to enjoy a night at the movies. Lack of finances may be a bar to cinema attendance, but what about a court order restricting one from entering the building?
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September 19, 2024
Harsher sentences: Not what the evidence says | Emily Stewart and David Dorson
Recently in this publication, retired judge Norman Douglas argued that Canada should have harsher penalties for some people who commit particularly heinous crimes, possibly including the death penalty. While appealing to some on an emotional level, Douglas’s argument does not fit the facts.