Access to Justice
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October 28, 2024
Guns and drugs conviction survives Charter challenge
A confidential informant alerted the Toronto Police Service that Dennis Mensah was trafficking in fentanyl. Police obtained a warrant to track Mensah and two cellphones associated with him. The investigation linked Mensah to a condominium unit in Toronto and a specific unit number.
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October 25, 2024
Quebec judge decreases fees requested by class counsel in Ticketmaster settlement
The Superior Court of Quebec has decreased class counsel’s requested fees in a class action against Ticketmaster finding the percentage should apply to the amount claimed rather than the total settlement amount.
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October 24, 2024
Small business owners report significant increase in criminal incidents, says CFIB report
Only a third of Canadian small-business owners say they’re happy with the support they’re getting from local police forces to address an apparent increase in criminal incidents affecting them, according to a recent report from the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB).
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October 24, 2024
Bangladesh or Canada: Motions judge considers child’s future
Justice Ian Nordheimer of the Ontario Court of Appeal, sitting as a motions judge, recently dealt with two applications: one from the mother and the second from the father of a Bangladeshi child. Z.M., the mother, and A.A., the father, brought their 13-month-old child with them on a three-week vacation in Canada. The couple held visitor visas and round-trip tickets, suggesting that their initial intention was to return home after completing their holiday.
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October 24, 2024
Neurodiversity in the workplace
Understanding neurodiversity and recognizing how witnesses process information and communicate can significantly impact the fairness and success of a workplace investigation.
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October 24, 2024
Appeal citing lack of general propensity warning to jurors dismissed
When B.B. went to jail in the summer of 2017, he hoped a relationship with a woman who had been his surety would continue. The two communicated while B.B. was in jail by phone and letter. When B.B. was released on Oct. 20, 2017, and allowed to serve his sentence on weekends, he lived at his former surety’s apartment.
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October 23, 2024
Indigenous voices left behind despite global stage recognizing Indigenous as ‘guardians of nature’
“Guardians of nature include first and foremost Indigenous peoples and local communities,” remarked the United Nations at the opening address of the world’s largest ever global biodiversity conference, COP16, that got underway this week in Cali, Colombia.
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October 21, 2024
First Nations reject $47.8B deal for long-term Indigenous child services reform
The federal government has expressed disappointment in a decision by First Nations chiefs to vote against a $47.8 billion deal on long-term reform of Indigenous child and family services over concerns about the uncertainty of annual funding approvals and the implementation structure of the agreement.
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October 21, 2024
Overturning wrongful convictions | John L. Hill
Let’s face it. Fighting wrongful convictions is hard. Attending the 10th Annual International Wrongful Conviction Day in Toronto in early October was inspiring. Many exonerees were piped into the auditorium. It was easy to think that finding and helping the wrongly convicted is an easy or usual task. Our assumption that our criminal justice system works perfectly blurs the fact that injustice happens more frequently than we dare to admit.
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October 21, 2024
Rape exemptions to abortion bans don’t work: Legal conundrums | Abby Hafer
In my recent articles on why rape exemptions to abortion bans don’t work, I have covered many of the real-world problems that show how these seemingly kindly exemptions are in reality ugly and meaningless.