Criminal
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March 05, 2025
Manitoba appeal asks if police action rose to level of implied threats, other questions
In December 2022, a judge sentenced Kyle Pietz to 16 years in prison for killing office cleaner Eduardo Balaquit. In May of that year, a jury convicted Pietz, then 37, of manslaughter in the 2018 killing. Balaquit’s body has never been found. Pietz denied killing Balaquit, and the whereabouts of his remains are unknown.
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March 04, 2025
Canada must increase immigration sanctions against Iran | Sergio R. Karas
In September 2024, the government of Canada announced the expansion of sanctions against Iran due to that country’s involvement in “terrorism and systematic and gross human rights violations,” effectively barring anyone who has served as a senior government official in Iran since 2019 from entering Canada.
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March 04, 2025
Should the criminal standard replace the civil standard in child welfare cases? Part two | Hodine Williams
Child welfare cases in Canada are among the most emotionally charged and legally complex areas of law, as they involve the state’s authority to intervene in family life to protect children from harm.
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March 04, 2025
Why court upheld Licence Appeal Tribunal decision for car salesperson
An Ontario law requires that a car salesperson be licensed. An applicant seeking registration under the Act is not entitled to be licensed if that person’s past conduct affords reasonable grounds for believing that the salesperson will not conduct business under the law and with integrity and honesty (Motor Vehicle Dealers Act, 2002, S.O. 2002, c. 30 s. 6).
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March 04, 2025
SENTENCING - Manslaughter - Particular sanctions - Mitigating factors - Charter, benefit of lesser punishment
Appeal by Pietz against his conviction for manslaughter and appeal from sentence. Pietz was arrested and detained on suspicion of killing and disposing of the victim's body near Arborg, Manitoba.
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March 03, 2025
NWT law society rolls out professional conduct ‘guidelines’ for lawyers' use of generative AI
The Law Society of the Northwest Territories has issued, for the first time, “Guidelines for the Use of Generative AI in the Practice of Law,” following a similar move by several Canadian legal regulators that have provided AI-specific guidance for lawyers’ professional conduct and practice over the past year.
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March 03, 2025
Feds launch Joint Operational Intelligence Cell to further strengthen border protection
The federal government has announced its launch of the Joint Operational Intelligence Cell (JOIC), which brings together Canadian security departments, agencies and law enforcement to enhance border protection.
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March 03, 2025
Ottawa ‘formalizes’ additional controls on precursor chemicals for manufacturing fentanyl
The federal government says it has “formalized” additional controls for three fentanyl precursor chemicals and for the drug carisoprodol — a skeletal muscle relaxant that can be addictive.
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March 03, 2025
B.C. appeal decision in defamation case sends ‘very ominous, chilling message,’ lawyer says
British Columbia’s top court has ruled against a former school board trustee who made incendiary comments online about one of his colleagues. But his lawyer is saying the decision sets a “remarkably low bar” for a plaintiff to advance a libel claim in the future.
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March 03, 2025
Should the criminal standard replace the civil standard in child welfare cases? | Hodine Williams
Child welfare cases in Canada are among the most emotionally charged and legally complex areas of law, as they involve the state’s authority to intervene in family life to protect children from harm. Children’s Aid Societies (CAS) are empowered to remove children from their parents when there is evidence of abuse or neglect, but the current legal standard used in these cases — the civil standard of proof, or the “balance of probabilities”— has come under scrutiny.