Criminal
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December 18, 2024
Feds release $1.3B border plan to combat ‘migration and opioid crises’
The federal government has released Canada’s Border Plan and announced a $1.3 billion investment into increasing security at the border and strengthening the immigration system. Measures include disrupting fentanyl trade, using new tools for law enforcement and minimizing unnecessary border volume.
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December 18, 2024
Bill to form new Miscarriage of Justice Review Commission enacted into law
A bill replacing the ministerial review process for miscarriages of justice with an independent review commission has been enacted into law, the Department of Justice Canada announced in a news release.
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December 18, 2024
More evidence courts are ‘not well-oiled machines’
Trial delay is a significant concern, as the public is increasingly puzzled that serious charges are dismissed because it took too long to bring the matter to trial. This frustration was echoed in British Columbia Premier David Eby's statement, quoted in the July 24 issue of the Vancouver Island Free Daily as saying, "Not one case should be dismissed this way."
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December 18, 2024
The crime of domestic violence | Michael Cochrane
In two previous columns I examined the staggering amount of money taxpayers shell out to deal with the consequences of domestic violence and the potential “be careful what you wish for” impact on family law proceedings of a new tort of family violence. In this column I take a look at the proposed changes to the Criminal Code with the criminalization of coercive control of an intimate partner. This new crime is being advanced in Bill C-332 and as of this writing is before the Senate for second reading.
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December 18, 2024
CONSTITUTIONAL ISSUES - Legal rights - Trial within a reasonable time - Exceptional circumstances - Presumptive ceiling
Appeal by Crown against the summary conviction appeal judge’s decision to quash the respondent’s conviction and stay the proceedings due to unreasonable delay under s. 11(b) of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms (“Charter”).
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December 17, 2024
New sanctions target Venezuela’s top judge and justice officials complicit in ‘fraudulent’ election
Venezuela's top judge, a prosecutor and two other judges are among five Venezuelan justice officials targeted by Canadian sanctions for what Ottawa says was their undermining of democracy and participating in “the fraudulent declaration of Nicolás Maduro as the winner” of Venezuela’s presidential election last July.
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December 17, 2024
Collateral consequences of conviction
Two cases dealing with the consequences of a conviction were argued in different provinces in 2024. R. v. Simpson, 2024 MCA 82, was argued on April 26, and the reasons were handed down on Oct. 24. The trial in the Supreme Court of British Columbia in R. v. Astudillo, 2024 BCSC 2234, was held during April and the summer, and the judgment was delivered on Dec. 10. Both decisions deal with the collateral consequences of a conviction but arrive at a similar conclusion through different routes.
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December 17, 2024
Vavilov at five | Sara Blake
Five years ago, on Dec. 19, 2019, the Supreme Court of Canada, in Canada (Minister of Citizenship and Immigration) v. Vavilov, 2019 SCC 65, re-set the standard of review for questions of statutory interpretation. In that case, and two others decided in the same week, the court demonstrated how the new standard of review is to be applied.
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December 17, 2024
Parastoo Ahmadi’s groundbreaking concert: Symbol of defiance and hope | Maria Mahmoudian
In a momentous event that defied the oppressive norms of the Iranian regime, Parastoo Ahmadi recently held a concert without wearing a hijab. This courageous act of defiance took place at an undisclosed, clandestine location in Tehran, with tight security and limited attendance to ensure the safety of the performer and her audience. The concert, held this month, has since become a landmark in the struggle for women's rights and freedom of expression in Iran.
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December 16, 2024
Federal fiscal update after Freeland’s shock departure features tax, legal changes of note to bar
Boosting the number of judges in Ontario’s Unified Family Court and Court of Appeal, making “bail and sentencing laws stricter,” and new civil remedies — and criminal penalties of up to $1 million for corporations — under the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act, were among the new measures proposed in the 2024 fall fiscal update by the minority Liberal government after Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland stunned Ottawa by resigning from the Cabinet a few hours earlier.