Criminal
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April 09, 2025
Viability of private prosecutions in hate-motivated crimes
Section 504 of the Criminal Code permits anyone to initiate a criminal proceeding by laying an information in writing, under oath before a justice. In R. v. Mivasair, 2025 ONCA 179, the Ontario Court of Appeal reviews the law respecting private prosecutions including the role and duty of the Crown and the remedies available to an informant where the Crown has intervened and terminated a private prosecution.
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April 08, 2025
Manitoba spends $3.3M to boost RCMP presence in rural areas amid rising crime
Manitoba is investing millions with local RCMP to get more “boots on the ground” in rural parts of the province.
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April 08, 2025
State-ordered executions topped 1,500 globally: Amnesty International | Aubrey Harris
Canada long ago abolished the death penalty. However, many of us were abruptly reminded of our connection to the human rights of those in other countries when we learned last month of the execution of four Canadians in China this year.
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April 08, 2025
The sounds of court | Norman Douglas
I am retired and miss the sounds of the courtroom. I say “strangely” because until retirement, I never gave any thought to them.
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April 07, 2025
N.S. Mi’kmaw communities now allowed cannabis stores
Regulated retail cannabis stores will now be allowed to operate on Nova Scotia’s Mi’kmaw reservations.
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April 07, 2025
Remote testimony plays crucial role in appeal decision
The Crown was ready to go to trial in January 2023 to prove that an accused man was guilty of attacking eight sex trade workers between December 2020 and January 2021.
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April 07, 2025
Antisemitic incidents in Canada reached a record high in 2024, reports B’nai B’rith
B’nai B’rith Canada is reporting that incidents of antisemitism in Canada reached their highest level in 2024 since the Toronto-based Jewish service and advocacy organization began tracking such events in 1982.
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April 04, 2025
B.C. Court of Appeal rejects SEC appeal over Mareva injunction variation
The B.C. Court of Appeal has denied the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) permission to challenge a ruling that varied a Mareva injunction, allowing an individual ordered to pay over $11 million in a stock manipulation case to use frozen funds for legal and personal expenses.
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April 04, 2025
New Brunswick investing in start of courts’ digital upgrade
New Brunswick is spending $5 million to kick-start the digital transformation of its courts. In what is being called an investment in greater access to justice, New Brunswick’s government will spend more than $32 million over six years for the technological revamp of the province’s court system, which will include various digital upgrades to the courts, as detailed in an April 3 news release.
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April 04, 2025
Successful appeal examines probative value of the proffered similar act evidence
It is said that sexual assault is one of the hardest crimes to beat in a criminal trial. Nonetheless, Quang Vu was acquitted in the Ontario Court of Justice on Jan.19, 2024. Vu had been charged with two counts of sexual assault and one count of forcible confinement.