Personal Injury
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December 09, 2024
Health Canada releases new data on cannabis use, finds less reported illegal access
Health Canada has published the 2024 Canadian Cannabis Survey, finding that more people are obtaining cannabis legally and that there is less reported smoking of cannabis overall.
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December 09, 2024
Violence in Ontario families: I smell gasoline | Michael Cochrane
In my previous column, Violence in Ontario families: Something is off, I looked at the astonishing multi-billion-dollar investment Canadian taxpayers are making to deal with the consequences of domestic violence. It is frankly and sadly a growth industry.
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December 06, 2024
No Charter breach when police warrantlessly searched text messages in ‘exigent circumstances’: SCC
The Supreme Court of Canada has dismissed 6-3 an Ontario man’s appeal of his drug trafficking convictions, holding that his Charter rights were not breached because “exigent circumstances” justified police, without a warrant, using a cellphone they seized from a drug dealer to impersonate that dealer and continue his texting with the accused to arrange what police suspected to be a purchase of fentanyl-laced heroin.
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December 06, 2024
Alberta court certifies class action against Canada over alleged sexual abuse by military priest
The Alberta Court of King’s Bench has certified a class action against the federal government relating to alleged child sexual abuse said to be caused by a military priest at an Edmonton army base.
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December 06, 2024
Lawyer critical after court’s finding doctor did not cause patient’s death
A Saskatchewan lawyer acting for the family of an overweight, pack-a-day smoker who died after having a heart attack says a local doctor has been able to “hide behind her own ineptitude” after a court found that her negligence did not cause the man’s death.
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December 06, 2024
Ottawa expands banned firearms list; pledges measures against gun use in intimate-partner violence
The minority Liberal government has put in place “revised classification” regulatory changes to newly prohibit 104 categories of assault-style firearms while also pledging to roll out new restrictions on large-capacity magazines in March 2025 and to introduce “no later” than January 2025 measures to help combat the high rates of gun use in gender-based and intimate-partner violence.
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December 06, 2024
Indoctrination vs. education | Maria Mahmoudian
The story of Mohammad Hossein Fahmideh’s martyrdom during the Iran-Iraq War (1980–1988) serves as a striking example of how indoctrination can infiltrate an education system, shaping the beliefs and actions of youth. Fahmideh, a 13-year-old boy who sacrificed his life by blowing himself up under an Iraqi tank, was heralded as a national hero and martyr. This narrative was used by the Iranian government to mobilize young people for the war effort, embedding ideological conformity within the educational system.
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December 05, 2024
Violence in Ontario families: Something is off | Michael Cochrane
I’ve been thinking about domestic violence and asking myself this question: As a society, are we making any progress in dealing with this plague? My approach to searching for an answer has been informed primarily by my time in private practice (where my clients have been both perpetrators and victims of such violence) and also by the years I spent as counsel in policy development with the Ontario Ministry of the Attorney General (where I worked on, among other things, the creation of the Family Responsibility Office (FRO), the passage of the Family Law Act and the introduction of mediation to family law).
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December 05, 2024
A path to truth, reconciliation and bridge-building | Tony Stevenson
Good day, everyone. I just wanted to describe the work that we do in the communities, schools, universities and the organizations that invite us to help educate the participants on the history of the First Nations people. This is the history that many of you were never taught in school. Why? I honestly don’t know. Whatever the reason, it was very detrimental to our relationships in this country. If those history books had included the whole truth of Canada’s history, I believe we would all be prospering and living cohesively.
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December 04, 2024
Ontario private member's bill aimed at regulating captive wildlife and zoos
An Ottawa-area MPP has introduced a new private member's bill aimed at addressing the lack of provincial oversight for captive wildlife. The Captive Wildlife Protection Act, 2024 was said to be brought for the purpose of improving animal welfare and public safety, citing dangers posed by “roadside zoos.”