Immigration
-
February 21, 2024
Feds seek Parliamentary approval to spend $28 million more on legal aid for immigrants & refugees
With the coming two-year anniversary of Russia’s country-wide invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24, the federal Department of Justice (DOJ) has announced it is providing Pro Bono Ontario with nearly half a million dollars to help war-displaced Ukrainians with their immigration-related legal problems.
-
February 20, 2024
Alta.’s Justice Mary Moreau welcomed at celebration of first female-majority Supreme Court of Canada
The milestone appointment of Justice Mary Moreau was celebrated in Ottawa, where the ex-chief justice and former criminal lawyer and constitutional litigator from Alberta was lauded for her “unparalleled work ethic,” “great intelligence” as well as for her “humility” and “compassion.” “For the first time in the history of our country, the majority of judges sitting on the Supreme Court are now women,” federal Justice Minister Arif Virani said
-
February 20, 2024
B.C. prosecutors update hate crime policy to include hate propaganda, conversion therapy offences
The B.C. Prosecution Service (BCPS) has announced revisions to its hate crime policy. The definition of hate crime has been updated to include “hate propaganda” offences, such as advocating or promoting genocide, public incitement of hatred, willful promotion of hatred, and willful promotion of antisemitism.
-
February 20, 2024
Nova Scotia opens new grant to aid in ending racism, inequality
Community organizations in Nova Scotia can now apply for a new grant for projects aimed at ending racism and inequity through removing “barriers” in various sectors — including the justice system.
-
February 14, 2024
Court rules PM, justice minister ‘failed’ litigants & courts with many tardy judicial appointments
A Federal Court judge has refused to order the Trudeau government to fill the present high level of 75 superior court vacancies within specified timeframes; instead the judge recognized a “constitutional convention” that judicial vacancies “must be filled within a reasonable time” and declared his “expectation” that Ottawa will begin to discharge its unfulfilled constitutional duty to fix the country’s “untenable and appalling crisis and critical judicial vacancy situation,” including by reducing the vacancies to the mid-40s “within a reasonable time.”
-
February 14, 2024
General damages of $180K: HRTO signals changing landscape | Stuart Rudner
For many years, I have been critical of the fact that our judicial system allows people who engage in harassment or discriminatory conduct to get off with a mere slap on the wrist. However, the decision of the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario in L.N. v. Ray Daniel Salon & Spa, 2024 HRTO 179, provides some hope that change is underway.
-
February 13, 2024
Audit of ArriveCAN app finds CBSA had poor financial record keeping, impacting value for tax dollars
On Feb. 12, the Auditor General of Canada Karen Hogan tabled a report in a House of Commons regarding the federal government’s ArriveCAN application that was used to collect traveller health data during the COVID-19 pandemic. She concluded that Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA), the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC), and Public Services and Procurement Canada (PSPC) “failed to follow good management practices in the contracting, development, and implementation of the ArriveCAN application.”
-
February 13, 2024
SCC’s output fell to 34 judgments in 2023, renewing questions, concerns within the bar
Is the Supreme Court of Canada giving enough legal guidance to Canadians, particularly in private law cases? It’s a question simmering within the legal community, one that attracts the attention of academics and litigators and that might benefit from the court shedding some light, especially because the numbers of cases the nine judges hear and decide have been trending down for more than a decade, without explanation.
-
February 12, 2024
Managing common U.S. immigration inadmissibility issues
Inadmissibility can be a crippling issue for both visitors and workers alike. It can sneak up unexpectedly if travelers to the U.S. are not aware of the laws and policies that can prevent entry to the United States on a temporary or permanent basis.
-
February 08, 2024
Barring intervener counsel from pleading in person at SCC ‘improves access to justice’: CJ Wagner
The Supreme Court of Canada’s controversial policy of restricting intervener counsel to virtual appearances, rather than giving them the same hybrid option as party counsel to appear in person before the judges, “offers substantial savings, especially to those farthest from Ottawa” and “as such levels the playing field and improves access to justice,” Chief Justice of Canada Richard Wagner told the Canadian Bar Association (CBA).