Access to Justice
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November 21, 2025
Supreme Court decision fundamentally changes how courts treat internal prison decisions
Lawyers practising prison law have a new and very powerful arrow added to their quiver.
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November 21, 2025
Ontario’s impaired-driving restitution proposal: Legal and policy challenges ahead
As reported by Law360 Canada, the Ontario government is exploring a new measure that would require impaired drivers who kill a parent or guardian in a motor vehicle accident to make ongoing financial support payments to the victim’s surviving children. The idea mirrors Bentley’s Law in Texas, enacted in 2023, which mandates long-term restitution — essentially child support — whenever an impaired driver is convicted of what Texas law refers to as “intoxication manslaughter” (the Canadian analogue most closely maps to “Impaired Operation Causing Death” under s. 320.14(3) of the Criminal Code).
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November 21, 2025
Artificial vs. authentic intelligence
When I first saw the term “AI” in the news, I thought it was a barbecue sauce.
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November 21, 2025
The legal inevitability of the ostrich cull
However one feels about the recent cull of ostriches on a British Columbia farm, the result of the legal challenge to the cull order was inevitable because the wisdom of government policy may not be challenged on judicial review: Universal Ostrich Farms Inc. v. Canada (Food Inspection Agency), 2025 FCA 147, leave to appeal to the Supreme Court of Canada refused Nov. 6, 2025.
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November 20, 2025
Serena Tobaccojuice's case puts correctional system on trial
Serena Tobaccojuice, a 43-year-old Cree woman and one of Canada’s longest-serving female inmates, awaits sentencing in Nova Scotia for unlawfully confining two correctional officers in 2022. Although she wielded bent tweezers and blocked a doorway for 18 minutes, the officers were unharmed. Originally charged with hostage-taking, she pleaded guilty to the lesser offence.
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November 20, 2025
Black box breaks open: Why Cohere’s legal defeat is a warning shot for Canadian enterprise
For the better part of three years, the Canadian technology sector has heralded Cohere as our homegrown champion, a “sovereign” answer to the Silicon Valley giants, providing enterprise-grade artificial intelligence that serious businesses could trust. We were told that, unlike consumer-grade chatbots prone to chaotic fabrications, Cohere was built for the boardroom: reliable, secure and designed to meet the rigorous demands of industry.
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November 20, 2025
‘Frustration’ with lack of prison reforms: Correctional investigator resigns
The correctional investigator is not the only one frustrated with the lack of prison reforms. The auditor general, senators, prison lawyers and all of us who speak with federal prisoners share that view. The failure to respect the rule of law, the Charter, the provisions of the Corrections and Conditional Release Act (CCRA) and human decency is common. Passive and active resistance to recommended reforms is the norm.
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November 19, 2025
Ontario court rules forum clause survives corporate transfer in dismissal dispute
The Ontario Superior Court has upheld a forum selection clause in an employment agreement in a dispute over the dismissal of an employee whose contract was transferred from a federal Crown corporation to its subsidiary operating under private management.
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November 19, 2025
Self-defence for lawyers, part three
It’s Friday, shortly after 5 p.m. at a small, nondescript law office. You have gathered some court briefs to review at home over the weekend and lock the office door without a quick scan before proceeding through a darkened parking lot to your car. Your strong hand is pulling a wheeled file case, and the other is tasked with getting your car keys when suddenly, you hear someone screaming expletives.
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November 19, 2025
Refresher on legal ethics for unscrupulous litigators, part two
In part one of this two-part series, I told the story of a lawyer from out west who I called Bill. Bill, apparently at the urging of his boss (who had bigger fish to fry), tried to dump a client (Bob) by making a motion to get off the record a few days before the trial date, and returnable on the trial date. He showed up, having done no trial preparation, and put the client at risk of being ordered to proceed with the trial.