Access to Justice
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April 28, 2026
Cultural humility and empathy in the legal profession
Over the past several years, Indigenous issues and reconciliation efforts have started to move out of the shadows and into the forefront of Canadian minds. However, the heightened attention following the May 27, 2021, media release by the Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc First Nation, which revealed a ground-penetrating radar discovery of 215 unmarked graves at the former Kamloops Indian Residential School, has since steadily declined, despite the ongoing overrepresentation of Indigenous Peoples in the legal system, continued inequities in child welfare and persistent barriers to accessing culturally appropriate supports.
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April 28, 2026
Six months of tracking Toronto civil court delays: What the data shows
On Jan. 28, 2026, the Toronto Superior Court of Justice’s online booking system displayed no available dates for a Civil Case Conference. On Jan. 29, the wait was eight days. By Feb. 3, it was 210 days. Same court, same hearing type. Three wildly different outcomes in a week.
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April 27, 2026
Appeal Court says onus on Crown to disprove realistic possibility of collusion or tainting
For a medical professional, nothing could seem worse than the opening lines of a Toronto Star newspaper report on Nov. 24, 2023, which read, “Dr. Wameed Ateyah, who was the only family doctor in Schomberg, a hamlet north of Toronto, has been sentenced to nine years in prison after being found guilty of 16 counts of sexual assault and one count of sexual exploitation in relation to 13 female patients.”
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April 27, 2026
Feds providing $8.6M for new Black Justice Strategy
The federal government has announced more than $8.6 million in funding over two years for 24 projects to develop services for Black youth, victims and survivors of crime, and individuals navigating the criminal justice system.
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April 24, 2026
Ontario FOI changes ‘one of the most serious attacks on the public’s right to know’ in years: expert
The Ontario government has fast-tracked legislation through the provincial legislature that makes significant changes to the province’s freedom of information (FOI) laws, a move observers are calling “undemocratic” and dangerous.
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April 24, 2026
To be, or not to be ‘in-person,’ that is the question
It may seem overly dramatic to compare the court’s dilemma about mandating “in-person” motions in family court to Hamlet’s musings about whether to suffer the hardships of life or succumb to the unknown of death.
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April 24, 2026
Court of Appeal orders new trial in London rooming house second-degree murder case
In October 2017, tensions escalated at a rooming house on Lansdowne Avenue in London, Ont., after disputes erupted among Raymond Beaver, his niece, Melissa George, and her boyfriend, Daniel Cavanagh.
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April 23, 2026
Saskatchewan introduces bill to bring in associate judges for King’s Bench
Taking its cues from a handful of other provinces, Saskatchewan has introduced legislation that would add associate judges to its Court of King’s Bench.
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April 23, 2026
Relocation law is stacked against mothers — Bill C-223 can fix it: Addressing bias
On Feb. 10, 2026, one of the deadliest mass shootings in Canada’s history occurred in Tumbler Ridge, B.C., where Jesse Strang killed her mother and half-brother in addition to several students of the local secondary school. We were surprised to find out that, in 2015, a court had denied Jesse’s mother’s request to relocate with her children from British Columbia to Newfoundland.
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April 23, 2026
B.C. sentencing decision pits victim safety against accused’s health issue
Sending individuals with mental health issues to prison rather than to specialized treatment facilities can yield several legal, punitive and societal outcomes.