Access to Justice
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May 08, 2025
Prisons and pets
In my practice as a prison law lawyer, I encountered a situation that has received little notice. I found that many inmates who were recently incarcerated struggled more with the loss of their pet than with being sent to prison.
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May 07, 2025
CBABC honours lawyers for exceptional contributions to legal community
The Canadian Bar Association, BC Branch (CBABC) has recognized the achievements of three of the province’s lawyers with awards presented on May 3.
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May 07, 2025
Nova Scotia releases latest accessibility plan
Nova Scotia has released its latest multi-year accessibility plan as part of an ongoing bid to become more accessible to those with disabilities.
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May 07, 2025
Successful appeal includes ‘air of reality’ defence
Two Moose Jaw, Sask., men had a violent encounter. Vincent William Picken was convicted of second-degree murder for fatally stabbing Shaun Holmes in 2020. Picken claimed he acted in self-defence after Holmes allegedly assaulted him and set his dog on him.
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May 07, 2025
A client’s capacity to instruct counsel
Lawyers have an obligation to ensure that their clients have capacity to give them instructions. But what do you do if you suspect that your client may have lost that capacity?
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May 06, 2025
Ontario Court of Appeal decertifies class action against BMW, citing no viable plaintiff
The Ontario Court of Appeal has set aside the certification of a proposed class action against BMW over alleged defects in the engines of certain BMW vehicles with model years from 2012 to 2015, finding that the proposed representative plaintiffs did not have a viable claim.
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May 06, 2025
The true meaning of remorse
There is a word used every day in the criminal courtroom that one rarely hears in ordinary conversation: remorse.
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May 06, 2025
Sex assault sentencing decision a model for joint submissions, fairness
Constantin Vlachias tried very hard to put his life back together. But in September 2021, his past caught up with him.
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May 05, 2025
Federation of Ontario Law Associations urging pause to current civil rules reform process
The organization representing Ontario’s county and district law associations is calling on Attorney General Doug Downey to hit the pause button on efforts to overhaul the province’s civil rules.
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May 05, 2025
Nunavut court approves $8M class-action settlement in case of sex abuse by teacher
The Nunavut Court of Justice has approved a class-action settlement of $8 million on behalf of individuals who were subjected to sexual abuse by a teacher while attending Nunavut schools.
Access to justice: The language of the litigant counts | Ruphine Djuissi
Access to justice in French is a critical issue for Francophones across Canada, particularly with respect to the availability of legal services in French, the quality of interpretation and translation, and equal language rights. It also includes access to French-speaking lawyers and court documents written in French. It is important to ensure that Francophones have access to legal services in their mother tongue or first official language.
Ontario committed to expanding Unified Family Courts but Toronto still lacking
Ontario’s government is vowing to continue working towards the expansion of Unified Family Courts across the province. But a local lawyer says that until a UFC is placed in the Toronto area, millions are being left to navigate a confusing, “two-tiered” family court system.