SCC extends Charter-guaranteed presumption of innocence to inmate discipline proceedings
Winning lawyers Pierre Hawkins (left), public legal counsel of the John Howard Society of Saskatchewan, and pro bono co-counsel Michelle Biddulph of Toronto’s Greenspan Humphrey Makepeace LLP, said the Supreme Court’s majority ruling on the presumption of innocence in inmate discipline proceedings in Saskatchewan means that the ‘beyond-a-reasonable doubt’ standard ‘must apply to all inmate discipline that carries potential penalties of segregation or loss of earned remission.’
Friday, March 14, 2025 @ 5:49 PM
Overruling its own 35-year-old precedent while expanding the Charter’s protections for the presumption of innocence into new legal territory, the Supreme Court of Canada split 6-3 to strike down a Saskatchewan regulation that authorized inmate segregation or loss of earned remission to be imposed on those found to have committed a prison disciplinary offence, based only on proof on a “balance of probabilities” standard rather than on the heightened standard of proof “beyond a reasonable doubt.” ... [read more]
Carney Sworn as PM, unveils leaner cabinet including Gary Anandasangaree as Justice Minister
Friday, March 14, 2025 @ 5:06 PM
Liberal leader Mark Carney has been sworn in as Prime Minister and unveiled a streamlined 24-member cabinet, which includes many of the ministers on the “front line” of the ongoing trade war with the United States. ... [read more]
Oil and gas emissions cap to cut jobs, GDP by 2032: Parliamentary Budget Officer
Friday, March 14, 2025 @ 2:34 PM
The Office of the Parliamentary Budget Officer (PBO) has released a new report, Impact Assessment of the Oil and Gas Emissions Cap, finding that by 2032, real gross domestic product (GDP) in Canada will be reduced by 0.4 per cent and nominal GDP will be reduced by $20.5 billion due to the required reduction in upstream oil and gas sector production levels. ... [read more]
B.C. introduces bill to allow cabinet to remove internal trade barriers, respond to tariffs
Thursday, March 13, 2025 @ 6:14 PM
The B.C. government has introduced legislation empowering the cabinet to remove or amend barriers to interprovincial trade and to impose tolls or fees on non-Canadian commercial vehicles using provincial public infrastructure such as highways in response to the United States’ imposition of tariffs on Canadian goods. ... [read more]
Ontario Court of Appeal: Apotex not entitled to damages for generic drug's delayed market entry
Thursday, March 13, 2025 @ 5:53 PM
The Ontario Court of Appeal has ruled that generic drugmaker Apotex is not entitled to damages for the delayed entry of a generic drug that was based on a patent held by Eli Lilly, despite the fact that the patent was invalidated in a separate action by Teva. ... [read more]
