Access to Justice
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March 28, 2024
Bill aims to curb delays, but stakeholders call for more resources
A new bill that seeks to curb delays in the justice system and rein in stays of proceedings will be conferring new powers to the justices of the peace by allowing them to oversee criminal court appearances and bail hearings, a development that has received lukewarm praise by Quebec’s main legal actors who were longing for more monies into the system.
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March 26, 2024
Manitoba reaches settlement in principle with kids in care
Staring down the barrel of three class action lawsuits, Manitoba has agreed in principle to pay more than half a billion dollars to children in provincial care.
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March 26, 2024
Ron Ellis’s dream is now draft legislation for Ontario tribunals | Voy Stelmaszynski
The private Member’s bill introduced by MPP Ted Hsu in the Ontario Legislature on Monday, March 25, short-titled the Fewer Backlogs and Less Partisan Tribunals Act, proposes to protect the right of Ontarians to access expert, fair and effective justice at our provincial tribunals by passing legislation that enshrines and activates the fundamental principles of adjudicative independence, integrity and excellence. Many parts of this proposed legislation are based on an earlier draft by the late Ron Ellis, a founding member of Tribunal Watch and a giant in tribunal justice in Canada.
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March 26, 2024
Parole and dangerous offenders, part two | Michael Crowley
To be honest, I do not recall the number of individuals designated as dangerous offenders that I conducted hearings with. But I can say that I released only two during that period of time. At the same time, I was involved with making decisions on hundreds of lifers and granted some form of conditional release in many of those cases.
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March 25, 2024
Parole and dangerous offenders, part one | Michael Crowley
The definition of a dangerous offender in Canada is found in s. 753 (1) of the Criminal Code.
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March 21, 2024
Embracing innovation: Nonlawyers should be allowed to own Ontario law firms | Jacob Murad
Alternative business structures for law firms were researched and debated back in 2014. Many lawyers were advocating to reform the current structural limitations of law firm ownership. Currently, law firms in Ontario can only be owned 100 per cent by licensed lawyers, but there was hope that the law society of Ontario (LSO) would provide for flexible ownership arrangements. It has been 10 years since the initial debate and it is important to review the changes that have occurred in the legal industry since then.
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March 21, 2024
Case for amending Nova Scotia’s Fatal Injuries Act | Sean Davidson
Nova Scotia has the most stringent limitation period for fatal injury claims in Canada. Among the 10 provinces and three territories, Nova Scotia and the Yukon are the only jurisdictions with a 12-month limitation period for fatal injury claims.
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March 21, 2024
Politicization of tribunal appointments worse than that of judicial appointments | Brian Cook
Recent moves by the current government to politicize the process of appointing judges have caused significant concern. The process for appointing adjudicators who sit on Ontario’s adjudicative tribunals is much worse. The government has been criticized for making political appointments to the committee responsible for making judicial appointment recommendations. There is no such committee, and virtually no other form of oversight for appointments to adjudicative tribunals.
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March 20, 2024
Do prisoners deserve harsh treatment? | David Dorson
I’ve now written 25 columns for this publication about my experience with the criminal justice system, most of them about being in prison. If there is one overall conclusion I would like people to take away, it is that our prisons are ugly places. You lose your liberty, which is the official reason for imprisonment, but you lose much more than that. Prisons are full of deprivation of many kinds: physical, emotional, financial and more. The fact that so many prison staff end up with PTSD is pretty good evidence that these are bad place for humans — and they are a lot worse for prisoners than for staff.
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March 20, 2024
Cherished Mulroney memory | Bruce Baker
In the past few weeks, many tributes have been paid to former prime minister Brian Mulroney. As a lifelong New Democrat, one might think that I have little or no time for him. Nothing could be further from the truth. Brian Mulroney came from an era in Canadian politics that was far more civil in its nature compared to today's mass polarization to the right and left, with no room to build consensus or listen to or respect others' opinions on matters of public policy.