Access to Justice

  • January 30, 2026

    Is international law really law or just a script the powerful edit at will?

    International law likes to enter the room wearing a tailored suit, speaking in solemn tones about order, peace and a rules-based world. It carries binders full of treaties, conventions, charters and resolutions from an era post 1945. It invokes history, morality and the collective will of nations. It sounds authoritative. It looks official. It insists it is law.

  • January 30, 2026

    Court of Appeal rules that misapplication of Browne v. Dunn can derail defence

    Every criminal defence counsel fears that a case may be lost on an evidentiary issue overlooked during trial. One such mistake would be to overlook in cross-examination what is known as the rule in Browne v. Dunn.

  • January 29, 2026

    B.C. Court of Appeal decides procedural issue, bringing 1994 Mr. Big case closer to appeal

    A Newfoundland carpet cleaner convicted of murdering his girlfriend in a 1994 shooting death in Richmond, B.C., is one step closer to having his conviction overturned after the British Columbia Court of Appeal outlined procedural issues that must be resolved before a new appeal can proceed (R. v. Skiffington, 2026 BCCA 26).

  • January 29, 2026

    Holistic mentorship in the legal field

    The role played by mentorship in both professional and personal development is indisputable. Whether based on professional-sector or personal identity, mentorship can contribute to higher rates of success. Studies have established a positive correlation between mentorship and youth mental health, as well as sense of belonging in their communities.

  • January 28, 2026

    AI at the helm of legal evolution

    In the Dec. 17, 2025, issue of the Harvard Business Review, authors Julian De Freitas, Gideon Nave and Stefano Puntoni write that “the rise of generative AI is reshaping not just how we work, but how we think. In our experience, many leaders focus on productivity in generative AI deployment. Generative AI will indeed make many tasks easier and quicker to perform, increasing efficiency and decreasing costs. But we think that one of the biggest promises of this technology lies elsewhere: in unlocking new forms of human creativity that can drive innovation and growth.”

  • January 28, 2026

    Reasons to decriminalize sex work

    It is not a secret that I live in Toronto. I did not move to Toronto for leisure or lifestyle reasons. I moved because remaining where I was had become unsafe.

  • January 27, 2026

    N.W.T. increases support for Indigenous bodies to have greater say in land, resource management

    The Northwest Territories is boosting an assistance program for Indigenous groups in a bid to strengthen their ability to “participate meaningfully” in land and resource management.

  • January 27, 2026

    Obscenity, the 2026 version, part two

    Here are the six obscenity prosecutions for consideration.

  • January 27, 2026

    Are women safe in Ontario’s courthouses?

    On Jan. 26, the Toronto Star reported on very serious allegations that criminal defence lawyer Sudine Riley has made against police serving as security in the Oshawa, Ont., courthouse. She says she was seriously assaulted by them while just doing her work in the ordinary course.

  • January 26, 2026

    B.C. appoints 3 provincial court judges

    The British Columbia government has appointed Micah Rankin, Charles Hutchinson and Jodi Michaels as judges of the Provincial Court of B.C., according to the province.

  • January 26, 2026

    Obscenity, the 2026 version

    It was around 1978 when the “comedy” duo of brothers Blair and Gary MacLean came to Sault Ste. Marie, Ont.

  • January 26, 2026

    Jury charge regarding exculpatory evidence, statements to police leads to new trial in murder case

    It was big news, first reported in the Edmonton Journal on May 8, 2020. The RCMP responded to a report of an unresponsive man found near a rural Alberta roadside just after 8 a.m. on April 12. The death was later deemed a homicide following an autopsy in Edmonton a few days later. The body was identified as that of a 74-year-old Wetaskiwin man, Larry Parker.

  • January 23, 2026

    Nova Scotia opens fund for 2SLGBTQIA+ community groups

    Nova Scotia has a new funding program for organizations serving the province’s 2SLGBTQIA+ community.

  • January 23, 2026

    OBA civil litigation award recipients encourage mentorship in the profession

    The importance of mentorship and elevating young lawyers was a focal point of the Ontario Bar Association’s (OBA) Civil Dinner, which celebrates excellence in the bar. Both recipients of the OBA awards emphasized the vital position role models play in the profession.

  • January 23, 2026

    DULF constitutional challenge keeps sentencing on hold in B.C. trafficking case

    Sentencing in the high-profile prosecution of members of the Drug User Liberation Front (DULF) remains on pause as the Supreme Court of British Columbia considers constitutional arguments that could have lasting implications for drug trafficking cases across the country, as well as for public health efforts to reduce the harms of the ongoing toxic drug crisis.

  • January 22, 2026

    New group to take on animal welfare in Saskatchewan

    The job of protecting animals in Saskatchewan is changing hands.

  • January 22, 2026

    Student paper snapshots in animal law

    For the past 10 years, I have enjoyed teaching animal law as an adjunct professor at UBC’s Peter A. Allard School of Law in Vancouver. This year, I am showcasing snapshots from some of the thought-provoking research papers my students have produced.

  • January 22, 2026

    B.C. Court of Appeal weighs in on Port Coquitlam neighbour dispute

    “Good fences make good neighbours” is the oft-quoted line from Robert Frost’s poem Mending Wall. It suggests that clear boundaries and respect for personal space foster better relationships. Even with walls and fences, relationships sometimes sour.

  • January 21, 2026

    Manitoba launches new francophone family law service hub

    In its latest bid to increase access to justice for French-speaking residents, Manitoba’s government has launched a francophone service hub for those seeking help with family law matters in that language.

  • January 21, 2026

    More on civil conduct during mediation, arbitration

    Alternate dispute resolution continues to grow in popularity in family law matters. The reasons are well known: avoiding delay, choosing your “judge,” and the avoidance of multiple expensive procedures within the court system that may not lead to resolution. However, with this trend comes a number of real concerns.

  • January 21, 2026

    Alberta Court of Appeal considers jump principle in determining appropriate sentence

    Before dawn on a winter morning in Calgary, a brief encounter in a deserted school parking lot set in motion a chain of events that would carry a 20-year-old man from street-level allegations to years of appellate scrutiny and a penitentiary sentence measured in years.

  • January 21, 2026

    Clocks, time and the humiliations of criminal justice

    When you are arrested and placed in a police cell, the police take your watch along with other personal possessions such as your wallet and phone — even your wedding ring. You soon realize there are no clocks in or visible from the cells, and no windows, so you have no idea what time it is.

  • January 20, 2026

    Manitoba launches security fund for cultural groups, places of worship

    Following a handful of recent hate-related incidents, Manitoba’s government is launching a $1-million fund for cultural groups and places of worship to enhance safety and security.

  • January 19, 2026

    B.C. Access to Justice Week looking at ‘opportunities to transform what justice looks like’

    Legal advocates in British Columbia are gearing up for Access to Justice Week, which will run from Feb. 2 to 6.

  • January 19, 2026

    B.C. Appeal Court judge’s bail decision conforms to law, not public pressure

    A recent CBC News report stated that overcrowding at the Niagara Detention Centre in Thorold, Ont., reached its highest level since 2019 in the first half of 2025. Its occupancy rate stands at 136 per cent. The report further states that, in 2024, 89 per cent of the jail’s population were awaiting trial and presumed innocent. It also quotes University of Ottawa criminology professor Justin Piché as saying, “Several of those folks will exit prison, never having been convicted of anything.”

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