Access to Justice
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November 11, 2025
Putting people at the centre of criminal justice advocacy
Last week, while I was up north for a trial where a relatively young client was facing significant incarceration, something small but deeply significant happened during a sentencing hearing.
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November 10, 2025
Judicial vacancies hit 5%, threatening more trial delays and backlogs
Ottawa is lagging again in filling the country’s federal benches, hitting a five per cent vacancy rate on Nov. 1, 2025 — mostly in the critical trial courts of Ontario, B.C. and Quebec, which are constitutionally obliged to conduct trials within a reasonable time or face the prospect of staying criminal cases.
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November 10, 2025
Clemency in corrections
Once a week, I receive an email from Yahoo with news articles about parole from across Canada, as well as occasional articles from the United States or Great Britain.
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November 07, 2025
Court permits pleading amendments in RBC closet indexing class action, dropping fraud claims
The B.C. Supreme Court has allowed plaintiffs in a closet indexing class action against RBC to amend their pleadings to expressly disclaim fraud and refocus their case on the defendants’ alleged failure to disclose the fund’s closet indexing strategy and related risks.
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November 07, 2025
More support needed for law used to reintegrate Indigenous offenders into communities: advocates
Criminal lawyers acting for Indigenous offenders in the federal prison system must stay mindful of legislation giving their clients the opportunity to reintegrate into their communities upon release, says an advocate.
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November 07, 2025
Cultural loss cited in Churchill portrait theft sentence appeal
It was the Canadian equivalent of a break-in at the Louvre. It involved a photograph taken in 1941 during Winston Churchill’s visit to Ottawa, where then-prime minister Mackenzie King invited Yousuf Karsh to photograph the U.K. leader.
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November 07, 2025
Pierre-Olivier Gagnon appointed to Quebec court
Quebec Minister of Justice Simon Jolin-Barrette has appointed Pierre-Olivier Gagnon as a judge of the Court of Quebec, where he will serve primarily in the Criminal and Penal Division in Salaberry-de-Valleyfield.
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November 06, 2025
B.C. expands early resolution program for family law cases to five more registries
British Columbia has expanded access to the Early Resolution Process (ERP) for family law to five additional provincial court family registries in an effort to expand access to fast and affordable family-law dispute resolutions.
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November 06, 2025
A veteran correctional officer’s take on personal self defence, part two: Developing the mindset
It was 3:45 p.m. and school was out. Kids were gathering around an outdoor basketball court anticipating a schoolyard fight.
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November 06, 2025
Newfoundland Appeal Court cites public safety in denying drug dealer bail
There is growing concern that our courts are too lenient in granting bail to individuals charged with a criminal offence. Some criticize the judicial process as “catch and release.” However, there is little public comment when bail is requested pending appeal for what even the Crown considered an excessively harsh sentence.