Access to Justice
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November 19, 2025
Speeding ticket victory in Saskatchewan Court of Appeal
In most routine speeding ticket trials, expert evidence is not called, either by the Crown or the defence.
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November 18, 2025
Proposed reforms of civil procedure: Refreshing reboot or more of the same?
I was an articling student and had my work cut out for me. I worked on a client file to prove adverse possession for a right of way across a house that had existed since the 50s but was being enforced by a neighbour. I brought all the files I had researched myself — surveys of the land, blueprints rolled up, ancient texts, photos I took of the property, transcripts of examinations.
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November 17, 2025
Manitoba giving hundreds of thousands in support of crime victims
More than a dozen groups dedicated to helping victims of violent crime in Manitoba will receive money collected by the province through the seizing of criminal property.
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November 17, 2025
Refresher on legal ethics for unscrupulous litigators, part one
I am going to tell you a true story from out west. The names and a few details have been changed to protect me.
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November 17, 2025
Continuing education for judges
When an accused person is found guilty and sentenced to prison, it is likely that no one in the courtroom — not the prosecutor, not the defence counsel, not the jury and not the judge — fully understands what a prison term involves. To address this, the Ontario Court of Justice has established a continuing education program to enhance and maintain professional skills, as well as foster social awareness.
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November 17, 2025
ATV accident decision illustrative of ‘so much grey in criminal law’
A Toronto criminal lawyer, Michelle Psutka, posted this comment online: “There is so much grey in criminal law. Accused and convicted people are not inherently bad, and the state is not inherently good.”
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November 14, 2025
Federal bail and sentencing reform: Real-world impact in B.C.
On Oct. 23, 2025, the federal government introduced the Bail and Sentencing Reform Act (Bill C-14), signalling a significant shift in bail and sentencing policy across Canada. The legislation aims to make bail harder to obtain in certain higher-risk cases and to impose tougher sentencing regimes for repeat and violent offenders. The message is clear: more detention upfront and longer sentences at the back end.
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November 13, 2025
Departing Correctional Services investigator cites frustration with government inaction
The 2024-2025 report of the Office of the Correctional Investigator was tabled in Parliament on Oct. 30, 2025. This report may be one of the most significant ever filed by the correctional investigator, as it addresses issues that are well-known to every lawyer practising prison law. Yet, the findings it presents are often the most overlooked.
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November 13, 2025
Religion, chaplains and irony
Religion has a privileged place in Canadian prisons. After my sentencing, when I was placed in segregation in a provincial jail, the only reading material I could get was a Bible, which was given to me almost immediately after my request, unlike just about any other request I made during that time. Although I’m not a religious person, I am an inveterate reader. Having something to read was essential to being able to cope, so I read the entire Bible, old and new testaments, during those days.
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November 12, 2025
SCC denies requests by AGs & others to make in-person intervener arguments in historic case
The Supreme Court of Canada is denying recent requests from six intervener attorneys general — as well as counsel for The Advocates’ Society and dozens of other intervener groups — to allow them to make their arguments in person in the upcoming historic Bill 21 appeal, Law360 Canada has learned.