Access to Justice
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November 29, 2024
Federal Court certifies class action over alleged illegal interceptions of prisoner communications
The Federal Court has certified a class action against the government over allegations that the Correctional Service of Canada (CSC) illegally intercepted private communications of incarcerated people, including those protected by solicitor-client privilege.
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November 29, 2024
LSO addresses new working groups, information on confidentiality of investigations
Ontario’s law society used its November Convocation to unveil a new working group focusing on the “long-term future” of the province’s paralegals and to codify rules around the confidentiality of information gathered in tribunal investigations.
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November 29, 2024
Nnane murder appeal decision, part two
The appellate decision in R. v. Nnane, 2024 ONCA 841, upholding a first-degree murder conviction contains a critical dissent.
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November 28, 2024
Nnane murder appeal decision, part one
After a seven-week trial in March 2019, a jury convicted 27-year-old Harris Nnane of first-degree murder for shooting Joseph Anzolona, 25, and Cynthia Mullapudi, 24, in April 2016.
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November 27, 2024
Privacy regulators release resolution on information sharing in cases of intimate partner violence
Privacy authorities across Canada have announced a joint resolution calling on governments and organizations to develop privacy-compliant governance frameworks for responsible information-sharing in cases of intimate partner violence (IPV) involving a risk of serious harm to life, health or safety.
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November 27, 2024
Quebec failed ‘honour of the Crown’ obligations in renewal of Indigenous policing agreements: SCC
The Supreme Court has ordered that Quebec pay a local Indigenous group hundreds of thousands for deficits the latter incurred running its community-based police force, finding the province failed to act in good faith and maintain the “honour of the Crown” during contract renewal talks.
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November 27, 2024
Bernardo parole hearing victim impact statements | John L. Hill
Family members of two teenage girls who were tortured and murdered by Paul Bernardo were able to present victim impact statements to a Parole Board of Canada panel, hoping to keep the notorious killer behind bars. Bernardo is serving an indeterminate life sentence for the kidnapping, sexual assault and murder of 15-year-old Kristen French and 14-year-old Leslie Mahaffy in the early 1990s near St. Catharines, Ont.
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November 26, 2024
Paralegals, family law service providers and access to justice | Leanne Townsend
The recent decision by the Law Society of Ontario to expand the scope of services paralegals can provide under the Family Law Service Provider program is being hailed as a crucial step in addressing the increasing number of self-represented litigants in family law cases. The hope is that this expansion will provide much-needed support to individuals navigating the complex and often overwhelming family court system.
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November 26, 2024
Reconsideration of weight of mental illness on culpability results in successful sentence appeal
Shortly after noon on Nov. 25, 2021, 35-year-old Paul Nicholas Russell drove his white pickup truck to the RCMP detachment in Vanderhoof, B.C. From inside the truck, he fired a rifle at two marked RCMP vehicles parked in the parking lot. A few moments later, he fired twice more at the window of the detachment, shattering glass. He drove his truck toward the front of the building and fired again. Thirty minutes later, the truck was spotted, and Russell was arrested.
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November 25, 2024
Ottawa announces joint project with Interpol to fight international auto theft
The federal government says it has entered into a three-year, $3.5 million partnership with the international police organization Interpol to help fight transnational auto and auto parts theft involving organized criminal groups.
Access to justice: The language of the litigant counts | Ruphine Djuissi
Access to justice in French is a critical issue for Francophones across Canada, particularly with respect to the availability of legal services in French, the quality of interpretation and translation, and equal language rights. It also includes access to French-speaking lawyers and court documents written in French. It is important to ensure that Francophones have access to legal services in their mother tongue or first official language.
Ontario committed to expanding Unified Family Courts but Toronto still lacking
Ontario’s government is vowing to continue working towards the expansion of Unified Family Courts across the province. But a local lawyer says that until a UFC is placed in the Toronto area, millions are being left to navigate a confusing, “two-tiered” family court system.