Access to Justice
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April 14, 2026
Appeal Court changes home-invasion murder conviction to manslaughter, reduces sentence
Shawn Yorke, 45, was shot to death at 1 a.m. on July 8, 2018, during a botched home-invasion robbery at his townhouse in Kitchener, Ont. Mowafag Saboon, then 24, and Kenneth Morrison, then 27, both of Kitchener, were convicted three years later of first-degree murder.
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April 13, 2026
Self-represented accused loses bid to overturn home invasion decision
It was a scene one might have expected to see on the popular TV cop series The Rookie. Armin Babic, then 42, of Edmonton committed an armed home invasion on Nov. 19, 2019.
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April 10, 2026
Yukon government apologizes to students over use of restraints, seclusion at elementary school
The Yukon government has issued a public apology to students and former students of Jack Hulland Elementary School (JHES) in Whitehorse, including those in a specialized behavioural support program who were subjected to holds, restraints and seclusion.
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April 10, 2026
Osgoode Hall launches new access to justice fund
Toronto’s Osgoode Hall Law School has unveiled a new million-dollar fund to help support access to justice research and students pursuing careers in the area of public interest.
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April 10, 2026
Manitoba Court of Appeal drops on-road shooting conviction from second-degree to manslaughter
On Nov. 17, 2018, 20-year-old Hailey Dugay was fatally shot while sitting in the back seat of a pickup truck travelling on Kuz Road in rural Manitoba.
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April 09, 2026
Saskatchewan law society lists upcoming spring conferences
Saskatchewan’s law society has listed several upcoming conferences, including one exploring the use of mediation and another highlighting the contribution of Asian legal professionals.
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April 09, 2026
Tanzania upheld as appropriate forum in human rights abuse case against Canadian mining company
In a case of numerous alleged human rights abuses and deaths at a Tanzanian mine owned by a Canadian company, the Ontario Court of Appeal has upheld that Tanzania was the more appropriate forum than Ontario. Plaintiffs’ counsel and intervener Amnesty International stated that the decision did not advance access to justice. The case may go to the Supreme Court of Canada.
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April 09, 2026
Projects Picnic and Potluck are stark examples of surveillance overreach
It went mostly unnoticed at the time. There was no click on the line nor any strange echo. There was no warning. It was just an ordinary phone call. But this time, it was quietly copied, stored and filed away.
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April 08, 2026
Newfoundland Court of Appeal demonstrates nuanced alternative to catch and release
Critics of Canada’s bail procedures argue that our police often practise “catch and release.” The term describes a situation where police, like fishermen, catch their prey and then release it back into the wild. The practice is criticized, even though the law aims to uphold the presumption of innocence and a person’s constitutional right to reasonable bail.
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April 08, 2026
The rule of law is not a given
Most of us who have grown up in Canada, whether we realize it or not, have always taken the rule of law for granted. We never really thought about it, or what it even was, but that is precisely the point. It has always just been there, like oxygen. You don’t think about oxygen until you have trouble breathing. We as a society are now having trouble breathing.