Access to Justice
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November 20, 2025
Serena Tobaccojuice's case puts correctional system on trial
Serena Tobaccojuice, a 43-year-old Cree woman and one of Canada’s longest-serving female inmates, awaits sentencing in Nova Scotia for unlawfully confining two correctional officers in 2022. Although she wielded bent tweezers and blocked a doorway for 18 minutes, the officers were unharmed. Originally charged with hostage-taking, she pleaded guilty to the lesser offence.
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November 20, 2025
Black box breaks open: Why Cohere’s legal defeat is a warning shot for Canadian enterprise
For the better part of three years, the Canadian technology sector has heralded Cohere as our homegrown champion, a “sovereign” answer to the Silicon Valley giants, providing enterprise-grade artificial intelligence that serious businesses could trust. We were told that, unlike consumer-grade chatbots prone to chaotic fabrications, Cohere was built for the boardroom: reliable, secure and designed to meet the rigorous demands of industry.
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November 20, 2025
‘Frustration’ with lack of prison reforms: Correctional investigator resigns
The correctional investigator is not the only one frustrated with the lack of prison reforms. The auditor general, senators, prison lawyers and all of us who speak with federal prisoners share that view. The failure to respect the rule of law, the Charter, the provisions of the Corrections and Conditional Release Act (CCRA) and human decency is common. Passive and active resistance to recommended reforms is the norm.
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November 19, 2025
Ontario court rules forum clause survives corporate transfer in dismissal dispute
The Ontario Superior Court has upheld a forum selection clause in an employment agreement in a dispute over the dismissal of an employee whose contract was transferred from a federal Crown corporation to its subsidiary operating under private management.
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November 19, 2025
Self-defence for lawyers, part three
It’s Friday, shortly after 5 p.m. at a small, nondescript law office. You have gathered some court briefs to review at home over the weekend and lock the office door without a quick scan before proceeding through a darkened parking lot to your car. Your strong hand is pulling a wheeled file case, and the other is tasked with getting your car keys when suddenly, you hear someone screaming expletives.
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November 19, 2025
Refresher on legal ethics for unscrupulous litigators, part two
In part one of this two-part series, I told the story of a lawyer from out west who I called Bill. Bill, apparently at the urging of his boss (who had bigger fish to fry), tried to dump a client (Bob) by making a motion to get off the record a few days before the trial date, and returnable on the trial date. He showed up, having done no trial preparation, and put the client at risk of being ordered to proceed with the trial.
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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.