Access to Justice

  • June 09, 2026

    Saskatchewan Court of Appeal: Trial judge instruction to jury cause enough to order new trial

    The adage that “the devil is in the details” may remind criminal defence counsel that a successful appeal may hinge on examining inferences rather than hard facts. A Saskatchewan man, Jeffrey Leonard Stark, was convicted by a jury of unlawfully confining and sexually assaulting a female complainant. He appealed his conviction. The appeal in R. v. Stark, 2026 SKCA 48 centred on the trial judge’s instructions to the jury rather than on denying the facts as alleged.

  • June 08, 2026

    Law Society of Saskatchewan annual report details limited licensing, public complaints portal

    The Law Society of Saskatchewan turned out a “solid” annual report for 2025 — and members should pay particular attention to the implementation of limited licensing in the province, says the regulator’s past president.

  • June 08, 2026

    How to apply your legal training to address gratuitous negativity

    My good friend Felicity had a problem. Her relatives were making comments about how she takes care of her elderly father, who I will call Allan. She gave me the example of an aunt who asked, “Why is Allan still driving?” and expressed her opinion that Allan is too old and ill to be driving. She said it in a way that implied it was Felicity’s fault.

  • June 08, 2026

    Death row: Capital punishment, cancer and medical assistance in dying

    Eli Guay was sentenced to hang in 1959 for a planned, merciless killing of an old man who lived in a remote shack outside the city of Sudbury, Ont.

  • June 05, 2026

    Yukon court issues AI directive encouraging due diligence, warns of potential errors

    Yukon’s Supreme Court has issued a directive on the use of generative AI “in written and oral representations” in a bid to reinforce the “integrity and credibility of legal proceedings.”

  • June 05, 2026

    Inconsistent consequences: How Canadian courts and tribunals respond to AI misuse

    When a Canadian court or tribunal finds that a party has relied on a case that does not exist, the consequence is far from uniform. In one decision, the lawyer responsible was ordered to pay $17,550 in costs personally. In another, the order was $100. In 60 of the 177 decisions we reviewed, the adjudicator identified the problem but imposed no consequence at all.

  • June 04, 2026

    Why is FRO requiring Ontarians to use fax machines?

    As a civil litigation lawyer who has practised in Ontario for more than two decades, I have spent much of my career navigating the province’s justice system.

  • June 04, 2026

    Bank robbery conviction stands on video, circumstantial evidence

    What does it take to prove a crime beyond a reasonable doubt?

  • June 04, 2026

    N.L. expanding family court to the island

    Newfoundland and Labrador has passed legislative changes that will have the province’s Unified Family Court expanded to the island of Newfoundland. With this, the province’s Supreme Court will have responsibility for all family justice matters “for the island portion of the province” — and in so doing take pressure off the provincial court to allow it more time in dealing with criminal justice.

  • June 03, 2026

    Crown wins appeal on trial judge’s exclusion of evidence

    K.G. was 17 years old, living with her parents while attending Grade 12. She created a profile on seekingarrangements.com, a website that connects “younger women with older men.” She misrepresented her age as 18 or 19 and matched with Shane Suman, a 47-year-old man who went by the name “Rico.”