Ontario Appeal Court rules ‘meaningful inquiry’ required on offender’s ability to pay restitution

By Christopher Guly ( June 18, 2020, 9:32 AM EDT) -- A recent Ontario Court of Appeal decision “makes clear that the criminal justice system isn’t a civil recovery mechanism, and that the imposition of a restitution order that an accused will never be able to pay is essentially a financial life sentence and creates a debtors’ prison,” according to Ottawa criminal defence lawyer Michael Spratt....