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October 19, 2026
The Government of Ontario is planning on introducing changes to “strengthen enforcement against illegal cannabis sales” to protect consumers, while also “promoting a fair and competitive marketplace for the approximately 1,800 authorized cannabis retailers operating across the province.”
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October 19, 2026
Law students should learn from the difficult realities of rehabilitation. A controversy at McGill University law school raises questions about campus safety, reintegration and the educational value of confronting the criminal justice system.
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October 16, 2026
For lawyers, a photograph with a political figure can do two jobs. It can reassure a prospective client that a lawyer understands where decisions get made. It can also invite a question: Whose side is this firm on?
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October 16, 2026
For the first time, the Supreme Court of Canada has explained when and how the Criminal Code’s s. 276 rules limiting the admissibility and use of evidence of complainants’ sexual history apply in prosecutions for non-enumerated sexual exploitation crimes, such as human trafficking and selling “sexual services.”
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October 16, 2026
Canada and Manitoba have announced an investment of $163.5 million for two major initiatives under the First Nations and Inuit Policing Program that respond to the unique needs and priorities of First Nations in Manitoba.
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October 16, 2026
Appeal by the Crown from the order quashing the respondents’ convictions for receiving a material benefit from sexual services, procuring and advertising sexual services, and ordering new trials.
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October 16, 2026
The Manitoba Court of Appeal has upheld a sentence of two years less a day to be served in the community for a man convicted of criminal harassment, unlawfully entering a dwelling house, sexual assault and assault against his former intimate partner (R. v. B.S.H., 2026 MBCA 70). The decision recognizes the seriousness of domestic and sexual violence while reaffirming the deference owed to sentencing judges.
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October 16, 2026
Appeal by the Crown from a global sentence of two years less a day to be served as a conditional sentence order (CSO), followed by one year of unsupervised probation.
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October 15, 2026
The Alberta Court of Appeal has partially allowed Christopher John Barron’s sentence appeal, reducing his global sentence after finding that the sentencing judge had punished him twice for the same conduct (R. v. Barron, 2026 ABCA 270).
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October 15, 2026
Segregation is seen as a necessary and justifiable punishment for maintaining safety and order in a prison. But as I presided over more than 900 disciplinary hearings in B.C. provincial prisons, it became clear that the practice failed to achieve its purpose. Rather than rehabilitating, it made prisoners worse, creating a revolving door.
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October 14, 2026
Keeping up with the speed of money, working with limited resources and assisting judges with gaps in their technical knowledge were among the challenges under the spotlight at a recent legal conference about cybercrime and crypto fraud.
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October 14, 2026
The 1939 film adaptation of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz includes this famous scene.
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October 14, 2026
In this case, the Divisional Court upheld the housing rights of a tenant who is a survivor of intimate partner violence. The tenants in this case were a married couple, Denise Browne and Ricky Browne, who had two children. They resided in the rented unit for more than 10 years.
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October 14, 2026
Effective Oct. 13, the Ontario Court of Justice is beginning a pilot project to help streamline case management of complex criminal matters.
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October 13, 2026
Only two women applied for the latest Supreme Court of Canada vacancy, filled by Manitoba’s Glenn Joyal, whose appointment last June restored a 5-4 male majority, ending the high court’s first female majority on the top bench.
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October 13, 2026
The Ontario government is reaching out to the public on a series of proposals that would create new laws on access to roads, schools and places of worship, but legal observers are questioning the need for them as they say there are already enough protections in place.
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October 13, 2026
A man convicted of gun crimes has been given a new trial after it was found the judge erred in focusing on the arresting officer’s grounds to apprehend the suspect, rather than those of an officer who greenlighted the grab from a surveillance plane.
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October 13, 2026
Last week, the federal government announced that it plans to introduce legislation to decriminalize advance requests for medical assistance in dying (MAID), leaving each province and territory to decide whether to permit them. Advance requests are intended to respect autonomy, but when undue influence, coercive control or other forms of abuse are discovered only after MAID has been provided, no remedy can restore the person’s life.
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October 13, 2026
Appeal by appellant from his sentence for two robberies, two attempted robberies and related offences. Over five days, the appellant robbed two Calgary pubs and attempted to rob two others while masked and brandishing a realistic imitation handgun.
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October 09, 2026
The Supreme Court of Canada has explained how three Criminal Code sentencing provisions should interact and be interpreted when both the victim and offender are Indigenous, and how sentencing circles fit into the mix. On Oct. 9, the top court split 5-4 to dismiss the Nova Scotia Crown’s appeal from a majority Nova Scotia Court of Appeal decision that reduced the five-year sentence a provincial court judge imposed on respondent Harry Arthur Cope to three years (less remand credit of 18 months): R. v. Cope, 2026 SCC 32.
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October 09, 2026
Appeal by Crown from judgment reducing respondent’s sentence for aggravated assault from five years’ imprisonment to three years’ imprisonment, less remand credit.
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October 09, 2026
For lawyers, some issues extend beyond protecting rights and freedoms. A core concern is the risk of letting a rigid rule determine an outcome before examining the matter’s substance.
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October 09, 2026
Canada’s refugee system exists to protect people fleeing persecution, not to provide an additional immigration process after an individual has been charged with a serious criminal offence in Canada.
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October 09, 2026
Appeal by Bleck from his convictions and sentence. A Nissan Altima (Nissan) struck Roby. The only issue was the identity of the driver of the Nissan, specifically whether it was Bleck or Jamal.
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October 08, 2026
The federal government has released two “What We Heard” reports on forced labour, outlining feedback received on newly proposed measures to strengthen the forced labour import ban in Bill C‑35, An Act respecting the prohibition of the importation of goods produced by forced labour, and on supply chain due diligence and civil liability measures.