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.
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?
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.”
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.
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.
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.
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.
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).
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.
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.