Criminal
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September 23, 2025
NCR appeal asks: How long is too long to file an appeal?
How long is too long to file a notice of appeal? In 2013, Ahmed Ahmed pleaded guilty to two counts of aggravated assault but was found not criminally responsible (NCR) by reason of a mental disorder.
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September 23, 2025
View from inside prison: The struggle for mental health help
Prisons are supposedly about helping prisoners rehabilitate so they can re-enter society successfully. In fact, spending time in prison makes it a lot harder to live outside, not easier.
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September 22, 2025
Ontario appoints two new judges to provincial court
Attorney General Doug Downey has announced the appointment of two new judges to the Ontario Court of Justice, effective Sept. 25, 2025: Justice Rachel Elizabeth Young and Justice Ghazala Shaheen Zaman.
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September 22, 2025
Edmonton Police Service: Extortion or reasonable justification?
As a criminal lawyer practising for over 20 years, I was troubled last week to see various newspapers reporting that the Edmonton Police Service (EPS) had sent a letter to the Alberta government stating that if a plea agreement for a child homicide was allowed to go through (from murder to manslaughter), the EPS would release facts about the case to the public so that public opinion could decide whether the plea was appropriate.
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September 22, 2025
Canadian government should abolish immigration detention
A 39-year-old Somali man, Abdurahman Hassan, died at the Peterborough Regional Health Centre in June 2015 after being transferred from the Central East Correctional Centre in Lindsay, Ont., where he had been restrained by 10 individuals attempting to control him.
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September 19, 2025
EVIDENCE - Witnesses - Credibility - Previous record of witness
Appeal by Ramdeo from convictions for kidnapping, use of an imitation firearm to commit an assault and possession of an imitation firearm for a purpose dangerous to the public peace. Kidnappers abducted and beat the complainant before he ultimately escaped from the trunk of the rental car used by the kidnappers.
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September 19, 2025
Ottawa targets hate crimes with new legislation
The federal government is taking aim at the rising tide of hate-motivated crime in Canada by introducing legislation that would make it a specific offence under the Criminal Code. That proposal is part of the new Combatting Hate Act, which was unveiled by federal Justice Minister and Attorney General Sean Fraser at a press conference Sept. 19.
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September 19, 2025
Manitoba investing in relocation of women’s centre
Manitoba’s government is investing in added capacity and additional programming at a newly relocated centre for victims of gender-based violence. The province’s government will be providing $100,000 “for improvements to the new location” of the Western Manitoba Women’s Centre (WMWC).
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September 19, 2025
Canada, Mexico launch 3-year plan to boost trade, energy and security
Prime Minister Mark Carney and Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum have together launched a new comprehensive and strategic partnership aimed at deepening ties between the countries and enhancing North America’s economic competition and resiliency.
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September 18, 2025
New B.C. task force to target extortion threats in South Asian community
The Government of British Columbia, the B.C. RCMP and municipal police agencies in the province are launching a specialized task force for investigations into extortion threats targeting families and businesses in the South Asian community.