Criminal
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June 05, 2025
Yukon enacts transparency laws for corporations
In a bid to lessen the potential for companies to be used in financial crimes, the Yukon is making corporations — including incorporated law firms — identify those who stand to profit from company shares.
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June 05, 2025
Were health, safety concerns overlooked in sentencing?
Michael Allen Wiens was sentenced by a judge of the Provincial Court of British Columbia on May 29, 2024, to three years’ imprisonment for sexually assaulting a female while the victim was unconscious in her home. The judge in Surrey, B.C., also ordered Wiens to register under the Sex Offender Information Registration Act (SOIRA) for 20 years.
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June 04, 2025
‘Strong borders’ bill would expand police & spy agency powers, federal tools to control migration
A wide-ranging federal omnibus bill — introduced by the minority Liberal government under the rubric of border security — would expand the powers of federal officials to restrict refugee claims and migration while also boosting the investigative and other powers of law enforcement and the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) in the name of protecting national security and clamping down on money laundering, fentanyl trafficking and other organized crimes.
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June 04, 2025
Judge Brian Hutcheson retires from B.C.’s provincial court
The Provincial Court of British Columbia has announced that Judge Brian Hutcheson retired on May 31, 2025.
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June 04, 2025
Ontario introduces legislation to cut red tape, protect economy
The Government of Ontario has introduced legislation that, if passed, would “support the province’s goal of cutting red tape to make Ontario the most competitive place in the G7 to invest, create jobs and do business.”
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June 04, 2025
Group suing psychiatric hospital turning to Supreme Court for class certification
A group in Ontario looking to sue a maximum-security psychiatric hospital for its use of solitary confinement will turn to Canada’s highest court after it was found there was insufficient “common issues” between the plaintiffs to allow for a class-action lawsuit.
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June 04, 2025
Why new Carney government must make Miscarriage of Justice Commission priority
One of the tests for the new Carney government will be the speed at which it makes an important new government commission operational. Bill C-40, known as the Miscarriage of Justice Review Commission Act or David and Joyce Milgaard’s Law, was enacted on Dec. 17, 2024. This legislation established an independent Miscarriage of Justice Review Commission to replace the ministerial review process for wrongful convictions.
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June 03, 2025
Should the Ontario Superior Court eliminate civil trials?
Recognizing the Ontario Superior Court to be “arcane, expensive and plagued by delay,” the Civil Rules Working Group has proposed a grand experiment, namely eliminating discoveries and curtailing document production. In place thereof, parties would be required (as they currently are) to tell the truth and to further co-operate. However, given such requirements, and the clear mandate given to the working group to reduce cost and delay, it must be asked whether the proposed reforms go far enough, or whether the Superior Court should eliminate civil trials as well?
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June 03, 2025
First ministers commit to more domestic trade agreements, joint efforts on bail reform and drug war
In a show of unity against tariff threats from the United States and China, provincial and territorial premiers have agreed with the federal government to advance domestic trade by implementing a mutual recognition agreement covering consumer goods by December 2025.
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June 03, 2025
Why inmates’ COVID-19 isolation lawsuit moves forward as class action
When I first started teaching prison law, one of my students struggled to distinguish between the terms “administrative segregation” and “punitive dissociation,” both of which are used by the Correctional Service of Canada (CSC) to isolate prisoners. The student expressed concern over the similarity of conditions: “Same bed!”