Criminal
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November 14, 2025
Federal bail and sentencing reform: Real-world impact in B.C.
On Oct. 23, 2025, the federal government introduced the Bail and Sentencing Reform Act (Bill C-14), signalling a significant shift in bail and sentencing policy across Canada. The legislation aims to make bail harder to obtain in certain higher-risk cases and to impose tougher sentencing regimes for repeat and violent offenders. The message is clear: more detention upfront and longer sentences at the back end.
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November 14, 2025
CRIMINAL CODE OFFENCES - Offences against person and reputation - Criminal harassment or stalking
Appeal by appellant convicted of criminal harassment of three individuals who were all members of the same family. The appellant was sentenced to a 90-day intermittent period of incarceration which he had fully served.
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November 14, 2025
SCC upholds the common-sense interpretation of the Good Samaritan law
Paul Eric Wilson saw a person overdosing and called 911. When the police arrived on the scene, they detained him for drug possession because they saw drugs on him. A subsequent search of his person revealed a gun and other illegal items.
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November 13, 2025
Justice Dumais named senior associate chief justice of Quebec Superior Court
Prime Minister Mark Carney has appointed Justice Daniel Dumais, a judge of the Superior Court of Quebec for the district of Quebec, as the court’s new senior associate chief justice.
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November 13, 2025
Justice Jamieson appointed Nova Scotia Supreme Court associate chief
Prime Minister Mark Carney has appointed Justice Darlene Jamieson of the Supreme Court of Nova Scotia as the court’s new associate chief justice.
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November 13, 2025
Departing Correctional Services investigator cites frustration with government inaction
The 2024-2025 report of the Office of the Correctional Investigator was tabled in Parliament on Oct. 30, 2025. This report may be one of the most significant ever filed by the correctional investigator, as it addresses issues that are well-known to every lawyer practising prison law. Yet, the findings it presents are often the most overlooked.
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November 13, 2025
From isolation to injunction: Navigating the legal landscape of elder abuse in Ontario
Elder abuse is a critical and underreported public health crisis, significantly exacerbated by factors like social isolation, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic.
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November 13, 2025
Religion, chaplains and irony
Religion has a privileged place in Canadian prisons. After my sentencing, when I was placed in segregation in a provincial jail, the only reading material I could get was a Bible, which was given to me almost immediately after my request, unlike just about any other request I made during that time. Although I’m not a religious person, I am an inveterate reader. Having something to read was essential to being able to cope, so I read the entire Bible, old and new testaments, during those days.
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November 12, 2025
SCC denies requests by AGs & others to make in-person intervener arguments in historic case
The Supreme Court of Canada is denying recent requests from six intervener attorneys general — as well as counsel for The Advocates’ Society and dozens of other intervener groups — to allow them to make their arguments in person in the upcoming historic Bill 21 appeal, Law360 Canada has learned.
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November 12, 2025
P.E.I. seeking input on proposed regulation of combative sports
Prince Edward Island is looking for feedback on proposed legislation to regulate fighting sports in the province. According to a Nov. 10 news release, the provincial government is seeking the public’s input on laws that would regulate professional and amateur combative sporting events in the areas of boxing, kickboxing and mixed martial arts.