Criminal
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May 28, 2025
A dance of justice and order: Legal themes in ballet
Ballet is often celebrated for its ethereal beauty, technical precision and emotionally charged storytelling. Yet, hidden beneath the graceful movements and elaborate sets are recurring themes that mirror society’s deeper structures, including the realms of law, order and justice. Legal themes woven into some of the most enduring ballets examine how narratives of retribution, social contracts and class divisions provide a compelling framework for dance.
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May 28, 2025
Pitfalls in tribunal adjudication of mental health matters: Issues identified by reviewing courts
This past month, two different reviewing courts have provided very similar guidance to two different mental health tribunals in Ontario. On April 24, 2025, the Court of Appeal for Ontario found that Ernest Clayton’s fitness review hearing before the Ontario Review Board constituted a miscarriage of justice and must be reconsidered afresh. Similarly, on May 21, 2025, the Superior Court of Justice returned a review of Arlene Hastick’s Community Treatment Order to the Consent and Capacity Board for re-hearing on the basis that she was denied procedural fairness.
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May 28, 2025
What ‘agreed statement of facts’ really means
The “facts” aren’t always so obvious. More than 90 per cent of criminal convictions in Canada are not the result of a trial, but of a guilty plea. People plead guilty for many reasons, only one of which is that they are actually guilty. But that’s another matter.
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May 27, 2025
Throne speech states Carney government’s ‘core mission is to build the strongest economy in the G7’
Delivering Canada’s speech from the throne for the first time, King Charles III outlined the Carney Liberal government’s plans to make Canada’s economy the most robust in the G7, including by driving the country’s emergence as an energy superpower and by removing internal trade barriers and other roadblocks to creating big national projects and large-scale affordable housing.
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May 27, 2025
Helpful or hurtful? The dark side of social media sleuthing
Social media keeps us connected and fosters friendship and community. During the pandemic, in those long dark months after the world shut down, it became a crucial source of connectivity for many. In the years since, social media has become increasingly divisive, crude and untrustworthy. In a world of AI, fake news, deep fakes and strong political opinions, it has brought out some of the worst in people.
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May 27, 2025
Application of the 21-foot rule
In summer of 1966 I was introduced to Canadian knife culture. A group of men always carried a knife — at work, the barber shop, the ball game, and even Sundays at church. They were all good friends and respected members of the community. The group included my grandfather and his close friends.
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May 26, 2025
Supreme Court of Canada welcomes new ELO Byma as Bachand assumes GC post at federal judicial council
Daniel Byma, a commercial litigator at Fasken who is also an avid hiker and elite Ultimate Frisbee player and coach, has succeeded Stéphanie Bachand as the Supreme Court of Canada’s executive legal officer (ELO), with Bachand moving on to the roles of director and general counsel of the Canadian Judicial Council (CJC) after serving almost three years as the principal adviser to the chief justice of Canada.
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May 26, 2025
SENTENCING - Controlled drugs and substances - Conspiracy - Conditional sentence
Appeal by Crown from sentence imposed against respondent Bellows for conspiracy to traffic cocaine.
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May 23, 2025
Supreme Court of Canada gives sentencing guidance on ‘enhanced’ credit for pre-sentence custody
The Supreme Court of Canada has granted a convicted sex offender enhanced sentencing credit (1.5 to 1) for the time he spent in presentence custody at a mental health facility in a judgment that also greenlights judges to consider as a factor in determining a fit sentence the time an offender is expected to need to complete institutional rehabilitative programs and treatment, when such measures are adequately supported by the evidence.
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May 23, 2025
G7 finance ministers, central bank governors release communiqué emphasizing ‘unity’
On May 22, G7 finance ministers and central bank governors reached an “agreement on a communiqué which emphasized, above all, the importance of G7 unity in the face of complex global challenges.”