Criminal

Monday, September 11, 2023 @ 1:23 PM

Nearly 30 years ago, Justice Louise Arbour sounded the alarm that the rule of law remained absent from the Canadian penitentiary system. The alarm sounded much earlier in a 1976 report to Parliament which, like Arbour’s warning, largely fell on deaf ears. ... [read more]

Friday, September 08, 2023 @ 3:27 PM

The Canada Revenue Agency has announced that a Mississauga, Ont., man was sentenced on Sept. 7 in the Toronto courthouse to a conditional sentence of two years less a day and a fine of $999,000 after pleading guilty on June 27 to one count of fraud over $5,000 under the Criminal Code for evasion of federal income tax.  ... [read more]

Friday, September 08, 2023 @ 12:22 PM

The Quebec Court of Appeal substituted a 10-month imprisonment sentence handed to a Granby man for illegal cultivation of cannabis after it determined that the circumstances in which the sentencing judge required additional evidence gave rise to a reasonable apprehension of bias, the second time in two months that the appellate court rebuked the same judge for similar reasons. ... [read more]

Friday, September 08, 2023 @ 9:56 AM

In today’s globalized and interconnected world, the fight against money laundering has become an increasingly significant concern for governments, financial institutions and regulatory organizations. ... [read more]

Thursday, September 07, 2023 @ 2:37 PM

The Liberal government has established a “Public Inquiry into Foreign Interference in Federal Electoral Processes and Democratic Institutions,” following all-party agreement to the new commission of inquiry’s terms of reference and its commissioner. ... [read more]

Thursday, September 07, 2023 @ 1:36 PM - Last Updated: Friday, September 08, 2023 @ 4:45 PM

The Law Society of Ontario’s (LSO) appeal of a Law Society Tribunal decision casts into the spotlight the need for lawyers to be of “good character.” The tribunal’s decision, which determined that a man who admitted to sexually abusing minors was of “good character,” granting his application for an L1 licence, is a “black mark” on the profession, a lawyer stressed. ... [read more]

Thursday, September 07, 2023 @ 10:51 AM

Every criminal defence lawyer can recall having a difficult client. The recently released judgment of the Ontario Court of Appeal in R. v. Ilunga 2023 ONCA 471 is important to review, not so much for its analysis of legal principles but more on the advice the court gives to counsel to better protect themselves. ... [read more]

Thursday, September 07, 2023 @ 10:48 AM

Out of roughly 14,000 individuals in federal correctional institutions in Canada, about 80 (or around 0.5 per cent) are transgender. About 60 are trans women and about 20 are trans men. ... [read more]

Thursday, September 07, 2023 @ 6:19 AM

Appeal by Ilunga from his conviction for sexual assault and non-compliance of probation order. He argued that the trial judge erred in shifting the burden of proof to him, in providing insufficient reasons, and that he received ineffective assistance from his trial counsel. The appellant had a group of people in his apartment including the complainant and LM. The complainant testified that while she was in the apartment, the appellant, without her consent, sexually assaulted her. ... [read more]

Wednesday, September 06, 2023 @ 12:51 PM

With a view to ending the criminal justice system’s systemic discrimination and overrepresentation of Black people, both as accused and as victims, the federal Department of Justice (DOJ) has begun online and in-person consultations asking Black people and their communities — as well as representatives of organizations that provide justice-related services and supports to Black communities — their views on developing Canada’s “Black Justice Strategy.” ... [read more]