Reading Time: 4 minutes By voluntarily taking part in an activity, individuals implicitly consent to interactions with others that would otherwise be criminal assaults. A visitor to Earth would probably notice something odd about some of our favourite pastimes. Societies around the world consider some behaviour – of one citizen against another – to be criminal and deserving of […]
About Charles Davison
Royal Families Around the World
Reading Time: 6 minutes Around the world, monarchs hold different roles in government and more. Canadians live in a “constitutional monarchy”. So, we are somewhat familiar with how our system has evolved to the point where the Queen is mainly a figurehead at the top of our government. Over many centuries, the British, and then Canadian, systems moved away […]
Comparing Canada’s Corrections to Europe, the United States and Aboriginal Communities
Reading Time: 6 minutes How a society responds to and deals with its members who break or fail to follow its most basic rules is often rooted in its history and cultural values. Canada’s background is intimately tied to British traditions and practices in light of our history as a colony from the 1760’s up to the 20th century. […]
The Emergencies Act
Reading Time: 8 minutes When I agreed to write about the Emergencies Act, I had no idea that I would end up doing so at a time when the federal government was actually considering resorting to this never-before-used legislation. But with the arrival and spread of COVID-19 in Canada, this Act is an option the government has considered. While […]
Criminal Acts in Children’s Stories
Reading Time: 6 minutes Many years ago I defended a young man on a charge of “criminal harassment”. This was shortly after the federal government added this crime to our Criminal Code. The offence involves repeatedly following or communicating with another person when you know that the other person does not want to hear from you or for you […]
CRIMINAL | The Right to be Tried Without Undue Delay
Reading Time: 6 minutes 20/20: Looking back over the last 20 years Since the turn of the century, there are many – too numerous to count – “important cases” in the field of criminal law. Some have dealt with procedure, some with the substantive law, and some with enhancing and protecting the basic rights of Canadians. However, as shall […]
Other Official Languages in Canada
Reading Time: 6 minutes Canada is known around the world as an officially bilingual country. Federally, French and English share equal status as the “official languages.” The same is true in some of the provinces and territories. What is perhaps not known as widely (in southern Canada, at least) is that there are other official languages in two territories: […]
Evolution of our Freedom of Expression
Reading Time: 6 minutes We tend to take for granted that in Canada we are generally free to express, and to publish or broadcast, our views and opinions about almost any subject imaginable. However, it was not always this way. In early times, those who espoused views which were not in keeping with the majority, or with the powerful, […]
The Legislative Process: How We Make Our Laws
Reading Time: 6 minutes Except when something particularly noteworthy occurs – such as the implementation of a radical new law or the defeat of a government over legislation it is trying to get passed – many Canadians are not aware of the details of our legislative process. In this article, I will sketch out an overview of the process […]
Jury Trials: Cost, Controversy and Secret Powers
Reading Time: 7 minutes In the first part of this discussion about juries,I explained some basic points: why we have jury trials and how we decide who should be on a jury. Now, I will discuss some of the more controversial aspects to juries, and will focus on three areas: the costs of (including delays associated with) jury trials […]
