Canadians are used to reading American books and watching TV programs where lawyers for parties in court actions amass material about potential jurors. John Grisham’s The Runaway Jury comes to mind. However, in Canada, the Ontario Court of Appeal recently overturned a murder conviction because it … [Read more...]
Bench Press 37-4: Denunciation, Deterrence, and Death
The British Columbia Court of Appeal recently almost doubled the sentence of a man convicted of possession of child pornography and sexual assault from 3 years and 3 months to 6 years. The Court wrote “…the sentence imposed on Mr. Allen ought to have communicated society’s condemnation of his … [Read more...]
Bench Press 37-4: Interest in Access to Justice
Francis LeBlanc was injured in a traffic accident when he was 17. He was successful in recovering damages for his injuries, but he had to borrow money to finance his litigation. He claimed the borrowed money plus interest as disbursements. The Clerk of the Court rejected the interest on the loans, … [Read more...]
Casey Hill and the Church of Scientology
Freedom of speech, like the other fundamental freedoms, is freedom under the law, and over the years the law has maintained a balance between, on the one hand, the right of the individual … whether he is in public life or not, to his unsullied reputation if he deserves it, and on the other hand … … [Read more...]
Viewpoint 37-4: The Economy and The Environment
The economies that will dominate in the future will be those that embrace environmental challenges and see them as opportunities and not cost. For the longest time, the message has been that dealing with environmental issues incurs a cost to the economy that will harm our competitiveness. More … [Read more...]
Helping Yourself: Where Do You Start?
Nowadays, many Albertans are representing themselves in court. But where can they (or where do they) get reliable information? To respond to the growing demands of litigants without lawyers, Alberta Justice brought together in 2005 members of the judiciary, representatives from criminal justice, … [Read more...]
Online Resources for Dispute Resolution
Maybe it’s a dispute between neighbours. Or a conflict at work. Or a change to child custody arrangements. Tempers flare, things escalate and the next thing you know you’re headed for court. Regardless of your legal problem, once you’ve entered the court system, things become much more complex and … [Read more...]
Anti-spam Law May Snare Charities
Those of us who work for charities are probably as accustomed as anyone to getting unsolicited emails asking for funding or other support. Even in the occasional cases where these requests are genuine, rather than scams or trickery, the sender often hasn’t taken the time to even check if what’s … [Read more...]
Standing Up for Your Rights
Standing is a legal principle that addresses who is entitled to bring a case before the court for a decision. Although standing (in a legal sense) may sound like a technical legal issue, it is very important to rights litigation in Canada. After the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms (Charter) … [Read more...]
Protection and Prosecution: Falling at Work
Introduction Just before Christmas 2009, Mr. Murgappa Naiker died instantly after falling 18.5 feet from an open bucket while de-icing an airplane at the Calgary airport. He was not wearing his safety harness. He had 17 years experience as a de-icing ramp agent and had completed updated safety … [Read more...]
