For the first time in Canada, an appeal court has upheld the use of duress as a defence to a charge of murder even though the Criminal Code explicitly rules it out. The Ontario Court of Appeal outlined the factors necessary to support both a statutory and common law defence of duress, for people … [Read more...]
Bench Press 39-5: Red-faced about the Red Chamber?
Aniz Alani, a Vancouver lawyer, has launched a legal action to force Prime Minister Harper to appoint new senators to fill the vacancies in the Red Chamber. The lawyer considers illegal Mr. Harper’s position that he will not advise the Governor General to fill existing vacancies in the Senate. The … [Read more...]
BenchPress 39-5: A Jury of Your Peers?
An Ontario Aboriginal man has had his conviction for manslaughter re-instated by the Supreme Court of Canada. Clifford Kokopenace was originally convicted in 2008. However, the Ontario Court of Appeal overturned his conviction because the jury at his trial did not have any Aboriginal members. It … [Read more...]
Resources for Termination of Employment
The Edmonton Journal recently reported layoff notices way up in 2015: “Between Jan. 1 and Feb. 10, 18 Alberta employers disclosed plans to terminate a total of 4,544 workers.” Further, “Statistics Canada figures show the province gained 13,700 jobs in January, but lost 1,000 in the natural … [Read more...]
New Employment Law Resources for Alberta Youth
Many new Canadians are unfamiliar with the legislation that protects them in the workplace. Research indicates that immigrants with limited English speaking abilities often turn to their children to act as intermediaries to pass on information, including legal information. By developing resources … [Read more...]
Vaclav Havel and the Meaning of Tragedy in Politics and Law
Vaclav Havel, who died in Prague shortly before Christmas in 2011, was a great dissident hero and champion of civil liberties who played a vital role in opposing the Communist regime in Czechoslovakia. He became a powerful rallying voice in the peaceful overthrow of the totalitarian political system … [Read more...]
Quitting and Giving Notice: What Employees Need to Know
Introduction Since employees like to be in control of their lives, they think they can quit an employer any time it suits them. But woe to the employer who feels the same way about terminating employees. Somehow employees think employers cannot freely dismiss employees but employees can … [Read more...]
When Prosecution Met Defence: The Michael Bryant Case
Facts of the Case At 9:47 p.m. on Aug. 31, 2009, former Ontario attorney general and CEO of Invest Toronto Michael Bryant, driving home after dinner with his wife, had a violent encounter with a younger man on a bicycle, Darcy “Allan” Sheppard. Sheppard was drunk, and at a traffic light on Bloor … [Read more...]
Role of the Organization of American States in Canadian Human Rights: Part 2
This is a continuation of an earlier column about the Report on Murdered and Missing Indigenous Women in British Columbia, Canada which was issued in December 2014 by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (“IACHR”) of the Organization of American States. The Report concludes with a series … [Read more...]
Viewpoint 39-5: Hundreds of recommendations go unimplemented
Legal Strategy Coalition demands greater government commitment and accountability to ending violence against Indigenous women and girls An alarming study released recently shows that governments in Canada have repeatedly ignored expert recommendations to stop violence against Indigenous … [Read more...]
