Free the Beer Case New Brunswick’s Liquor Control Act limits the amount of alcohol that someone can purchase from another Canadian province and bring back to New Brunswick. In October 2012, Gerard Comeau was charged for trying to bring back 354 bottles of beer and three bottles of liquor, which … [Read more...]
BenchPress – Vol 42-4
SCC Stomping on Sexual Assault Myths Recently, the Supreme Court of Canada (“SCC”) dismissed an appeal from the Alberta Court of Appeal (“ABCA”). The ABCA had overturned an Alberta Court of Queen’s Bench trial decision in a case of sexual assault. In this case, a man was acquitted of sexual … [Read more...]
BenchPress – Vol 42-3
Privacy of Text Messages In a split decision, the Supreme Court of Canada has ruled that text messages are protected against unreasonable search or seizure under the Charter. If a person has a subjective reasonable belief that a text message they send to another person will remain private, then … [Read more...]
BenchPress – Vol 42-2
'Til Law Do You Part In a recent case, the Alberta Court of Queen’s Bench had to determine if a marriage was legally valid. In 1997, the couple in question travelled from Canada to Vietnam (where both were born) to get married in a traditional Vietnamese ceremony. However, no paperwork was filed … [Read more...]
BenchPress – Vol 42-1
Bribery Law in Canada is No Joking Matter The Ontario Court of Appeal (ONCA) has shown that the bribery laws in Canada are nothing to scoff at. The ONCA upheld the trial decision convicting Nazir Karigar for agreeing to bribe a foreign official contrary to the Corruption of Foreign Public … [Read more...]
BenchPress – Vol 41-6
Damages for Future Surrogacy Fees For the first time in Canada, a car crash victim has been awarded financial compensation for the future cost of surrogacy. The case, Wilhemson v. Dumma, centered on Mikaela Wilhemson who was the sole survivor of a “horrendous, high-speed, head-on” collision that … [Read more...]
BenchPress – Vol 41-5
Get Going Minister! Morteza Momenzadeh Tameh was a member of a resistance group with links to terrorist groups in Iran in the 1980s. He was imprisoned by the Iranian government from 1982 to 1987. After his release he fled to Canada and requested permanent residency in 1994, after being found … [Read more...]
BenchPress – Vol 41-4
Act Of Meanness / Lost by a Nose / Co-Mammas / The Internet and Hate Speech 1. Act of Meanness A Quebec Superior Court Justice recently heard an unusual estate application. A Montreal area woman was convinced that her deceased brother’s wife had been unfaithful to him. At a supper held after … [Read more...]
BenchPress – Vol 41-3
Intolerable Delay, 5 Years: Case 1 Barrett Jordan was charged with a criminal offence in 2008 and his trial ended with his conviction in 2013. He alleged that his Charter right to trial within a reasonable time had been breached and the Supreme Court of Canada agreed. It set out a new standard … [Read more...]
BenchPress – Vol 41-2
Judge Restrains Restraint Policy Newfoundland and Labrador Provincial Court Judge John Joy recently wrote a decision criticizing the police practice of automatically using leg shackles on prisoners. He stated that the practice of restraining prisoners without first determining if it is justified is … [Read more...]