This article was first published on January 5th, 2018. It was verified for accuracy on December 13, 2024. Until the late 1980s, the justice system in Canada regarded children as inherently unreliable and their rare appearances in court were often extremely stressful. Since then, there have been … [Read more...]
Extradition in Canada: United States v Burns, then and now
Extradition is the process through which a foreign nation can ask Canada to surrender an accused person to that nation to stand trial for their suspected crime. To be extradited, the alleged crime must be recognized as a criminal act not just in the foreign country, but also in Canada. The … [Read more...]
Imposing Adult Sentences on Young Offenders
The legal system in Canada treats young offenders differently than adults. The Youth Criminal Justice Act (YCJA) regulates the youth justice system. Under the YCJA, young people are held accountable for their criminal acts, but not in the same way as adults. The YCJA provides special … [Read more...]
Understanding Parole and its Restrictions : Why someone’s release shouldn’t necessarily alarm you
Media reports on crime often emphasize when an offender is eligible for parole and subsequently cover the results of the parole hearing. And for good reason — society deserves to know when the most egregious offenders can be (or are) released back into society. What outrages most people in … [Read more...]
Coercive control bill should tackle familial elder abuse
Bill C-332 is a noble attempt to protect domestic abuse victims from escalating violence. However, the proposed law does not help seniors who are harmed by adult children and other relatives like grandchildren, once again banishing elder abuse to the hinterlands of the criminal justice … [Read more...]
Legal experts dispute the use of federal prisons for refugees
Although Canada has welcomed more than one million refugees since 1980, the challenging path to freedom in Canada continues to be difficult as some newcomers face time behind bars – despite being guilty of no crime at all. Recently, the federal government quietly announced plans to jail … [Read more...]
The Right to Speak to a Lawyer is Not an Admission of Guilt
A call to podcast hosts and journalists to stop using constitutional rights as an ominous plot point As a true crime podcast and documentary connoisseur by night, and a criminal defence lawyer by day, declaring that my world is saturated with true crime content is an understatement. I enjoy … [Read more...]
Defending the Defence
The Umar Zameer case demonstrates the important role defence counsel play in advocating for the innocent and protecting the integrity of our justice system. Defence counsel are almost always villainized by the media. They are often cast as an inhumane bump on the road to justice in movies and … [Read more...]
Canada is not yet Ready to Expand its Medical Assistance in Dying Legislation
Canada's Medical Assistance in Dying (MAID) laws were set to change in March 2024 to include mental disorders. But the federal government has once again delayed implementation until at least March 2027. Medical Assistance in Dying (MAID) was legalized in Canada in 2016 and became available to … [Read more...]
Accessing the Justice System: Specialized support is critical for sexual violence survivors
For sexual violence survivors who choose to access the criminal justice system, working with a specialized police and court support advocate can have a huge positive impact on their experience. The criminal legal system is a crucial pathway to justice for victims of crime. It provides a … [Read more...]
