Access to Justice
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March 20, 2026
B.C. boosts compensation for intimate-image abuse victims
British Columbia is increasing compensation limits for people who have had their intimate images shared without their consent. Victims can now seek as much as $75,000 in compensation through the Civil Resolution Tribunal (CRT) with amendments to the Intimate Images Protection Act now in effect.
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March 20, 2026
Why Ontario is the epicentre of Canada’s remand issue
A recent CBC report noted that Ontario has announced plans for a new jail in Brockville and to add 1,436 new correctional beds by 2032. By any reasonable measure, Ontario should not be facing a jail overcrowding crisis. Crime rates are not surging out of control. Sentencing laws have not dramatically stiffened. Yet the province’s correctional facilities are often beyond safe capacity. The explanation lies not in who is being sentenced but in who is waiting.
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March 19, 2026
Law school: The dean, the dance and the Holy Grail
There are three reasons I decided to apply to Queen’s law school back in 1968.
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March 19, 2026
The view from inside jail: Parole hearing
I’ve written twice previously about aspects of parole — how complicated it is to figure out, and about halfway houses and the crazy rules of parole. A parole hearing, though, is a unique exercise in public humiliation, in some ways worse than a trial. Like a trial, it is a piece of theatre, with all the parts scripted in advance.
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March 19, 2026
Appeal Court overturns sex assault conviction, orders new jury trial
At the core of a fair criminal trial lies a simple principle: the accused, not the lawyer, must decide the most basic choices about how the defence will be carried out. In a recent decision, the Ontario Court of Appeal determined that this principle was broken when a man convicted of sexual assault was never properly informed of his critical rights, including whether to testify and whether to appear in court in person.
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March 17, 2026
N.W.T. releases feedback on changes to union rules for public sector workers
The Northwest Territories has released feedback on possible legislative changes around how unionized public servants are represented.
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March 17, 2026
Fictitious case law a systemic problem in Canadian courts: 111 and counting
In October 2025, a Federal Court associate judge ordered a lawyer to pay costs personally after the lawyer submitted two AI-generated cases that did not exist. The decision drew attention for good reason. But it also raised a harder question: how often is this happening across the country?
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March 16, 2026
Court of Appeal upholds sentence for dangerous driving despite Charter arguments
Jason Georgopoulos was a successful 43-year-old mortgage broker from Toronto. No one would suspect that after a drive along Toronto’s Queen Street, he would end up as a federal inmate.
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March 16, 2026
FCA orders RCMP review body to decide delayed appeals within 6 months
The Federal Court of Appeal has ordered the RCMP External Review Committee (ERC) to issue findings in long-delayed disciplinary appeals within six months, ruling that the Federal Court erred in denying mandamus relief after concluding the delay was not unreasonable.
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March 16, 2026
Nova Scotia appoints 3 new human rights commissioners
Three Nova Scotians, including two lawyers, have been appointed to two-year terms with the Nova Scotia Human Rights Commission, the province has announced.