Access to Justice
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May 30, 2025
N.L. accepting grant proposals for violence prevention program
The government of Newfoundland and Labrador is inviting proposals for its 2025 Community Violence Prevention Grants Program.
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May 28, 2025
Justice minister defends Trudeau bail reforms, but throne speech confirms new restrictions coming
The official Opposition Conservatives have renewed calls to repeal the Trudeau government’s so-called “catch and release” bail reforms, but the new Carney government is defending the changes while pledging to legislate new bail restrictions for certain crimes and repeat offenders.
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May 29, 2025
Is it a rabbit or a duck? Why lawyers must be storytellers
Every lawyer has been there. We have laid out the facts. We have cited the law. We have prepared what we believe is a clear and persuasive argument. And yet the court saw something else — something that seems, at first glance, unrecognizable.
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May 29, 2025
Alberta Court replaces house arrest with prison, citing court’s role in setting ‘new direction’
Readers of the Nov. 23, 2021, edition of the Edmonton Journal learned about the results of a two-year investigation by the Alberta Law Enforcement Response Teams (ALERT) known as Project Elk. Eight individuals from Edmonton were arrested and charged with various offences, including those related to drugs and firearms, criminal conspiracy and organized crime.
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May 28, 2025
Zooming into the future
I have often expressed my conviction (as a former prosecutor, I love that word) that the courtroom is the last bastion of respect for authority today. All other authority figures — politicians, religious leaders, police officers, teachers and sadly, even parents — have lost their respect in today’s selfie world.
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May 28, 2025
Truck driving school was treated unfairly by career college authority, Ontario court rules
Ontario’s superintendent of career colleges Charlotte Smaglinski violated procedural fairness when she forfeited a truck driving school’s $97,000 security bond without notice, forcing the family-run school out of business, an Ontario court has ruled.
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May 28, 2025
A dance of justice and order: Legal themes in ballet
Ballet is often celebrated for its ethereal beauty, technical precision and emotionally charged storytelling. Yet, hidden beneath the graceful movements and elaborate sets are recurring themes that mirror society’s deeper structures, including the realms of law, order and justice. Legal themes woven into some of the most enduring ballets examine how narratives of retribution, social contracts and class divisions provide a compelling framework for dance.
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May 28, 2025
What ‘agreed statement of facts’ really means
The “facts” aren’t always so obvious. More than 90 per cent of criminal convictions in Canada are not the result of a trial, but of a guilty plea. People plead guilty for many reasons, only one of which is that they are actually guilty. But that’s another matter.
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May 27, 2025
Yukoners want more legal services in French
Yukon residents want better access to legal resources in the French language. So states a recent What We Heard report released by Yukon’s government, according to a government news release.
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May 27, 2025
Helpful or hurtful? The dark side of social media sleuthing
Social media keeps us connected and fosters friendship and community. During the pandemic, in those long dark months after the world shut down, it became a crucial source of connectivity for many. In the years since, social media has become increasingly divisive, crude and untrustworthy. In a world of AI, fake news, deep fakes and strong political opinions, it has brought out some of the worst in people.