May 28, 2026
For a number of years, I have written in Law360 and elsewhere about issues and developments in animal law. Alberta’s Bill 22, the Animal Protection Amendment Act, 2026, which received royal assent on May 14, is a notable step in the evolution of animal welfare protection across Canada. The legislation is the province’s first major overhaul of its animal protection framework in two decades. More importantly, perhaps, one might say it reflects how animal welfare advocacy continues to influence legislatures in incremental but meaningful ways.
May 27, 2026
The recent decision of the Ontario Court of Appeal in R. v. Haggerty, 2026 ONCA 360 provides important guidelines for Crown and defence counsel about to undertake a dangerous offender prosecution.
May 26, 2026
It will be a jam-packed June of legal conferences at the Law Society of Saskatchewan, featuring sessions on child well-being in mediation, tribunal decision writing and the drafting of legislative documents in the environmental realm.
May 26, 2026
I was part of the earlier cohort of lawyers in England and Wales when coercive control was criminalized under s. 76 of the Serious Crime Act 2015. I still remember showing up at court in those early days of the newly criminalized offence and reviewing charge sheets where both defence counsel and Crown prosecutors were trying to navigate entirely new legal territory.
May 26, 2026
Alicia Kennedy has joined Wagners Law Firm in Halifax, where she will lead the firm’s sexual assault and abuse litigation practice.
May 26, 2026
An argument escalated into a physical fight during which Maria Elena Martinez bit off the tip of the complainant’s pinkie finger.
May 25, 2026
Can an out-of-court statement be used to convict a party of a crime, or must it be rejected as hearsay? That question was the focus of a Supreme Court of Canada decision released on May 22.
May 22, 2026
Below I answer these questions: What is the new law? What must a victim prove? How can a victim prove her injuries? How will judges calculate compensation?
May 22, 2026
In June 2023, following nearly two decades of consultation, revisions and public processes, the Nunavut Planning Commission (NPC) completed and submitted the Recommended Nunavut Land Use Plan (RNLUP). Under the Nunavut Land Claims Agreement (NLCA) and the Nunavut Planning and Project Assessment Act (NuPPAA), the plan requires review and approval by three signatories: Nunavut Tunngavik Inc., the government of Nunavut and the government of Canada. Yet nearly three years later, the plan remains neither accepted nor rejected.
May 22, 2026
Amnesty International’s latest annual report on the global state of the death penalty paints a sobering picture.