Constitutional
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May 15, 2025
Ontario court affirms right to counsel in cannabis searches
Ontario’s top court has confirmed that people subject to a search under Canada’s cannabis control legislation have the right to counsel, but a legal observer is saying the question of the scope of police’s search powers under the law still remain unanswered. The accused in the case, Johvon Jermaine McGowan-Morris, was a passenger in a Jeep that police pulled over to investigate a possible violation of the Cannabis Control Act (CCA). Under that legislation, a police officer who has reasonable grounds to believe the Act is being contravened can conduct a warrantless search of a vehicle and any person found in it.
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May 14, 2025
Alberta court upholds privacy commissioner’s order effectively banning Clearview AI
U.S.-based facial recognition technology giant Clearview AI has been dealt another legal setback in Canada with an Alberta court decision upholding an effective ban on the company’s activities in the province.
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May 14, 2025
Quebec Superior Court orders amendments to Civil Code to recognize multi-parent families
In a landmark decision that redefines the legal framework for parenthood in Quebec, Superior Court has given the provincial government 12 months to amend the Civil Code to introduce a new system of filiation that would make it possible to legally recognize more than two parents for the same child.
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May 13, 2025
New Carney Liberal Cabinet puts many lawyers on front benches in critical federal leadership roles
Lawyers who were key Cabinet members in Justin Trudeau's erstwhile minority Liberal government have assumed dominant roles in Prime Minister Mark Carney's new 29-member Liberal Cabinet.
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May 13, 2025
Proposed privacy breach class action launched by RCMP officers dismissed by Federal Court
The Federal Court has dismissed a proposed class action brought by two members of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) who alleged that their privacy rights were violated by unauthorized recordings of their conversations during a 2017 investigation.
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May 13, 2025
Yukon releases ‘What We Heard’ report on changes to public land laws
More land for housing, greater public input and the extent of Indigenous involvement were all touched upon as part of feedback on Yukon’s plan to modernize legislation governing the management and use of public land.
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May 12, 2025
Alberta government contravened access to information law, information commissioner’s report finds
An investigation by the Information and Privacy Commissioner of Alberta has found that the province’s government bodies have refused information access requests in contravention of provincial access-to-information legislation.
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May 12, 2025
Federal Court finds Finance Department ‘pre-ordained’ exclusion of Indigenous groups
The Federal Court has allowed applications for judicial review finding that the finance minister’s decision rendering two Indigenous groups in Alberta ineligible for economic participation in the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion project was “reverse-engineered.”
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May 12, 2025
Privacy commissioner begins exploratory consultation on children’s privacy code
Privacy Commissioner of Canada Philippe Dufresne has launched an exploratory consultation to inform the development of a children’s privacy code to enhance protection of young people’s personal information online.
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May 09, 2025
LSO announces three candidates for treasurer
The Law Society of Ontario has announced that three candidates — Murray Klippenstein, Stephen Rotstein and incumbent Peter Wardle — have been nominated for the role of treasurer, with the election set for June 18.