Criminal
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May 20, 2025
Prison food: Canada vs. Beijing
The BBC is reporting on the case of Matthew Radalj, an Australian citizen sentenced to five years (he claims wrongly) after being forced to sign a confession following his Jan. 2, 2020, arrest in Beijing. Radalj was confined in the Beijing No. 2 prison, a facility housing international inmates. He listed a variety of abuses to a BBC reporter, including severe physical punishment, forced labour, food deprivation and psychological torture.
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May 20, 2025
Demonstration bylaw: Neither liberty nor safety
Toronto’s Jewish community is lobbying city councillors to pass a bylaw that will ban protests near places of worship, schools or community centres. The “demonstration bylaw” is at the public consultation stage right now. Jewish leaders are asking for the bylaw to keep the community safe in the face of demonstrations in support of the Oct. 7 terrorist incursions into Israel, which are taking place on Toronto’s streets and in neighbourhoods where Jews primarily live.
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May 16, 2025
Surrey bookkeeper sentenced for nearly $1 million in GST/HST evasion
A Vancouver hotel bookkeeper who masterminded a goods and services tax evasion scheme worth almost $1 million has received a conditional sentence of two years less a day and two years’ probation, the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) has announced.
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May 16, 2025
Court of Appeal: SOIRA exemption unlikely with shorter sentence
On Oct. 28, 2022, the Supreme Court of Canada declared the provisions of SOIRA (Sexual Offender Information Registry Act) unconstitutional (R. v. Ndhlovu, 2022 SCC 38). Section 1 of the Charter could not save the provisions.
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May 15, 2025
Ottawa welcomes ‘historic’ international ruling that Russia shot down Malaysian civilian airliner
As Canada pursues a separate case against Iran at the UN’s International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) — for the illegal downing of a Ukrainian civilian airliner in 2020 — Ottawa said it “welcomes” the ICAO’s recent determination that the Russian Federation shot down Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 in 2014, in breach of Russia’s obligations under international law.
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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 15, 2025
PROCEDURE - Pleas - Acceptance of guilty plea - Setting aside guilty plea - Voluntariness
Appeal by Nettleton from conviction and sentence following conviction for intimidating justice system participant and uttering threats while in custody.
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May 15, 2025
When the judiciary and politics mix
Due to ethical constraints, Canadian judges rarely criticize politicians directly in speeches, but there have been moments of tension or implicit critique. The judiciary has a duty to remain impartial and above the political fray.
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May 14, 2025
Saskatoon Correctional Centre expansion ‘substantially completed’
Saskatchewan is on the cusp of opening the doors to a newly expanded prison in Saskatoon. According to a May 14 news release, the province’s government “has substantially completed the expansion of the Saskatoon Correctional Centre (SCC), with the centre scheduled to open this summer.”
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May 14, 2025
Alberta releases strategy to end gender-based violence, prioritizes financial empowerment
In an effort to address gender-based violence and “create a safer home for every Albertan,” the Government of Alberta has issued a 10-year strategy to “engage men and boys as partners, enhance women’s economic empowerment and ensure targeted programs are Indigenous-led.”