Criminal
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September 25, 2025
Attention politicians: Bail reform must be constitutionally sound
A Cobourg, Ont., police constable was hospitalized after coming into contact with fentanyl during an attempt to arrest a 33-year-old woman in a municipal park. The officer was released from the hospital the following day, but Cobourg Police Chief Paul VandeGraaf used the incident to call for tougher laws.
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September 25, 2025
CONTROLLED DRUGS AND SUBSTANCES - Possession - Selling, trafficking and distributing
Appeal by appellant from convictions and sentencing in four trafficking-related offences. The officers conducted the strip search in a private room about eight hours after police found the evidence at issue.
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September 24, 2025
Ontario bail reform suggestions ‘political theatre at best,’ lawyer says
As Ottawa moves toward reform of Canada’s bail system, members of the legal and civil liberties communities are raising concerns about a recent open letter from the Ontario government calling for more mandatory minimum sentencing for serious crimes and a “three-strikes” rule denying bail for repeat offenders.
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September 24, 2025
Ruling highlights importance of considering reasons for criminal behaviour
In my latest book, Acts of Darkness, I highlight a theme that runs through our criminal justice system: an undue concentration on what was done that requires punishment, with little attention to why it was done. Fortunately, that focus appears to be shifting. An example of this new approach to sentencing is shown in the case of R. v. Kaiser, 2025 NSCA 56.
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September 23, 2025
Feds to launch gun compensation program via Nova Scotia pilot
Canada’s government is launching a pilot program in Nova Scotia as part of rolling out its amnesty buyback initiative for “assault-style” guns deemed illegal for people to possess.
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September 23, 2025
Quebec Appeal Court rules conditional discharge may be granted in sexual assault cases
An aspiring real estate agent found guilty of sexually assaulting his ex-partner has had his eight-month imprisonment sentence to be served in the community overturned by the Quebec Court of Appeal after it ruled that a conditional discharge, while a rare measure for sexual assault, may be granted when the circumstances warrant it.
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September 23, 2025
SENTENCING - Controlled drugs and substances - Possession for the purpose of selling, trafficking, distributing or exporting
Application for leave to appeal and appeal by the appellant from the two-year prison sentence imposed by sentencing judge for possession of cocaine for the purpose of trafficking.
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September 23, 2025
NCR appeal asks: How long is too long to file an appeal?
How long is too long to file a notice of appeal? In 2013, Ahmed Ahmed pleaded guilty to two counts of aggravated assault but was found not criminally responsible (NCR) by reason of a mental disorder.
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September 23, 2025
View from inside prison: The struggle for mental health help
Prisons are supposedly about helping prisoners rehabilitate so they can re-enter society successfully. In fact, spending time in prison makes it a lot harder to live outside, not easier.
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September 22, 2025
Ontario appoints two new judges to provincial court
Attorney General Doug Downey has announced the appointment of two new judges to the Ontario Court of Justice, effective Sept. 25, 2025: Justice Rachel Elizabeth Young and Justice Ghazala Shaheen Zaman.