Criminal
-
January 23, 2026
DULF constitutional challenge keeps sentencing on hold in B.C. trafficking case
Sentencing in the high-profile prosecution of members of the Drug User Liberation Front (DULF) remains on pause as the Supreme Court of British Columbia considers constitutional arguments that could have lasting implications for drug trafficking cases across the country, as well as for public health efforts to reduce the harms of the ongoing toxic drug crisis.
-
January 23, 2026
EVIDENCE - Prejudicial evidence - Previous record of accused - Probative value
Appeal by Hussein from a judgment of the Ontario Court of Appeal which upheld his conviction for second-degree murder. Boucher was fatally stabbed after a night of drinking with friends in a basement apartment where Hussein was in attendance.
-
January 23, 2026
Moral, legal imperatives affecting restitution of looted art
As someone involved in the field of art restitution, I often marvel at the different types of responses that we receive once we advise someone that the artwork in their possession was looted during the Holocaust and must now be returned to its rightful owners. Possessors who find themselves in this predicament range from private individuals to corporations and foundations, but most institutional possessors are clearly museums, which range from small regional ones in Western and Eastern Europe to the most prominent ones in Europe and the United States.
-
January 23, 2026
POWERS OF SEARCH AND SEIZURE - Forfeiture of items seized
Appeal by Breton from an order forfeiting over $1.2 million in cash seized from his garage to the Crown. The appellant had previously been acquitted of all criminal charges, including possession of proceeds of crime, after the trial judge excluded all evidence under s. 24(2) of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms due to unlawful searches.
-
January 22, 2026
Nova Scotia issues new summary offences, fines for illegal fishing
Nova Scotia is clamping down on illegal fishing in the province by adding dozens of new offences and hiking fines.
-
January 22, 2026
New group to take on animal welfare in Saskatchewan
The job of protecting animals in Saskatchewan is changing hands.
-
January 22, 2026
B.C. Court of Appeal weighs in on Port Coquitlam neighbour dispute
“Good fences make good neighbours” is the oft-quoted line from Robert Frost’s poem Mending Wall. It suggests that clear boundaries and respect for personal space foster better relationships. Even with walls and fences, relationships sometimes sour.
-
January 21, 2026
FCA rejects Ottawa’s ‘expansive’ view of cabinet authority to wield ‘draconian’ emergency powers
In a case that might land on the steps the Supreme Court of Canada, the Federal Court of Appeal has ruled unanimously that the federal cabinet wrongly invoked the Emergencies Act to declare a national “public order” emergency in 2022.
-
January 21, 2026
Manitoba launches new francophone family law service hub
In its latest bid to increase access to justice for French-speaking residents, Manitoba’s government has launched a francophone service hub for those seeking help with family law matters in that language.
-
January 21, 2026
Alberta Court of Appeal considers jump principle in determining appropriate sentence
Before dawn on a winter morning in Calgary, a brief encounter in a deserted school parking lot set in motion a chain of events that would carry a 20-year-old man from street-level allegations to years of appellate scrutiny and a penitentiary sentence measured in years.