Criminal
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September 29, 2025
Historical child sex offences demand no less accountability than those committed today: SCC
Paul Sheppard is a former teacher and headmaster of the now closed Saint John’s School of Alberta, an elite all-male boarding school along the North Saskatchewan River in Stony Plain, near Edmonton.
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September 29, 2025
EXTRAORDINARY REMEDIES - Habeas corpus
Appeal by Leinen from chambers judge’s decision suspending the effect of an order. Leinen was involuntarily transferred, on an emergency basis, from the Mission Institution (a combined minimum and medium security prison) to the Kent Institution (a maximum-security prison).
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September 26, 2025
SCC clarifies that Friesen sentencing principles apply to historic sexual crimes against children
The Supreme Court of Canada has ruled 9-0 that the contemporary sentencing principles the court laid down for sexual crimes against children, in its 2020 landmark ruling in R. v. Friesen, must also be applied in sentencing historical sexual offences against children. On Sept. 26, 2025, the top court handed down reserved reasons for its unanimous oral judgment last April, which restored the six-year prison term that a trial judge imposed on ex-teacher Paul Sheppard for his repeated sexual abuse of a 12-year-old boarding school student in 1993 and 1994: R.v. Sheppard, 2025 SCC 29.
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September 26, 2025
Ottawa introduces bill to remove CAF jurisdiction over sexual offences, enhance military justice
National Defence Minister David McGuinty has introduced legislation that would remove the Canadian Armed Forces’ jurisdiction over the investigation and prosecution of Criminal Code sexual offences committed in Canada, according to a release.
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September 26, 2025
Ontario opening of the courts ceremony highlights digitization, reform of Rules of Civil Procedure
On Sept. 25, judges, attorneys general, leaders of law associations and others met for Ontario’s opening of the courts ceremony, discussing various strategies that have been and will be undertaken to improve access to justice. This included digitization and reformation of the Rules of Civil Procedure.
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September 26, 2025
Appeals - Insufficient reasons - Powers of appellate court - To receive new evidence
Appeal by Crown from a judgment of the Alberta Court of Appeal which varied Sheppard’s sentence. Motion by Sheppard to adduce new evidence. Sheppard was found guilty by a jury of sexual interference, invitation to sexual touching and sexual assault.
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September 26, 2025
Landmark Canadian cryptocurrency platform takedown: A look at the other side of digital coin
The RCMP’s recent seizure of the controversial cryptocurrency exchange TradeOgre, alongside over $56 million in crypto assets, marks a watershed moment in Canadian digital finance regulation and risk management. As authorities pat themselves on the back for this law enforcement success story, the operation also sparks uncomfortable debate about due process, the collateral damage to non-criminal users and the regulatory minefield that risk managers in the digital asset sector must navigate.
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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.