June 19, 2026
Here are my picks for the top stories we published this week.
June 16, 2026
“You don’t go to prison to make friends” is one of the aphorisms new prisoners often hear. Connections with other people are fundamental to human life; we all need meaningful relationships with others. There’s lots of evidence that a lack of human connection is bad for our physical and mental health. But human connection takes on a very different form when you are in prison.
June 10, 2026
The federal government has announced that the Assault-Style Firearms Compensation Program has closed for businesses, while the amnesty period from criminal liability has been extended after the Supreme Court of Canada agreed to hear an appeal on the prohibition.
June 08, 2026
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) has announced it will implement temporary import restrictions on livestock entering Canada from affected areas after a confirmed case of New World screwworm in a calf in Texas.
May 29, 2026
The Ontario Superior Court of Justice has awarded $22.5 million in a class action against a Toronto plastic surgeon who had surveillance cameras throughout his clinic but did not inform patients or staff.
May 25, 2026
The British Columbia Court of Appeal has sent back for reconsideration a proposed class action alleging that the RCMP violated Charter rights through exclusion zones and other enforcement tactics during the Fairy Creek protests.
May 19, 2026
The Federal Court of Appeal dismissed an appeal relating to the deactivation of a business account on Instagram, but outlined various omissions in the Federal Court’s analysis.
May 15, 2026
This column is quite different from most of my previous ones in that it focuses on something other than my own experience. However, it grows entirely out of that experience. To reassure readers (beyond the many citations in the text), when I was arrested I had an extensive background in reading and analyzing social science research. In the years since my arrest, I have read and made notes on more than 1,000 books, reports and research studies in this field. I have talked with dozens of experts — lawyers, criminologists and community leaders — and even given presentations at conferences. Every claim in this column can be verified by looking at reputable sources in the field, including the reports of Canada’s Correctional Investigator.
May 13, 2026
The Ontario Court of Appeal has remitted a case to trial in which an insurance provider denied coverage to a greenhouse operator despite it suffering a loss of 23 acres of tomato plants caused by excessive carbon monoxide emissions. It found the judge made numerous errors in the analysis.
May 12, 2026
British Columbia’s municipalities and regional districts will soon have new responsibilities under the Emergency and Disaster Management Act as modernized requirements for emergency management will come into effect.