Access to Justice
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May 15, 2024
Globalization of human rights and its universal standard | Tega Adjara
In an increasingly interconnected world, the globalization of human rights standards has become a pivotal force in shaping the global community. Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and international bodies, such as the European Commission of Human Rights and the Canadian Human Rights Commission play significant roles in advocating for and upholding universal standards of human rights across the globe. This essay explores how these organizations advocate for women’s rights, protester rights and other human rights issues, transcending geographical boundaries and challenging the influence of national governments and legislators.
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May 14, 2024
Patrick Critton applies for parole, part two | Michael Crowley
As previously noted, I grew up in central New York and attended Syracuse University during the 1960s. At that time, campuses were places of dissent about the war in Vietnam and the growth of civil rights. So, to some degree, I was fully aware of the political winds that had also captured plane hijacker Patrick Critton.
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May 14, 2024
Divergent opinions in legal profession about impact of proposed B.C. regulatory law
The B.C. government has been faced with stiff opposition since introducing its plan to overhaul the legal profession, with the provincial law society and bar society both arguing it represents an attack on the independence of lawyers. But this opinion is not a unanimous one, with other legal observers saying it has the potential to make access to justice more accessible in British Columbia.
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May 14, 2024
What B.C. single-regulator recommendation means to legal independence | Michael D. Lucas
In December 2013, the Law Society of British Columbia made a recommendation that it should regulate not only lawyers but also notaries and other groups of limited-scope legal service providers who had met qualifications standards. The underlying policy rationale for the recommendation was that a single regulator could reconcile qualification processes, ethical standards and disciplinary systems to best assure that different groups of providers providing similar services would be properly qualified and similarly regulated. It was also possible that access to legal services could be improved by regulating new groups of providers under a single regulator, although the recommendations considered this to be speculative.
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May 13, 2024
Court of Appeal dismissal cautionary tale for defence
A Calgary barber, Navjot Singh, was tried with his friend Gurjeet Ghotra when police observed the men loading containers later found to be packed with 66 kilograms of cocaine and 30 kilograms of methamphetamine.
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May 13, 2024
Family Legal Services Provider program starting January 2025 | Michelle Lomazzo
On Dec. 1, 2022, The Law Society of Ontario (LSO) convocation voted in favour of a Family Legal Services Provider (FLSP) licence for licensed paralegals. Since then, Fanshawe College has been selected as the approved and only online provider of the FLSP program. The FLSP program is now in development and Fanshawe will begin offering the program starting in January 2025.
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May 13, 2024
Patrick Critton applies for parole | Michael Crowley
In thinking about the thousands of parole hearings I conducted over my 21 years as a Parole Board of Canada member, some stand out — either because of the nature of the offence(s), because of media or victim involvement, or some because the story behind the commission of their offences was simply of great interest to me.
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May 10, 2024
Court of Appeal decision focuses on deterrence, protection of society and sentence
One would expect that when Crown counsel Dena Bonnet began arguing a sentence appeal on March 12, 2024, she had to be confident the matter was a sure winner. She has served as Crown counsel at the Crown Law office since 2008 and regularly appears before the Ontario Court of Appeal. She could realistically argue that the sentence handed down at trial was demonstrably unfit.
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May 10, 2024
Court dismisses motion, cites ‘culture of complacency’ and delays in civil justice system
An Ontario Superior Court judge has dismissed leave to bring a motion in a long-running business dispute, lashing out at constant delays and a culture of complacency in Ontario's civil justice system.
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May 09, 2024
N.B. looks to greater regulations for private career colleges
In the name of increased protections for post-secondary students, New Brunswick is proposing legislative changes that would mean greater regulation over private career colleges in the province.