Access to Justice
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January 21, 2026
Clocks, time and the humiliations of criminal justice
When you are arrested and placed in a police cell, the police take your watch along with other personal possessions such as your wallet and phone — even your wedding ring. You soon realize there are no clocks in or visible from the cells, and no windows, so you have no idea what time it is.
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January 20, 2026
Manitoba launches security fund for cultural groups, places of worship
Following a handful of recent hate-related incidents, Manitoba’s government is launching a $1-million fund for cultural groups and places of worship to enhance safety and security.
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January 19, 2026
B.C. Access to Justice Week looking at ‘opportunities to transform what justice looks like’
Legal advocates in British Columbia are gearing up for Access to Justice Week, which will run from Feb. 2 to 6.
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January 19, 2026
B.C. Appeal Court judge’s bail decision conforms to law, not public pressure
A recent CBC News report stated that overcrowding at the Niagara Detention Centre in Thorold, Ont., reached its highest level since 2019 in the first half of 2025. Its occupancy rate stands at 136 per cent. The report further states that, in 2024, 89 per cent of the jail’s population were awaiting trial and presumed innocent. It also quotes University of Ottawa criminology professor Justin Piché as saying, “Several of those folks will exit prison, never having been convicted of anything.”
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January 16, 2026
N.B. opening anti-racism office, launching website
New Brunswick’s Liberal government is opening an anti-racism office to promote “equity and inclusion” in the province — and is now stating it has completed a little more than half the recommendations made in a commissioner’s report on the prevalence of systemic racism.
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January 16, 2026
Accused’s eloquence, good intentions insufficient to hit appeal target
The cynical remark “No good deed goes unpunished” will be remembered by Joacquin Rowe. He did a good deed, but he was punished for it.
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January 15, 2026
Eric Block joins Law Foundation of Ontario’s class proceedings committee
The Law Foundation of Ontario has appointed Eric S. Block to its class proceedings committee.
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January 14, 2026
Alberta Court of Appeal delivers lesson in legal history, upholds conviction in 1981 cold case
Cold cases dredge up years of history. In a review of a finding of guilt in a cold case, the Alberta Court of Appeal delivered a lesson in legal history through its own dredging up of legal precedents.
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January 13, 2026
Supreme Court of Canada Justice Sheilah Martin to retire in May after eight years at top court
Supreme Court of Canada Justice Sheilah Martin, a former University of Calgary law dean and one of the apex court’s criminal and constitutional law experts, will retire May 30, 2026, after working at the high court for more than eight years.
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January 13, 2026
Saskatchewan law society events touching on family violence, drug treatment court
Saskatchewan’s legal regulator is kicking off the new year with a handful of conference sessions examining child-inclusive mediation, family violence and 20 years of Regina’s Drug Treatment Court.