Access to Justice
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October 10, 2024
New report highlights lack of racialized lawyers at Ontario firms, offers diversity ranking
Blink Equity, an organization founded to combat systemic racism in workplaces, has released what it calls a “landmark report” titled “The Blink Score: A Racial Diversity Audit & Ranking of Ontario Law Firms,” said to indicate a “lack of inclusion” in the profession.
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October 10, 2024
Why bail appeal was denied for 92-year-old Nygard
Peter Nygard was convicted on Nov. 23, 2023, of sexually assaulting four complainants. He was sentenced to 11 years but given credit for pretrial custody, leaving 6.7 years of imprisonment yet to be served. Nygard’s application to be released from the Toronto South Detention Centre pending his appeal was heard by a single Ontario Court of Appeal judge, Justice Lene Madsen, on Oct. 2, 2024. The decision was handed down on Oct. 7 (R. v. Nygard, 2024 ONCA 744).
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October 09, 2024
Appeal court upholds dismissal of action against lawyer but permits malicious prosecution claim
The Ontario Court of Appeal has upheld the dismissal of an action against a lawyer over allegations that he knowingly allowed false statements to be made in an affidavit on the basis of absolute privilege.
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October 09, 2024
Ontario expands basic training program for police for second year running
For the second year in a row, the Ontario government is increasing enrollment in the Ontario Police College’s Basic Constable Training (BCT) program, adding 80 recruits a year starting in 2025, to bring the total number of officers trained each year to 2,080.
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October 09, 2024
Access to seized funds key to Thunder Bay drug trafficking appeal
It was April 28, 2022, when the Thunder Bay Chronicle-Journal reported that a drug probe on a home in Thunder Bay’s south side resulted in the seizure of $1.6 million worth of narcotics.
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October 08, 2024
Why I am anonymous | David Dorson
A number of people who read this column and know me have asked me why I don’t start using my real name. After all, it’s quite a few years since my arrest and guilty plea. Time to get past that, they say. And my writing, they say, would be more compelling if people knew who I was.
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October 08, 2024
Drug offences dominate PPSC caseload, accounting for 71 per cent of files in 2023-24
Drug-related offences continued to dominate the caseload of the Public Prosecution Service of Canada (PPSC) in 2023-24, accounting for 71.2 per cent of files the service worked on, according to the PPSC Annual Report.
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October 08, 2024
‘Dysfunctional’ corrections grievance system | John L. Hill
Criticism of delays in resolving grievances filed by people incarcerated in federal penitentiaries has been ongoing for years.
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October 08, 2024
The cost of access to justice
In Ontario, the rising cost of accessing the justice system is paid in two ways: time and money. So just how bad is it? And what are creative lawyers and judges doing to address the issue?
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October 08, 2024
Reliance on artificial intelligence: Could it stymie the growth of law?
Regardless of one’s personal view of the topic, it is undeniable that artificial intelligence (AI) will impact the future of law, as it will much of the rest of society.