Access to Justice
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March 28, 2024
Supreme Court of Canada rules Charter applies to First Nation government and its citizens
The Supreme Court of Canada has ruled 6-1 that the Charter applies to a First Nation government and its citizens in Yukon, as well as ruling 4-3 that the Charter’s s. 25 shields from a community member’s s. 15 equality rights challenge the self-governing Vuntut Gwitchin’s constitutional requirement that its elected leadership must live on the First Nation's traditional territory.
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March 28, 2024
Federal Court provides guidance on use of AI in court proceedings
Notable developments in the field of artificial intelligence (AI) have led to the widespread availability of low- and no-cost generative language tools. These tools appear to offer irresistible benefits to consumers, including lawyers: with a simple prompt, a software program can generate a convincing written output in many different formats, including text that replicates common language found in legal documents.
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March 28, 2024
Encouraging news about employer positive approach to mental health issues | Courtney Mulqueen
Few of us are able to escape workplace stress, but a growing commitment by more employers toward a more preventative approach to mental health issues is a promising sign.
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March 28, 2024
Bill aims to curb delays, but stakeholders call for more resources
A new bill that seeks to curb delays in the justice system and rein in stays of proceedings will be conferring new powers to the justices of the peace by allowing them to oversee criminal court appearances and bail hearings, a development that has received lukewarm praise by Quebec’s main legal actors who were longing for more monies into the system.
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March 26, 2024
Manitoba reaches settlement in principle with kids in care
Staring down the barrel of three class action lawsuits, Manitoba has agreed in principle to pay more than half a billion dollars to children in provincial care.
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March 26, 2024
Ron Ellis’s dream is now draft legislation for Ontario tribunals | Voy Stelmaszynski
The private Member’s bill introduced by MPP Ted Hsu in the Ontario Legislature on Monday, March 25, short-titled the Fewer Backlogs and Less Partisan Tribunals Act, proposes to protect the right of Ontarians to access expert, fair and effective justice at our provincial tribunals by passing legislation that enshrines and activates the fundamental principles of adjudicative independence, integrity and excellence. Many parts of this proposed legislation are based on an earlier draft by the late Ron Ellis, a founding member of Tribunal Watch and a giant in tribunal justice in Canada.
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March 26, 2024
Parole and dangerous offenders, part two | Michael Crowley
To be honest, I do not recall the number of individuals designated as dangerous offenders that I conducted hearings with. But I can say that I released only two during that period of time. At the same time, I was involved with making decisions on hundreds of lifers and granted some form of conditional release in many of those cases.
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March 25, 2024
Parole and dangerous offenders, part one | Michael Crowley
The definition of a dangerous offender in Canada is found in s. 753 (1) of the Criminal Code.
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March 21, 2024
Embracing innovation: Nonlawyers should be allowed to own Ontario law firms | Jacob Murad
Alternative business structures for law firms were researched and debated back in 2014. Many lawyers were advocating to reform the current structural limitations of law firm ownership. Currently, law firms in Ontario can only be owned 100 per cent by licensed lawyers, but there was hope that the law society of Ontario (LSO) would provide for flexible ownership arrangements. It has been 10 years since the initial debate and it is important to review the changes that have occurred in the legal industry since then.
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March 21, 2024
Case for amending Nova Scotia’s Fatal Injuries Act | Sean Davidson
Nova Scotia has the most stringent limitation period for fatal injury claims in Canada. Among the 10 provinces and three territories, Nova Scotia and the Yukon are the only jurisdictions with a 12-month limitation period for fatal injury claims.