Access to Justice
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March 03, 2025
B.C. appeal decision in defamation case sends ‘very ominous, chilling message,’ lawyer says
British Columbia’s top court has ruled against a former school board trustee who made incendiary comments online about one of his colleagues. But his lawyer is saying the decision sets a “remarkably low bar” for a plaintiff to advance a libel claim in the future.
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March 03, 2025
Reframing legal technology: From institutional efficiency to user-centric access to justice
Legal practitioners and courts have long anticipated the transformative potential of technology in law. From digitized case management systems to artificial intelligence-driven legal research tools, technological advancements promised efficiency, accessibility, and, ultimately, greater and more meaningful access to justice. However, despite significant investment and integration of digital tools, legal professionals and courts increasingly express skepticism about the tangible benefits of legal technology for justice and access to it.
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February 28, 2025
Nova Scotia court approves $2.1 million settlement in Dell data breach class action
A Halifax law firm has announced court approval of a $2.1 million settlement in a class action lawsuit against computer giant Dell Canada and parent Dell USA over a 2018 data breach.
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February 28, 2025
Nova Scotia planning update of human rights commission
Nova Scotia’s government is planning an upgrade of the province’s human rights commission in a bid to make it more accessible and “responsive” to the public.
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February 28, 2025
SCC rules Métis Nation’s pursuit of overlapping lawsuits against Saskatchewan not abuse of process
The Supreme Court of Canada has affirmed 9-0 that a legal challenge by the Métis Nation–Saskatchewan to provincial permits that allow a company to explore for uranium on land to which the Métis claim Aboriginal title in Saskatchewan is not an abuse of process and may go ahead, notwithstanding that the Métis have also launched other lawsuits involving similar issues against the province.
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February 28, 2025
Juror questions at heart of successful murder appeal
The Ontario Court of Appeal was asked to review the second-degree murder conviction and sentence imposed on a London, Ont., man who chose to call no evidence in his three-week murder trial in 2021.
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February 27, 2025
Justice Minister quashes murder conviction, finds possible miscarriage of justice in decades-old case
Citing the emergence of new information, federal Justice Minister Arif Virani has ordered the retrial of Roy Allan Sobotiak, who was convicted in Edmonton 34 years ago of second-degree murder in the 1987 disappearance of Susan Kaminsky, whose body has never been found.
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February 27, 2025
CBSA launches new operation to target fentanyl and other synthetic narcotics
The Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) has announced the launch of "Operation Blizzard," calling it a targeted cross-country initiative to intercept fentanyl, synthetic narcotics and other illegal contraband arriving in and leaving Canada.
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February 26, 2025
Federal Court strikes $100M class action against Canada over its handling of COVID-19 pandemic
The Federal Court has dismissed a proposed $100-million class action lawsuit against the federal government over its handling of the COVID-19 pandemic.
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February 26, 2025
Ontario Trial Lawyers’ Association calls for key auto insurance changes amid election clamour
In the run-up to Ontario’s Feb. 27 election this week, the organization that represents more than 1,300 legal professionals in the personal injury sector has been campaigning to raise awareness about issues with the province’s auto insurance system that it argues are unfair to accident victims and the personal injury bar.