2022

In R. v. Anthony-Cook, 2016 SCC 43, the Supreme Court of Canada articulates the standard that should be employed by a sentencing judge when considering whether to depart from a joint submission.

Earlier this year, the Manitoba Court of Appeal released its long-awaited decision in R. v. Kovich, R. v. Bittern regarding the constitutionality of section 719(3.1) of the Criminal Code, a provision that provides two limitations on the granting of enhanced credit for pre-sentence custody.

In R. v Jordan, the Supreme Court of Canada changed the analysis of the right to trial within a reasonable time enshrined in s. 11(b) of the Charter. The majority set out the new test in response to two decades of 11(b) litigation which had become “…too unpredictable, too confusing, and too complex. It [the 11(b) litigation] has itself become a burden on already over-burdened trial courts.” (Jordan, para 38).

Sexual harassment and sexual assault within the legal profession are happening far more often than most of us likely want to admit, writes WLF Co-Chair Heidi Schedler. And everyone in the profession has an obligation to make it stop.

In R. v. Jordan, the Supreme Court of Canada totally revamped the test for s. 11(b) of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. In a controversial 5-4 ruling, the court jettisoned central features of the Askov/Morin test in favour of a new system. In particular, for the first time, the court endorsed the concept of fixed ceilings for the amount of time that will be tolerated under s. 11(b), absent “exceptional circumstances.”

Across Canada, drivers who get into accidents for which they may be liable for injury, death or damage look to their insurers to defend them for such civil claims. Auto policies require them to cooperate with the insurer, which almost always involves providing a statement about the accident. In a recent fatality case, police attempted to access the accused’s statement to his insurance adjuster and use it against him in a prosecution.

As co-chair of the organizing committee for our annual in-person CPD program, I wanted to give everyone a quick update.

I attended the Board of Directors meeting in November 2015 and March 2016, as well as the 40th anniversary reception of the NAACJ in Ottawa on November 25, 2015. The NAACJ is an organization of 19, and has a mission to enhance the capacity of members to contribute to a just, fair and equitable justice system.

This article was originally published in Just Magazine on March 17, 2016. It is reprinted with permission from the author.

Scott Barry and Emily MacDonald of Stewart McKelvey in Charlottetown offer up this recent example of a police operation capturing drug dealers, and a court having to determine when the opportunity to commit a criminal offence was offered to the accused.