Criminal
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July 29, 2025
Applications open for Alberta Restorative Justice Grant
Applications are now open for the Alberta Restorative Justice Grant program. The province is investing $720,000 through the grant to support communities delivering restorative justice programs. This grant program supports initiatives that seek to hold offenders accountable and repair relationships damaged by crime outside the formal court system.
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July 29, 2025
Strongly worded dissent in impaired driving case presages Supreme Court appeal
When a Court of Appeal justice dissents on a case involving a constitutional issue, it is reasonable to expect a referral to the Supreme Court of Canada. A dissent in the judgment in R. v. Westgard, 2025 SKCA 53 may lead to a consideration of whether the Criminal Code provisions requiring a motorist to provide a breath sample violate s. 8 of the Charter, which protects against unreasonable search and seizure.
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July 28, 2025
SENTENCING - Sexual assault - Particular sanctions - Aboriginal offenders
Appeal by Wiens from sentence of three-years’ imprisonment and 20-year Sex Offender Information Registration Act (SOIRA) order. Wiens was convicted of sexually assaulting an unconscious friend.
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July 28, 2025
New report links homelessness to release from Ontario jails
Almost 10 per cent of people in Ontario experiencing homelessness went from provincial jail to life on the streets — and that number could possibly be much higher. That is according to a new report from the John Howard Society of Ontario (JHSO), From Incarceration to Encampment, which is calling for the provincial government to make a number of policy changes to ensure those numbers go down.
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July 28, 2025
Deportation case shines light on vagaries of using spyware in investigations
Canadians are justifiably outraged that it appears the United States authorities are using extrajudicial means of catching and deporting residents. They are abandoning the rule of law, some say. Can Canadians be so sanctimonious when we may be responsible for similar acts?
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July 25, 2025
SCC gives its first interpretation of ‘unfit to stand trial’ and capacity to ‘conduct a defence’
The Supreme Court of Canada has 9-0 provided its first interpretation of the decades-old definition of “unfit to stand trial” contained in Criminal Code s. 2, shedding light on the considerations and standard for assessing whether an accused has the requisite capacity to “conduct a defence.” On July 25, 2025, the top court dismissed 6-3 an appeal brought by an Ontario man convicted of first-degree murder, who argued he was unfit to stand trial and who also moved to introduce fresh evidence on appeal to show that he was not criminally responsible at the time of the killing: R. v. Bharwani, 2025 SCC 26.
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July 25, 2025
A fraud trifecta: Doubtful deities, fake flight attendants, dubious dentists
Travel advisory: Planning a vacation trip shortly? The following information could keep you out of trouble.
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July 25, 2025
ELEMENTS OF THE OFFENCE - Insanity or mental disorder - Presumption of fitness to stand trial
Appeal by Bharwani from a judgment of the Ontario Court of Appeal which dismissed his motion to adduce fresh evidence and affirmed his conviction. Bharwani, who has a longstanding history of mental health challenges, was charged with first-degree murder for the killing of one of his roommates.
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July 25, 2025
Successful parole bid augurs well for eventual exoneration in coke smuggling case
It is often said that in prison, small issues can become significant. To many, transitioning from a penitentiary to a community-based halfway house might seem like just a change in who supervises daily life. However, for Jeffrey Kompon, the Parole Board of Canada’s decision to transfer him from an Ontario federal prison to a halfway house was more than just a reduction in restrictions — it represented hope that exoneration could eventually come.
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July 24, 2025
Supreme Court upholds constitutionality of two ‘commodification of sexual activity’ criminal offences
The Supreme Court of Canada has upheld 9-0 the constitutionality of the crimes of procuring and obtaining material benefit from sexual services, two of the new Criminal Code offences enacted by the Harper-era Parliament after the top court struck down the old prostitution laws in 2013 for breaching sex workers’ s. 7 Charter-protected right to security of the person.