Legal Aid Ontario budget cuts by the Doug Ford government eliminate funding for refugee and immigration law services.
Source: Feds, lawyers slam Ontario’s ‘discriminatory’ legal aid cuts for refugee claimants
CANNABIS AND DRIVING – It used to be that when police smelled or saw cannabis in a car they’d charge you with possession. Now that possession is legal they charge you with impaired driving, whether you’re actually impaired or not.
The lawyer for Michelle Gray, who uses medical cannabis to treat symptoms of multiple sclerosis, says her case shows that impaired driving laws are too broad and too vague.
Source: N.S. woman plans constitutional challenge of roadside cannabis test | The Star
POLICE DEPLOY STINGRAYS IN AN OPERATIONAL VACUUM – This is a stunning disregard of and an intrusion into your privacy. Police may have been monitoring your mobile device and you’ll never know it.
THE SUPREME COURT OF CANADA’S VIEW OF INCARCERATION IN CANADA
“[26] Nonetheless, on any given day in Canada, nearly half of the individuals in provincial jails are accused persons in pre-trial custody: Statistics Canada, Adult and youth correctional statistics in Canada, 2016/2017 (June 2018), at p. 7; Statistics Canada, Trends in the use of remand in Canada, 2004/2005 to 2014/2015 (January 2017). In 2016-2017, approximately 7 percent of those in remand were still in custody after three months, and some spent upwards of 12 or even 24 months awaiting trial in detention: Statistics Canada, Table 35-10-0024-01 — Adult releases from correctional services by sex and aggregate time served (online). It must be said that the conditions faced by such individuals are often dire. Overcrowding and lockdowns are frequent features of this environment, as is limited access to recreation, health care and basic programming.”
MANDATORY 90 DAY DETENTION REVIEW – The S.C.C. ruled today that for accused persons detained in custody until trial, the onus is on the jail and the prosecutor to bring the accused to the Superior Court of Justice every 90 days where a Judge must reconsider the need for detention. Supreme Court of Canada – 37869
Source: Supreme Court of Canada – 37869
“FOLLOW YOUR NOSE” – Is it really theft if the motorhome owner didn’t retain a proprietary interest in the property?
Ontario Children’s Aid Society lawyer fired after claiming 14- and 15-year-old girls are ‘sexually mature’ – This is why a lawyer should be careful to not generalize especially in contentious matters when you’re representing a governmental agency.
The lawyer for an Ontario children’s aid society has been fired after claiming a 14- or 15-year-old girl is a “sexually mature young woman,” not a child.
Source: Ontario lawyer fired after claiming 14- and 15-year-old girls are ‘sexually 
mature’
What’s the difference between 1st-degree murder, 2nd-degree murder and manslaughter? – An often asked question. A simple explanation.
Here’s what you need to know about how Canadian law distinguishes between these three types of homicide.
Source: What’s the difference between 1st-degree murder, 2nd-degree murder and manslaughter? | CBC News
AMBER ALERT UPDATE – There was no abduction. It was a misunderstanding sparked by “false accusations”. The police only had “one side of the story”. Dad was not arrested.
A young father accused of abducting his five-year-old daughter from her Markham school Tuesday claims the incident, which led to an Amber Alert, was a misunderstanding sparked by “false accusations.
Source: ‘FALSE ACCUSATIONS’: Markham dad cleared by cops after Amber Alert
