James C Morton
Ontario Place repair plan gets go-ahead as all-season park to work and play
John Tory has done a great service to Ontario — his plan makes very good sense — it is impressive that Conservatives and Liberals could come together like this!Share on…
"Consent" of underaged indivvidual not a mitigating factor for sexual offences
R. v. Bjornson, 2012 ABCA 230, a recent Alberta Court of Appeal decision, holds that the fact an underage complainant was a "willing participation", is not a mitigating factor in…
Care and Control
R v Coleman, 2012 SKCA 65 is a useful decision discussing the often-visited question of what must be proven in order for an accused person to be held to have…
When people talk, listen completely. Most people never listen.
Ernest Hemingway
Teddy bear trial
Teddy bears in Court — a fairly typical trial…Video here
Stay of proceedings for abusive police conduct
R. v. Bellusci, 2012 SCC 44 deals with a stay of prosecution because of abusive police conduct. The Court, albeit restricting its position to rare cases, upheld such a stay.…
Gun ownership and violence towards the RCMP
At the risk of sounding like the NRA, the possession of guns standing alone does not lead to violence. If you look at world statistics, some countries with very high…
What are reasonable steps to ascertain the age of the person?
In respect of the offence of child internet luring (s. 172.1(1)(c)), s. 172.1(4) of the Code provided in material part as follows: It is not a defence to a charge…
Compensation for contingent events in civil matters
Beldycki Estate v. Jaipargas, 2012 ONCA 537 has a helpful analysis of how courts approach compensation for future contingent events: Courts deal with alleged past events and potential future or…
Decline of the United Church
Like all main line churches in Canada, the 87-year-old United Church — Canada’s largest Protestant denomination — is facing multiple challenges. It has far fewer people in its pews than…
Newest Judges for Nunavut – both very solid and knowledgeable about Nunavut
Meet Nunavut’s new judges. Bonnie Tulloch and Andrew Mahar were sworn in Aug. 10 in a ceremony held at the Nunavut Court of Justice. Each has been working on the…
One cannot use an evil action with reference to a good intention
Attributed to Thomas Aquinas
The number of days a year with a maximum temperature of 30 C will double by 2021-2040.
Canadians now have a website aimed at better preparing them to deal with heat waves. The site, available in both English and French, provides advice for the public and an…
Overheated bear
Note, if you search “Hot Bear” on Google you may get some very unexpected results…
Common Painkillers Increase Heart Risks in Healthy People List includes Aleve, Advil, Motrin and others
Healthy adults who reach for common painkillers to ease the twinges of everyday aches and pains could be setting themselves up for a heart attack or stroke, according to recent…