Equitable Set Off
Canaccord Genuity Corp. v. Pilot, 2015 ONCA 716: In Holt v. Telford, 2 S.C.R. 193, the Supreme Court of Canada recognized equitable set-off as a defence. In that case, it…
James C Morton
Dangers of mid trial R 21 motion
Holgate v. Sheehan Estate, 2015 ONCA 717: The issues raised by the appellants – albeit unsuccessfully – demonstrate the challenges and potential pitfalls involved when a r. 21 motion is…
Section 161 Orders Must Be Followed Or Very Bad Things Happen
Section 161 of the Criminal Code says: 161. (1) When an offender is convicted, or is discharged on the conditions prescribed in a probation order under section 730, of an…
Copyright
A few years ago I was contacted by someone in Cambridge Bay who had made a picture which was showing up on the internet. He wasn’t too concerned that people…
Fresh evidence in Child Welfare cases
Children’s Aid Society of Toronto v. P.M., 2015 ONCA 695: Fresh evidence should be admitted in child protection proceedings if: (a) it could not have been adduced before; (b) it…
Caesar
I come to bury Caesar, not to praise him. The evil that men do lives after them;The good is oft interréd with their bones;So let it be with Caesar. The…
Contempt of Court
Suppose a judge orders you to do something that you find very hard to do – say bring your five year old to her father for a weekend and you…
Ways to Ignore a Supreme Court Decision
In Nortel Networks Corporation (Re), 2015 ONCA 681 the Court of Appeal for Ontario made a policy decision about the running of interest after a CCAA filing. The Court held…
White Lies About the Inuit
I just finished reading John Steckley’s "White Lies About the Inuit" (University of Toronto Press). The book itself is somewhat disappointing as a read but it does have some very…
Reid Technique implicitly approved
Under the Reid Technique police interrogate accused and, among other things, seek to minimize the actions they are supposed to have done in order to convince the accused to confess.…
Motion to reopen trial after judgment
Mehedi v. 2057161 Ontario Inc., 2015 ONCA 670: The test under rule 59.06(2)(a) to re-open a trial that applies after the judgment or other order has been issued and entered…
Role of Crown Prosecutor
Crown Counsel has a different duty than other lawyers. Most lawyers have a duty to a client. But a Crown has a duty to see justice is done. This means…
Role of a defence lawyer
The role of a defence lawyer is widely misunderstood but it’s important to understand if you are ever in trouble and need a lawyer. A defence lawyer’s job is to…
What is Fraud?
Fraud is an offence under the Criminal Code – basically a fraud involves tricking someone out of something of value. A fraud differs from a theft in the element of…