Law
WTF Wednesday: Straights-Only Law School, Patent Pending
The Federation of Canadian Law Societies is reviewing a controversial proposal. Trinity Western University, a Christian liberal arts school in Langley, B.C., applied to add a law school to their institution in June 2012—one that imposes their Bible-based views. But now they’ve hit a snag. It’s a snag that is thousands strong. Law students and… More »
The long road of LGBTQ rights in Canada
Toronto’s LGBTQ community is gearing up for what is set to be another successful Pride Week in the city. The event has taken place in various forms since the late 1970s and has run annually since 1981. It continues to grow increasingly popular within the LGBTQ community, but also with all members of society. Last… More »
Stories undone June 11: Committee hearings
The pace in which laws are being challenged, re-written, scrapped or introduced right now by the conservative government is truly astounding. The government’s use of the omnibus bill, where a number of pieces of related legislation are introduced as one big Bill, is the main way this is being done. But a lot of the… More »
“Obedience is the problem”: Don’t let legal wrangling distract from Occupy’s message
One consequence of efforts to evict Occupy encampments in countless cities across the continent has been the dilution of much of the mainstream debate around the movement to a focus on the extent to which it complies with the law. Organizations like the Canadian Civil Liberties Association have put forth compelling arguments that “Freedom of… More »
Canada marks 35 years since abolition of the death penalty
The camera rolled as a three-drug cocktail was shot into Andrew Grant DeYoung’s arm, there in a prison in Jackson, Georgia. It captured De Young as the injection reached his veins and killed him, thus carrying out his sentence, and granting him a spot in the history books as the first man in America in… More »
Here's what will happen to 5 bills that died when the election was called
We profile five legislative initiatives that died on the docket—and find out which of them will be re-attempted after the election Compiled by Dylan C. Robertson & Victoria Salvas This election means death. Not only have Ottawa scrums, filibusters, and drawn-out committees been killed, pieces of legislation making their way through parliament have all met… More »
Why juries are biased: only rich people can afford to be on them
On Monday, the Toronto Star reported on two Ontario judges who opened an investigation after noticing slumping jury attendance rates — at times reaching as little as 50 percent. The article goes in depth, examining jury absence rates and penalties by province. Only three of the provinces and territories track jury attendance, but those who… More »
Inadequate pay for Crown prosecutors threatens the integrity of our justice system
On February 8, roughly 1,500 Quebec crown prosecutors and lawyers went on strike in frustration over being the country’s most overworked and underpaid public lawyers. The strike is believed to be the first in Canada. Prosecutors were given the right to strike in 2003 by the provincial government, who opted for contracts and incremental raises instead of… More »
Lying on TV and Radio newscasts will soon be totally OK, says CRTC
The CRTC’s in the news again, this time for proposing that journalists can lie, as long as no one gets hurt. Last week the CRTC asked the Canadian Broadcast Standards Council to review its ban of unedited version of the Dire Straits’ 1985 song “Money for Nothing.” The 25-year-old hit, which has since started climbing on iTunes,… More »
Marriage commissioners must marry same-sex couples, Saskatchewan court rules
Six years ago Canada became one of only four countries in the world to legalize same-sex marriage. Yet, six years later, and some same-sex couples still aren’t hearing wedding bells. Marriage commissioners, appointed by a province to marry couples in a non-religious ceremony, still have the option to opt out of marrying the couple if… More »
