Omar Khadr has been repatriated to Canada from the U.S. detention facility in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Khadr arrived at 7:40 AM EST, September 29, 2012, and will serve out the remainder of his sentence in Canada, pursuant to a plea bargain entered into between Khadr and U.S. prosecutors in 2010. In an official statement, the […]
I arrived at law school with a slightly naïve and romantic notion of justice. I was determined to learn how the law could be used to achieve social justice, empower individuals from marginalized groups and move us closer to a collective vision of the good. However, within a few weeks, I quickly learned that there […]
In the criminal justice system, where the rights and liberties of individuals are often at stake, sentencing is one of the most difficult tasks of a judge. It is the final step in a process that begins with the presumption of innocence of the accused, and ends with the jury being convinced of the accused’s […]
The Fall sitting of Parliament began last week and, if you’re like most Canadians, this is probably news to you. Indeed, the spectacle usually appeals only to serious politicos and the Parliamentary Press Gallery, who are gleefully privy to a renewed arsenal of talking points. This time around, however, things weren’t all smoke and mirrors—the […]
The ability of the Crown to address issues raised generally in previous cases enables the government to effectively fight organized crime. However, the accused is entitled to the application of issue estoppel where the contentious issue has already been resolved in their favour in a prior proceeding. In R v Punko, 2012 SCC 39, the […]
Professors Benjamin Berger and Sean Rehaag published an article in the Toronto Star entitled “Stop Vilifying Roma Refugees.” In this article, the authors criticize the use of ethnic stereotypes in the public rhetoric surrounding refugee and immigration policies: Talking about crime and immigration issues in terms of ethnic tendencies and cultural habits is more than […]
Talking to York University students these days, the 2008-2009 strike seems like a distant memory. Four years ago, however, the strike was all that they were talking about. It was the longest faculty strike in Canadian university history. All in all, starting November 2008, over 50,000 students were locked out and over 3,000 teaching assistants […]
Augusta, Welcome to the 21st Century: Green Jackets, Coming to a Woman Near You Augusta National Golf course, home of the Masters, has finally welcomed women to it's traditional boy's club. Darla Moore, South Carolina financier and Condoleezza Rice, former Secretary of State will become the first women ever in the club's 80-year history to […]
How cell phones have changed in the last thirty years - though back then, they were “cellular telephones.” I remember the scene in John Hughes’ film, Sixteen Candles where the Geek, played by Anthony Michael Hall, is driving the Prom Queen home. He can’t drive and she can’t sit up straight. For those who have […]
Russia’s Ruling on Pussy Riot: A Verdict Against Freedom of (Artistic) Expression? On Friday, August 17, 2012, Torontonians gathered outside of the Russian consulate in protest against that nation’s treatment of three members of a feminist punk-rock collective known as Pussy Riot. The band members were on trial in faraway Moscow on charges of hooliganism, […]