When the federal government introduced legislation in March to streamline pardons for simple cannabis possession, Canada’s criminal bar had two reactions.
A man who was convicted of luring a 14-year-old girl over the Internet had no expectation of privacy in his online communications with “Leann,” who in reality was an undercover police officer, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled today, in a judgement in which the judges diverged on approaches to privacy.
Legal Aid Ontario says that for now it plans to keep three legal centres that offer refugee law services, despite an announcement that the province will no longer provide funding for the services.
The Supreme Court of Canada today set aside the conviction of a man charged with child luring on the Internet and ordered a new trial. The case marked the first time the Supreme Court looked at whether the child luring provisions of the Criminal Code violated the Charter; the high court decided that it did in declaring the “presumption of belief” regarding age contained in the provisions to be of no force and effect.
The recommendations of a parliamentary committee looking into the criminal record pardon system is a microcosm of a government that has come up short on their promises for criminal justice reform, say criminal defence lawyers.
