Restraint, Mr. Harper
While cramming a treatise for my last 1L exam, I came across a quote from the Law Reform Commission of Canada. The report titled Our Criminal Law was released in 1976, but it is just…
Articles by Ryan MacIsaac
Happy Birthday BCCA!
The British Columbia Court of Appeal is officially 100 years old! To celebrate they’re having an academic symposium in Vancouver. There is even a special BCCA 100th birthday website, where you can register for the…
Bilingualism and the Supreme Court
As reported by the Globe and Mail, a bill requiring that all future Supreme Court justices be bilingual was passed last week and now awaits Senate approval. The private member’s Bill C-232, tabled by NDP…
Jedi Freedom of Religion
Food for thought: Is being a Jedi a sufficient “nexus with religion” (see Syndicat Northcrest v. Amselem, [2004] 2 SCR 551) to invoke freedom of religion protection? The Guardian reports of a Jedi Knight refused…
BC Sues UVic Law Grad over Outstanding Loan
The Times Colonist reports that BC’s Ministry of the Attorney-General is launching an action against a former University of Victoria Law student to recover $20,000 in student-aid debt. The student, one Kent Daniel Glowinski, is…
Government Ignores “Tough on Crime” Statistics
A great article just came off the Canadian Press wire. The upshot is that the Canadian government is ignoring the results of social science studies about crime and punishment. Here are some quoteable quotes: Federal…
Iacobucci to Investigate on Detainee Documents
Former Supreme Court Justice Frank Iacobucci was enlisted Friday to investigate whether the release of documents relating to Afghan detainee torture would cause an “injurious” effect. The release of these documents – which could prove…
Parliament Set to Fight over Crime
Before Stephen Harper prorogued Parliament, before he made sure to be televised hobnobbing with athletes at every possible turn at the Olympics, he had filled the Lower House with a slate of crime bills, which…
Nicholson Ends 2-for-1 Special
Justice Minister Rob Nicholson has ended the discretionary practice of giving criminals double credit on time served awaiting trial. Previously, for example, a convict who had waited two years for trial could take four years…
The Politicization of Justice Reform
This afternoon, Julian Falconer gave a talk at the Empire Club of Canada titled “The Politics of Punishment: Depoliticizing Justice Reform.” He focused primarily on the Harper government’s “tough on crime” agenda, and made some…
“Bleeding hearts in law school”
On Friday, Kory Teneycke, a former top adviser to PM Stephen Harper, was interviewed on CTV’s Power Play about the Khadr decision: Here’s a transcript of the best parts: All of the same sob story…
Panel Proclaims Prorogation Problem Political
An expert panel on prorogation was convened on Thursday at the University of Toronto’s Faculty of Law. The panel featured law professor David Schneiderman, director of Fair Vote Canada Larry Gordon, Globe & Mail correspondent…