RSS FeedPermanent residence granted after 4 years in church sanctuary
Sanctuary gives way to freedom
Andrew Chung writes:
The federal government decided to grant Belaouni permanent residency status, made official on Oct. 22, despite ordering him deported in late 2005, when his application to stay on humanitarian and compassionate grounds was rejected. His application for refugee status had been turned down the year prior.
Corruption
Montreal Mafia controls 80 per cent of road contracts, whistleblower says
“There is a group that controls contracts on [Montreal] Island, passing them around, one after the other, we call them the Fabulous Fourteen,” said Paul Sauvé, a contractor who says he was threatened into making political contributions for a contract to restore the roof on Montreal City Hall.
Where is Transparency International when you need it.
Ottawa abandons case against Charkaoui
Divisive terror law losing traction
Can we trust secret evidence, often borrowed from foreign countries, to throw people out of Canada?
Colin Freeze explains the security certificates:
… federal ministers sign off on a certificate after viewing secret CSIS information, which allows officials to immediately jail, and eventually deport, a non-citizen.
The “intelligence” used to do this is disclosed to judges but never fully revealed to the accused, drawn as it usually is from secret agents and wiretaps, sometimes placed within Canada but also frequently “loaned” from foreign governments on condition that the provenance be kept secret.
Bon Cop, Bad Cop
Today the dramatic and costly case against the Toronto drug squad officers see-saws yet again when prosecutors try to revive charges thrown out by a judge in 2008. The charges were tossed because the Crown took too long to bring the case to trial.
Charkaoui: the name every Canadian law student knows
Charkaoui, however, is the legal star of the five. He’s won two Supreme Court challenges and, as he gradually demolished Ottawa’s case against him, managed to make the government look like an idiot.
Definition of gift
According to a judgment rendered by the Tax Court of Canada, the mystery benefactor, named in court documents as Mr. X, paid Landry largely to keep him company, not to dance. …
In Canada, gifts, inheritances, and windfall gains from lotteries or other gambling are not considered taxable.
Lottery Winnings Denied for Being 7 Seconds Late
A lottery winner has been denied his fortune because his lottery ticket was processed a mere 7 seconds after the day’s deadline.
Joel Ifergan of Montreal walked into a convenience store just a couple of minutes before 9:00pm to buy lottery tickets. The clerk informed him that he only had a short time to make the purchases before the deadline for that day’s draw would pass.
Ifergan bought two tickets for Lotto Super 7. Both were purchased just before the 9:00pm deadline.
But a lag in the lottery system’s processing time meant that the purchase was only approved on Loto-Quebec’s end at 9:00:07 – seven seconds after the draw deadline.
Later, Ifergan would be shocked to learn that he had hit all 7 winning numbers.
7 winning numbers, but 7 seconds late.
“When we met with a Loto-Quebec lawyer and two of their technicians at the depanneur, they told us there was a 10 to 12 second delay in transmission time.”
That being the case, Ifergan believes Loto-Quebec owes him $13.5-million.
“My purchase and request for the tickets was done, if we calculate it backwards, approximately 8:59:43,” he said. “Due to transmission delays it was processed at 9:00:07.”
Loto-Quebec refuses to pay, however, and the case is now moving to litigation.
This case raises some interesting questions about the nature of offer and acceptance of contracts, which happens to be the subject our 1Ls are studying right at this time.
Does the transmission delay – the fault of Loto-Quebec – mean that the contract fails? If the terms of the lottery agreement require that a ticket be purchased before 9 pm, does the purchase take place at the moment Mr. Ifergan asked for the ticket, or when the ticket was processed by Loto-Quebec computers, or when the money was handed over?
These are all interesting questions for the law student to ponder.
Personally, I have a feeling that Mr. Ifergan will be a millionaire after all – as will his lawyer!
Montrealers Riot After Police Fatally Shoot Teenager
In a situation reminiscent of the Paris riots of 2005, an angry mob took to the streets of Montreal last night, looting stores and attacking emergency services workers after police fatally wounded a teenager on Saturday.
According to police, in the course of making an arrest in Henri Bourassa Park, several officers were surrounded by a large group of teenagers. The officers felt threatened, and when some of the youths charged at them, the police opened fire. Three were shot.
One of those shot, 18-year-old Freddy Alberto Villanueva, later died in hospital. The other two are in stable condition.
Diana Serrano, a friend and classmate of Villanueva, said the youths were all friends from childhood who were just protecting themselves:
“I know there are gangs here and there are drugs going on, but … they were only playing marbles, so it’s really not fair what they did. He didn’t sell (drugs), he didn’t smoke, he didn’t drink. … He was really smart. … It’s heartbreaking.”
(Source: Montreal Gazette)
The neighbourhood of Montreal North is home to many immigrants, especially from the Caribbean. Villanueva was Honduran. This has prompted some residents to question whether the shooting was racially-motivated.
The Sûreté du Québec, the provincial police force, immediately launched an inquiry into the shooting.
However, assurances of a swift and impartial investigation were not enough to cool the pent-up anger of the community. Rioting began on Sunday night when protesters set cars on fire, and then threw bottles at responding firefighters.
Some of the rioters then began to smash windows and loot stores. About 20 businesses, one of them a butcher shop, were broken into:
Men and women of all ages could be seen running down the street clutching TVs, cigarette cartons and slabs of meat.
A backdrop of three-metre high fireballs from about a dozen flaming propane tanks illuminated the looters’ paths as they headed down the darkened streets.
An elderly woman carrying her newly acquired stereo laughed with her friend as they made their escape.
Some looters stood on the sidewalk and watched the action, drinking freshly swiped beer from the store.
(Source: CP)
According to police, three officers have been injured in addition to an ambulance worker who was struck in the head by a Molotov cocktail.
On some streets, members of the mob even took up arms and fired on the officers. One of the injured police was shot in the leg and is now recovering in hospital.
“It was sick,” said Patrick Parent, who lives on the street behind the store.
“I had a guy shoot a gun next to me, that’s how bad it was. The guy shot two shots. I ran home. It was terrifying. This was bad. I never thought I would see this in my life.”
(Source: CP)
As of today, calm had been restored to the neighbourhood following the deployment of more than 500 Montreal Police and Sûreté officers.
