Thanks Karen. Good to hear from you

The rule of law a non-negotiable in Canada Chief Justice Richard Wagner offers message of confidence in the courts at annual press conference

For the morning crowd, my latest for @cba-nationalmag.bsky.social: The rule of law is non-negotiable in Canada #SCC #cdnlaw #cdnpoli

“The overwhelming majority of people who do pose real risk to the public and are facing charges involving firearms and those types of things, the overwhelming majority of those people are detained already.

And so we got to be careful about allowing policy to be dictated by the outlier cases.”

“It's important to realize that the cases that occasionally attract public attention to these issues tend to be extreme cases where somebody with a bad record or accused of a very bad crime is granted bail and then goes on to offend while on bail.”

Also a good discussion about bail reform and mandatory minimum sentences by Matthew Gourlay, from Henein Hutchison Robitaille LLP, and Daniel Lerner from Lerner Law:

‘A solution looking for a problem’ Lawyers weigh in on criminal justice campaign promises, including the Conservatives’ plans for the notwithstanding clause

Canada is just days away from electing a new government, and with that could come an unprecedented use of the notwithstanding clause at the federal level.

Learn more in CBA National and a special election-themed episode of Modern Law: Verdicts and Voices: https://bit.ly/3GqM5Rr

How prepared is Canada for foreign election interference? While the focus in recent years has been on Russia, China and India, there are fresh concerns about efforts from south of the border

“We don’t have a perfect landscape, and we don’t have anything that fits the current situation perfectly, but we have some small pieces that we could tweak or try to use to make an impact," says @evegaumond.bsky.social. That story from @journodale.bsky.social. www.nationalmagazine.ca/en-ca/articl...

Supreme Court clarifies ‘air of reality’ test in high-profile homicide case New trials ordered in a matter that’s garnered international attention as the focus of a Netflix true crime documentary

ICYMI, my @cba-nationalmag.bsky.social story: Supreme Court clarifies "air of reality" test in high-profile homicide case #SCC #cdnlaw #cdnpoli

Also a good discussion on why it would be a good time for a new federal government to commit to meaningful reform of the Income Tax Act in the interest of attracting new investment into Canada

Does artificial intelligence deserve a seat in Canada's courtrooms? Courts and law societies across Canada have issued directives on the use of AI by lawyers and court staff. But the rules and guidelines are inconsistent and some doubt whether they are being universal...

“The users of the justice system seem to have much less of a problem with transparency when it comes to the use of AI than the lawyers who are supposed to be serving them.”

New minister of justice’s dedication to his community ‘unmatched’ Given Gary Anandasangaree’s experience on the Crown-Indigenous file, legal colleagues hope for progress in reducing the over-representation of Indigenous people in the criminal justice system

For the evening crowd, my latest for @cba-nationalmag.bsky.social, where I profile new justice minister Gary Anandasangaree #cdnpoli #cdnpoli

A guardrail of democracy For anyone who believes in accountability, democracy, and human rights, what’s happening south of the border drives home why Canada’s Court Challenges Program is a worthwhile investment

The Court Challenges Program’s “annual budget is a worthwhile investment for anyone who believes in accountability, democracy, and human rights.”

Forget about Musk’s citizenship, enforce the Canada Elections Act Protecting Canadian democracy is precisely what the legislation is for and one of its great features is that it forbids undue influence from foreigners

Once “the election is called, Canada could fine X—or even Musk himself—$2000 every time someone pays to share political content on the platform. And if Musk tries to fund any political activity or give a mic to right-wing politicians, the provisions against undue influence are ready to be enforced.”

‘If you're going to be using AI, we want to know’ Chief justice says only ‘three or four’ out of almost 28,000 filings at Federal Court in 2024 disclosed use of AI

“Clearly, either people are not using AI when drafting their legal submissions, or they're not aware, or they're intentionally disregarding our practice direction," says FC Chief Justice Paul Crampton on the latest episode of Modern Law: Verdicts and Voices. nationalmagazine.ca/en-ca/articl...

Federal Court dismisses prorogation challenge but opens the door to future attempts The matter was found to be justiciable despite the Crown arguing and presenting evidence that it wasn’t

ICYMI, my latest for @cba-nationalmag.bsky.social: Federal Court dismisses prorogation challenge but opens the door to future attempts #cdnlaw #cdnpoli

The rise of Section 107 The recent unprecedented use of the Labour Code provision to end disputes has prompted legal challenges and concerns about the power it grants the federal labour minister

For the evening crowd, my latest for @cba-nationalmag.bsky.social on the rise of Section 107 of the Canada Labour Code over the past year to solve labour disputes after years of never being touched, and what this could signal moving forward. #cdnlaw #cdnpoli

As the voice of the legal profession in Canada, the Canadian Bar Association stands in firm support of the rule of law, judicial independence and the right to counsel—principles that are fundamental to any democracy.

The CBA affirms its commitment alongside the @americanbar.org and our colleagues in the U.S. legal community who are working to uphold these foundational principles in the face of unprecedented challenges.

Read CBA President Lynne Vicars full statement: bit.ly/4kvRLcs

Why Canada can't strip Elon Musk of Canadian citizenship | CBC News More than 263,000 Canadians have signed a petition to strip billionaire Elon Musk of Canadian citizenship. But to do that, the Canadian government would have to change the law.

Why the petition to revoke Musk's Canadian citizenship is going nowhere

Justice Minister Virani has announced he will not be seeking re-election in 2025

Off to great start with a wonderful new host!

Canada's Supreme Court will hear a challenge to Quebec's Bill 21, the court said today. Will wrestle with the notwithstanding clause, which allows a Charter rights override.

Supreme Court of Canada set to decide whether to hear a challenge to Quebec’s use of the notwithstanding clause Six groups want the Supreme Court to hear challenges to Bill 21 on a variety of legal grounds, including minority language educational rights and gender equality rights

“The top court typically spends about four months deciding whether it will hear or decline a matter. It has taken almost nine months on Bill 21.”

Supreme cases: a look back and look ahead Judgements, leaves and notables of 2024, and what's to come in 2025

For the late/west coast crowd, my latest for @cba-nationalmag.bsky.social: Supreme cases: a look back and look ahead—Judgements, leaves and notables of 2024, and what's to come in 2025 #SCC #cdnlaw #cdnpoli

Massive change at Meta, as Zuckerberg announces they’re ditching fact checkers in the US and replacing them with community notes. Meta is probably the single largest funder of fact checking in the world right now. But that appears to be coming to an end. www.facebook.com/share/v/18Rc...?

Ottawa releases final version of clean electricity rules The final regulations have been softened from the government’s original proposal, but the added flexibility does not go as far industry and provinces wanted

Amid all of this week's chaos, Ottawa has released the final version of its Clean Electricity Regulations. www.theglobeandmail.com/business/art...

Dominic LeBlanc will be sworn in as Minister of Finance at 4pm ET, @radiocanadainfo.bsky.social reports (via @davidwcochrane.bsky.social)

Federal Court chief says hearings may be cancelled, amid soaring asylum cases, from funding shortfall Despite a record caseload, the court is considering cutting hearings because of chronic and worsening underfunding by the federal government.

Federal Court CJ Paul Crampton says the court is considering cutting hearings because of chronic and worsening underfunding

Online harms bill to be split in two after being stuck in Commons, held up by filibustering Justice Minister Arif Virani plans to separate parts two and three of Bill C-63, splitting measures to protect children from online abuse from new offences critics say are heavy-handed

Online harms bill to be split in two after being stuck in Commons

Half of federal judge vacancies now filled after pressure on Ottawa over collapsing criminal cases, delays Judicial vacancies became severe in early 2023, with nearly 10 per cent of jobs on federally appointed benches sitting empty. Unfilled jobs are now down to 4 per cent

Judicial vacancies down to 39, or 4 per cent of all full-time positions on federally appointed benches