Lac-Mégantic Criminal Charges: How is the Montreal Maine & Atlantic Railway Exposed to Conviction?
Criminal prosecutions of corporations are rare in Canada. The police and Crown appear to prefer the prosecution of individuals, reflecting, perhaps, a shared belief that the conviction and punishment of…
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Foreign Anti-Corruption: The Ontario Superior Court Finds it Lacks Jurisdiction Over the Prosecution of a Bangladeshi Citizen
On April 28, Nordheimer J. stayed the prosecution of Abul Hasan Chowdbury who was charged with a single offence contrary to s. 3(1)(b) of the Corruption of Foreign Officials Act…
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Disclosing Personal Information
It was interesting to hear the mini-flap in the media earlier this week over the Interim Privacy Commissioner’s revelation as to the number of times in 2011 internet service providers…
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Foreign Anti-Corruption: Some Thoughts About Preparing for the Repeal of the Facilitation Payments Exception
Section 3(1) of the Corruption of Foreign Public Officials Act (“CFPOA”) provides that: Every person commits an offence who, in order to obtain or retain an advantage in the course…
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Regulatory Modernization Act: The Ontario Court of Justice Relies on Multiple Previous Convictions Under the EPA to Impose a Rare Continuous Jail Sentence for Workplace Safety Offences
The Regulatory Modernization Act (RMA) was enacted by the legislature in 2007. Under section 15, it permits the Crown to request a more severe penalty for convictions under a provincial…
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Rowbotham Orders: An Alberta Court Orders a Securities Act Prosecution Stayed Until the Crown Agrees to Pay for the Defendant’s Defence
For over twenty years, Canadian courts have been prepared to order the Crown to fund the cost of retaining a lawyer to defend an unrepresented defendant at trial. The basis…
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“Reprehensible” Crown Misconduct Not Enough to Stay a Criminal Prosecution as an Abuse of Process
Is a trial court justified in staying or dismissing a criminal prosecution as an abuse of process when faced with state misconduct? Yes, but only in the clearest of cases…
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The Elliot Lake Mall Collapse: When Does a Regulatory Contravention Constitute a Crime?
In January the structural engineer who concluded the Algo Centre mall was structurally sound some ten weeks before its collapse was charged with two counts of criminal negligence causing death…
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