Blog: Understanding Canadian Criminal Law

Legal Commentary

Considering immigration consequences on sentencing

Earlier this week, the Supreme Court of Canada released their ruling in R. v. Pham 2013 SCC 15 which answers the question, “What weight should be given to collateral immigration consequences in sentencing?” Mr. Pham was not a Canadian citizen. He was convicted at...

Public Mischief Charges in Canada

It is a crime in Canada to cause a police officer to enter on or continue an investigation with the intent to mislead them in any of the following scenarios: (a) making a false statement that accuses some other person of having committed an offence; (b) doing anything...

Understanding the Defence of Entrapment in Canada

The police will often act covertly in an undercover capacity in order to investigate criminal activity. Rarely, the police will go too far in their undercover investigations and actually induce an otherwise law-abiding person into committing a crime such as...

How your criminal conviction can impact your civil lawsuit

It is often understood that a criminal conviction may significantly impact a person's future employment and travel opportunities. However, most people facing criminal charges are unaware how a conviction may impact their ability to bring or defend a civil lawsuit...

Ending house arrest for various criminal and drug offences

Conditional sentencing, introduced in Canada in September 1996, allows for sentences of imprisonment to be served in the community, rather than in a correctional facility. Conditional sentences normally include a period of house arrest but may also include graduated...

Corporal Punishment in Canada – to spank or not to spank?

This article attempts to clarify to what extent parents or teachers can physically discipline children under their care. Section 43 of the Criminal Code of Canada, enacted in 1892, provides parents, teachers and caregivers — including babysitters and foster parents —...

Obtaining Bail Pending Appeal in Criminal Cases

One of the most important beginning steps in a criminal appeal, where the client has been given a jail sentence, is to seek bail pending appeal. This article seeks to proivide information about the bail process for criminal appeals in Toronto, Ontario. Please follow...

Increased Sentences for Sex Crimes Against Children

In R v. D.M., a ruling released earlier today, the Ontario Court of Appeal allowed the Crown's appeal to increase the sentence from three years to seven for an offender convicted of repeatedly sexually assaulting his teenaged niece more than 100 times over a...

Explaining Peace Bonds in Criminal Cases

A peace bond is a court order imposed by a judge in a criminal proceeding. Agreeing to a peace bond or having one imposed on you can have significant legal consequences. The following article attempts to explain  the law surrounding peace bonds in Canadian criminal...

Sealing Canadian Youth Court Criminal Records

It is a common misconception that a Canadian criminal record acquired while a person is under the age of 18 years old will be sealed as soon as the youth turns 18.  In fact, a youth court criminal record may continue to exist well beyond the age of 18 years and on...

Redefining the Crime of Making Child Pornography

This past week, the Ontario Superior Court of Justice departed from a long line of Ontario jurisprudence and held that copying extant child pornography, or downloading it and transmitting to disks, does not constitute the offence of making child pornography. In R. v....

Trafficking Cocaine, Marijuana or Other Drugs

It is a crime in Canada to traffic in a drug prohibited by the (CDSA) . Illegal Drugs prohibited by the CDSA include cocaine, marijuana, ecstasy, heroin, ketamine, oxycodone, GHB and a slew of other narcotics. If you or someone you know if facing an allegation of drug...

Marijuana Production and Cultivation Charges

It is a criminal offence in Canada to produce marijuana or other illegal drugs prohibited by the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act (CDSA). The charge of producing marijuana, whether it involves an indoor or an outdoor grow operation, is a very serious allegation. ...

Defending Robbery Charges in Toronto

Robbery Lawyer Toronto Robbery is a serious criminal charge with grave consequences. The maximum punishment for robbery is life imprisonment. In cases involving the use of firearms, there is a minimum sentence of four years imprisonment. Daniel Brown is an experienced...