Tag Archive: arrests

Is everyone a criminal? Looks like it…

April 4, 2020

900 words; 4 minutes to read Most of us think about ‘criminals’ as being a small subset of the Canadian population – people who are dangerous and need to be punished, locked up or kept away from the rest of...

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Presumption of innocence is often a myth

March 16, 2020

830 words; 4 minutes to read We are told, and believe, that the presumption of innocence is a core concept in Canadian law.  Nobody is or should be presumed guilty until they plead guilty or are convicted in a court...

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Data on Canada’s prison system

January 25, 2020

900 words; 4 minute read. The annual performance monitoring report of the Parole Board of Canada is one of the best regular sources of data about criminal justice in Canada – a field where our data are generally quite weak....

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Major problems in Ontario jails and courts

January 16, 2020

1000 words; 5 minutes to read. A recent report on the Ontario Ministry of Corrections by the Auditor General found significant problems that involve not just waste of public money, but even more seriously, negative consequences for many people enmeshed...

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Why conviction does not always imply guilt

December 19, 2019

930 words; 4 minutes to read Some people are found guilty of crimes they did not commit, and many more people plead guilty to specific charges that are inaccurate.  Yet once someone has pled guilty or been convicted, we seem...

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Michael Bryant, CCLA and criminal justice

December 11, 2019

The Canadian Civil Liberties Association (CCLA) is a champion for civil rights in all areas of Canadian life. Criminal justice is one of its focus areas.  The organization has been very active in mounting court challenges around some of the...

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Most people can’t afford a proper legal defense

November 27, 2019

950 words; 4 minutes to read. A fundamental aspect of justice in Canada is that any accused person has the right to make a proper defense.  In practice, this right does not exist for most Canadians because they cannot afford...

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