675 words; 3 minutes One of the great myths about the criminal justice system is that one of its major purposes is rehabilitation, helping people who did something wrong improve themselves so they will no longer commit crimes. But when...
Read MoreThis post is about 1000 words and can be read in 5 minutes. One of the major problems in criminal law that rarely gets enough attention is the question of what should count as a crime in the first place. ...
Read MoreThis post is about 1060 words and can be read in 5 minutes. Under the Harper Conservatives Canada experienced a considerable toughening of criminal justice laws.These included many more mandatory minimum sentences, restrictions on parole, much more restrictive rules for...
Read MorePresumptive Gradual Release For submission to the Parole Board of Canada Academic Think Tank on Community Corrections 2019 An Opinion Graham Stewart With this paper it is my intention to encourage discussion about the potential benefits of parole decision-making based...
Read MoreThis post is 900 words and can be read in 5 minutes. “We must punish violence. Or so it seems until we discover that we are not always sure what counts as violence, and the criminal law doesn’t always punish...
Read MoreThis post is about 700 words and can be read in 3 minutes. Margot Van Sluytman is a well known Canadian advocate for restorative justice, based on her experience following the murder of her father. She recently posted this moving...
Read MoreThis post is about 750 words and can be read in about 3 minutes. When Canadian courts sentence someone to prison, the main question is the length of the sentence. That focus only on time to be served does not...
Read MoreBy Emily O’Brien. This post is about 500 words and can be read in 2-3 minutes. My name is Emily O’Brien, and this is the first in a few posts that John Howard is going to put on their site...
Read MoreThis post is 800 words and can be read in about 3 minutes. Churches have long been among the leaders in criminal justice reform efforts in Canada. Recently, criminal law professor Benjamin Perrin gave a talk in his personal capacity...
Read MoreIn 2016, as part of a general review of criminal justice for the new federal government, the Department of Justice commissioned a set of papers on possible reforms to criminal sentencing in Canada. Five papers were published on the Department’s...
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