Robson Crim Legal Blog

In the wake of recent high profile cases of police violence in the United States, calls for reform and even defunding of the police became a rallying cry throughout the country and beyond. Polling conducted north of the border in 2020 found that Canadians are divided on the idea of defunding the police, with a slim majority (51%) expressing support. The role of police in society is clearly controversial, and amid calls for reform, it is worthwhile to consider how police power

On June 9, 2021, the Manitoba Court of Appeal heard the appeal of Marlon Elijah Whincup. The issue before the court was one of mathematics. Whincup had been serving an imprisonment of 30 months for an incident in which he stole an ambulance in a methamphetamine-induced psychosis. The sentencing judge made an error resulting in a 30 month sentence instead of the intended 24. The Court confirmed that the sentencing judge had correctly considered Gladue factors.

In this blog entry, I will describe the recent case of R v CEB. I will also discuss why I believe that Gladue factors were correctly balanced against the harsher sentencing standards typically applied to cases dealing with child sexual abuse.

Sentencing within the realm of criminal law can be a tricky continuum of complex considerations and difficult balancing. Starting points, which are set guidelines for sentencing relative to a certain offence, are meant to ease the complexity of the judge’s job by reducing idiosyncrasies and providing them with a marker from which to start their sentencing analysis.

Impaired driving has plagued our society for decades. However, police have been empowered by the Highway Traffic Act (“HTA”) to conduct random stops to tackle this devasting crime. Unfortunately, the Ontario Court of Appeal’s recent decision in R. v. McColman allows impaired drivers to turn onto private property to achieve a “safe haven” or “legal sanctuary.”