Harry Potter and the Criminal Liability of Werewolves
It is an elemental principle of criminal law that to be found guilty of a crime, one must have performed the proscribed actus reus, coinciding at some point with the requisite mens rea. A question that is not addressed by Canadian courts is how these concepts would be applied to a crime committed by a werewolf, as described in Harry PotterWhile mens rea is typically thought of as the mental element of the crime, it is not the only mental element. Voluntariness, a component of
Failing to Provide Care: The Repercussions of an Omissive Act
Canada’s population is aging. Statistics Canada has projected that by the year 2030 the population of Canadians over the age of 65 will be close to 10 million and will make up almost 25% of the population. As our population ages the number of individuals relying on care from others to maintain a good quality of life is increasing as well. But what happens when someone’s failure to provide the necessities of life to an elderly person results in their suffering or demise?
R v Goldfinch: Sexual Assault Cases, Friends with Benefits and Rights
Some months after the end of their relationship, which had lasted seven to eight months, Goldfinch and the complainant began what both ultimately agreed could be described as a "friends with benefits” relationship.The complainant alleged that during the night in question, she had refused Goldfinch’s invitation to have sex. She described how his demeanor changed; that he dragged her into the bedroom, told to remove her clothes and “struck her in the face, pushed her shoulder."
Ancillary Powers Doctrine and the Fleming Case
In May 2019, Randolph Fleming was arrested by the police on his way to join a protest. The protest concerned a piece of land, which was occupied by the First Nation of Six Nations of the Grand River but owned by the Crown. Many protests had occurred between the two sides over the years and many ended up escalating to violence so the police wanted to prevent that from happening.
Section 8 of the Charter, Our Privacy and Our Devices
Section 8 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms states, “Everyone has the right to be secure against unreasonable search or seizure.” This broad statement began its jurisprudential interpretive journey in the case of Hunter v Southam when the Canadian government, under statutory authority, authorized several civil servant investigators to enter the Edmonton Journal newspaper office and conduct a search of the premises.
