Category: Law Blogs

As of January 1, 2022, the fee to apply for a criminal record suspension has been reduced from $657.77 to $50. If you or someone you know has wanted to apply for a record suspension but has been putting it off because of the cost, now would be a great time to apply! If you or someone you know has a criminal record but is not familiar with the record suspension process, read on for a quick summary. Canada no

On a sunny, cold and sparkling February day, twenty-three years ago, I stepped onto the stage at Roy Thompson Hall – and into my future as a criminal defence lawyer. It was a future that ten years before I could not have imagined, but life has a way of taking us to the places we need to be. How I came to law as a mature student is a story for another time. But I was incredibly fortunate to be

Practicing medical malpractice law in Canada is fraught with risk. Interestingly, medical doctors in Canada, for the most part, are not insured in the traditional sense. Rather, they are part of the Canadian Medical Protective Association (CMPA) that acts similar to an insurer. That is, if a medical doctor is sued, the CMPA will invariably defend the medical doctor and in rare cases pay a settlement to the injured plaintiffs. If the plaintiff succeeds at trial, the CMPA pays the

The Day was as bright and hard as a diamond, and filled with tiny sparks of ice, like confetti in the morning sun. It was a day much like my first Christmas in Canada, and it felt like all my Christmases, rolled into one. I was middle-aged, dressed in my brand-new robes, and about to be called to the Bar. It was twenty years ago, and the memory of that day is as bright and fresh and wonderful to me

Note: This article was originally published for the Ontario Trial Lawyers’ Association. Reporter Sheryl Ubelacker reported on October 26, 2016 that 1 in 18 Canadian hospital patients experience harm from preventable errors. Ms. Ubelacker reports on a study that 138,000 Canadians admitted in a Canadian hospital in 2014-2015 suffered some kind of harmful event that could potentially have been prevented. Of these 138,000 patients, the study finds that more than one adverse event compromised their care. Unfortunately, the Canadian civil justice system has not

Note: This article originally appeared in Robichaud’s Criminal Defence Litigation. When an accused is sentenced to custody they will be serving their sentence in either a Provincial or Federal institution. Sentences of two years less a day will be served in a Provincial facility. Sentences of two years or more will be served in a Federal penitentiary. Federal inmates are under the auspices of Corrections Services Canada. This pamphlet is intended as a guideline only. For more detailed information, contact the institution