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The Ins and Outs of Canada’s Cannabis Act

The Ins and Outs of Canada’s Cannabis Act

A Brief History of the Law Relating to Marihuana in Canada Before the Cannabis Act In the 1920s, the Canadian government criminalized cannabis (Opium and Narcotic Drug Act, 1923).  In 1937, someone was arrested and charged with marihuana possession for the first time in Canadian history.  The message at the time was clear: marihuana was not just bad, it was…

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How Sexual Assault Law Operates in Canada

How Sexual Assault Law Operates in Canada

Just being accused of a sexual assault can be devastating.  But being convicted of a sexual assault is even worse: a conviction can lead to a loss of your livelihood, your reputation, to you being continuously monitored as a sex offender, and for many if not most sexual assaults, going to prison. Indeed, while not the case for sexual assaults,…

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Understanding the Implications of a Domestic Assault Charge

Understanding the Implications of a Domestic Assault Charge

Domestic assault charges can have serious and wide-ranging consequences.  Under the Criminal Code, there is no specific offence for “domestic assault.”  However, the fact that an assault happened in a domestic context is an aggravating factor on sentencing and domestic assaults are (often) treated differently by police and by prosecutors than regular assaults.  So what is a “domestic” assault? Domestic…

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Price gouging during the COVID-19 pandemic

Price gouging during the COVID-19 pandemic

 For retailers, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure By Tony Paciocco, Lawyer at Edelson Law Barristers (now Edelson Foord Law) April 1, 2020 Premier Doug Ford is coming for you if you are found to be charging “unconscionable prices” for “necessary goods” during this state of emergency. He is determined to put an end to those…

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Why defence lawyers are never hired by the guilty

Why defence lawyers are never hired by the guilty

By Michael Edelson, Lawyer at Edelson Law Barristers This piece was originally published in 2012 in the firm’s Ottawa Citizen column on fundamental legal rights and freedoms, entitled “Right to Know”. How can you defend all of those guilty murderers, child pornographers, sex perverts and terrorists? This question, or some variation of it, has been asked of me and every…

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