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When is Drug Possession a Crime?
The Controlled Drugs and Substances Act (CDSA) governs drug possession. Only drugs that are listed in the CDSA as controlled substances may be illegal. The CDSA contains five schedules of controlled substances which are illegal to possess in certain situations....
Differences in Youth Bail and Adult Bail
The Supreme Court of Canada stated on several occasions that pre-trial detention is the exception, not the norm. This is especially true for youths under the age of 18. The Youth Criminal Justice Act governs young persons charged with criminal offences. The Act...
What Happens When You Blow a ‘Warn’ or over 0.05
There are two ways you can receive an administrative licence suspension for having a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) over 0.05 but less than 0.08. First if an officer makes a demand that you provide a sample into an approved screening device (ASD), you might blow a...
Important Changes to Impaired Driving Law
December 18 marked the 180th day since Bill C-46 received royal assent. The first part of the bill dealt with drug impaired driving. The second part of the bill dealt with impaired by alcohol and has now become the law. There is now mandatory alcohol screening, less...
Is Consent a Defence to an Assault Charge?
In general an assault is the intentional use of force against someone else without that person’s consent. A common defence to an assault charge is that the other person consented. In other words it was not an assault; it was actually a consensual fight. While the...
Cannabis-Impaired Driving: What You Need to Know
It’s been a little over a month since the legalization of cannabis. Despite the concerns there has been no spike in cannabis-impaired driving. Drug impaired driving was a criminal offence before legalization and that hasn’t changed since legalization. However in...
A Youth Criminal Record? Is It Permanent?
The Youth Criminal Justice Act is a complex piece of legislation that governs how criminal charges against young persons are to be dealt with. The Act places a high degree of importance on the rehabilitation and reintegration of young persons back into society. As the...
The Hidden Cost of Pleading Guilty to Impaired Driving
Note: The mandatory minimum fines and maximum sentence available changed on December 18, 2018. For information regarding fines for offences occurring after December 18, 2018 see this post. Pleading guilty to impaired driving? There are many costs both personal and...
The Ontario Cannabis Act: What You Need to Know
Call it what you want: cannabis, marijuana, pot, weed, dope. On October 17, 2018 the federal Cannabis Act came into force legalizing cannabis across the country. While the federal government has legalized marijuana, the regulation of it has fallen to each individual...
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