Americans Looking to Move to Canada?
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Americans Looking to Move to Canada?

Being a pro-immigration country, moving to Canada is always a hot search on Google. This time, however, it’s our neighbours to the south who have been hitting the Google search engine by searching “How to move to Canada from America.” A recent Google newsletter indicated a massive increase in the number of google searches on...

Refugee and protection claims in Canada – what is Internal Flight Alternative (IFA)?
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Refugee and protection claims in Canada – what is Internal Flight Alternative (IFA)?

Refugee and protection claims in Canada – what is Internal Flight Alternative (IFA)? The refugee protection system in Canada is one that finds grounding in the 1951 Refugee Convention and its 1967 protocols. The core principle is non-refoulement, which asserts that a refugee should not be returned to a country where they face serious threats...

What Needs To Be Proven For Sexual Assault?
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What Needs To Be Proven For Sexual Assault?

Sexual assault is a hybrid offence in which the Crown can choose to charge by an indictment or proceed summarily.    S.271 of the Criminal Code indicates the following:     Everyone who commits a sexual assault is guilty of (a) an indictable offence and is liable to imprisonment for a term of not more than 10...

What Is Counselling? 
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What Is Counselling? 

S.22 of the Criminal Code indicates that:    22 (1) Where a person counsels another person to be a party to an offence and that other person is afterwards a party to that offence, the person who counselled is a party to that offence, notwithstanding that the offence was committed in a way different from that which...

What are Attempts?
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What are Attempts?

24(1) of the Criminal Code indicates that “everyone who, having an intent to commit on offence, does or omits to do anything for the purpose of carrying out the intention is guilty of an attempt to commit the offence whether or not it was possible under the circumstances to commit the offence”.   Additionally, s.24(2)...

Summary VS. Indictable VS. Hybrid Offences
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Summary VS. Indictable VS. Hybrid Offences

In Canada, there are 2 categories in which criminal offences are divided: Indictable Offences and Summary Offences. It becomes important to classify an offence as either indictable or summary as this classification can affect the following: Whether the limitation period to charge you with an offence applies;  The sentence that may be available for you; ...

Should I Tell My Lawyer That I am Guilty?
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Should I Tell My Lawyer That I am Guilty?

Canada has an adversarial legal system in which advocates who represent both sides will argue their case before a jury or a judge.    Your lawyer has a fiduciary duty of loyalty towards you. Your defence counsel must serve you conscientiously. This broad duty of loyalty also encompasses a duty of confidentiality which the defence...