Public Safety committee  As defence counsel, I'm not going to let an opportunity to give a little jab to Crown counsel go, right?

Public Safety committee  No, of course not. I should say at the outset that not only do I have the highest respect for the peace officers who I deal with in my professional capacity, sometimes as clients and sometimes as witnesses in cases, but for Crown counsel as well. They're dealing with the tools th

Public Safety committee  Let's just back up a moment so that we're clear on the law. It is a criminal offence to point a firearm at somebody, but there's a comma there: “without lawful excuse”. Now, very often, the responding police officer doesn't want to be the one to make that determination as to whet

Public Safety committee  May I answer that first?

Public Safety committee  Yes. Obviously, I didn't title the motion. I just showed up where I was asked to, which is generally what counsel does. Someone tells us to go somewhere and we go somewhere and speak. I see a difference in the nature of offences and victims in rural Canada. I think they both fac

Public Safety committee  Yes, I'm familiar with it, as familiar as I am with a piece of foreign legislation that doesn't apply in Canada. That comes from both a different constitutional and a different criminal law framework. Nothing that I have proposed has anything to do with the “stand your ground”

Public Safety committee  No, not at all. The question is whether or not the force is reasonable and proportional. It's interesting. Sometimes we don't even talk about a discharge of firearms. It could just be the pointing of a firearm, which is otherwise an offence. It's a crime to point a firearm at s

Public Safety committee  It depends on what type of charge we're talking about. You certainly couldn't have a criminal charge laid against you. I am not a doctor so I don't specialize in professional misconduct, but I know a little about the colleges for both nurses and physicians and their confidentiali

Public Safety committee  I'll speak as a lawyer with my confidentiality obligations. I am protected by the only existing professional solicitor-client privilege—not confidentiality—I am bound by solicitor-client privilege. That privilege is waived in the face of an imminent threat to an identifiable pers

Public Safety committee  Because I'm greedy, I'm going to give you two changes, with the federal government playing a leadership role and influencing the provinces to follow suit. I agree with Dr. Drummond. This is not a political issue. This is a policy effect and a legal issue. In my view, number one

Public Safety committee  Sure. We have to distinguish between somebody being charged with an offence and someone being convicted. In my experience, I've seen many cases where individuals are charged, but then the charge is withdrawn or they're acquitted after a trial. The threshold to lay a charge is

Public Safety committee  I think there are two ways to do it. One is to ensure that front-line officers receive a bare minimum of legal education when it comes to self-defence. Now, we're not expecting police officers.... I've encountered many police officers who are law graduates, who do have law degree

Public Safety committee  There are two separate provisions, and one is for the defence of persons where broader authority is granted. But I've encountered police officers who didn't know that you actually have a right to defend your property. In fact, the Criminal Code sets out a three-part test for when

Public Safety committee  Good afternoon, Mr. Chair, vice-chairs and committee members. Thank you for inviting me to address you today. It's always a pleasure to appear before this committee. Unlike my last appearance, I appear today as an individual in my personal capacity as a criminal defence lawyer.

Justice committee  Knowing that I am not a data scientist, that's just how I—