Are police becoming less keen on enforcing Canada’s pot laws?
Police appear to be losing their zeal for investigating marijuana-related offences – particularly those related to cases of trafficking and production. While they are still searching people for pot and laying charges of possession, statistics suggest they are increasingly less likely to go to the trouble of finding actual drug dealers. The federal Conservative government has introduced a slate of legislation aimed at punishing those who profit from marijuana production and distribution. But criminologists say those laws are not working in a country where the majority of people, and perhaps even a majority of police, do not recognize the recreational use of cannabis to be a crime worth prosecuting. [Read more…]Millions of police requests for Canadians’ data every year, documents show
Government authorities have been making millions of requests to telecommunications companies for Canadians’ personal information as far back as 2006, newly released documents show.
Internal documents from Public Safety Canada reveal authorities requested telecom companies to turn over “basic subscriber information” at least1.13 million times a year between 2006 and 2008.
That figure matches revelations from the federal privacy watchdog earlier this year that authorities sought subscriber information 1.2 million times in 2011.
“It suggests that there have been huge numbers of requests for years now taking place largely below the radar screen . . . without very much public awareness,” said Michael Geist, a University of Ottawa law professor and Star columnist, who obtained the documents. [Read more…]
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Police to be on lookout for tipsy canoeing this weekend
It’s well known that the ultimate proof of Canadian identity is the ability to make love in a canoe. But Ottawa police and the Canadian Safe Boating Council would like to warn everyone against relying on alcohol to set the mood. It’s a Criminal Code offence to operate a vessel if your blood-alcohol content is over the .08 level, even if the vessel doesn’t have an engine. So drunk-canoeing is definitely a thing, as is drunk-sailing or drunk-rowboating. [Read more…]Give Toronto officers body cameras and Tasers, lethal-force report says
An independent report aimed at reducing the Toronto Police Service’s use of lethal force against people in emotional crisis urges body-worn cameras and possibly tasers for first responders, but these and dozens of other sweeping recommendations are already raising questions about cost and privacy issues. Former Supreme Court justice Frank Iacobucci, whom Chief Bill Blair asked to study the charged topic after an officer killed 18-year-old Sammy Yatim almost a year ago, unveiled 84 recommendations on Thursday. “The premise of the report is the target should be zero deaths,” he said. “I believe the death of a fellow human being in these types of encounters is a failure for which blame, in many situations, cannot be assigned. But in these cases, it’s more likely the failure of the system.” [Read more…]Montreal police plan more protests over Quebec’s pension reform
Montreal’s police union promises more protests against pension reform after about 100 officers simultaneously called in sick over the weekend. “It’s clear there is more to come in the next few days and weeks,” Éric Normandeau, spokesman for the Montreal Police Brotherhood, said in an interview Sunday. He declined to specify what kinds of actions will be taken. Montreal Mayor Denis Coderre said that all officers who called in sick will be docked a sick day and that the costs for the overtime hours to cover for those who skipped work will have to be assumed by the union. “You don’t play with the security of Montrealers,” Mr. Coderre told reporters over the weekend. [Read more…]Industry News
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Related Event
When: Wednesday, November 19, 2014 to Thursday, November 20, 2014
Where: Renaissance Vancouver Harbourside Hotel, Vancouver
To Learn more visit: www.CanadianInstitute.com/PoliceLaw