The Justice Files tracks the judges, rulings, appointments, and court decisions reshaping Canada from the bench. From soft-on-crime sentencing to activist constitutional rulings, we document the cases the establishment media ignores and explain why they matter.
Justice Bezaire concluded the violations reflected broader institutional failures within the Canada Border Services Agency rather than isolated mistakes by individual officers.
Justice Debra Yungwirth's controversial decision stands, leaving the accused beyond the reach of the criminal justice system.
An Alberta Court of Appeal panel has upheld a controversial decision by Court of King's Bench Justice Debra Yungwirth that permanently stayed criminal proceedings against a deaf Alberta man accused of sexually assaulting three complainants, some of whom were children, because he has never learned a functional language and cannot meaningfully participate in the justice system.
The decision means Kendall Longclaws cannot be prosecuted on eight charges of sexual assault and sexual interference arising from allegations spanning 2012 to 2021. It also means he cannot be ordered to undergo a psychiatric fitness assessment that could have resulted in detention in a secure psychiatric facility if found unfit to stand trial.
Justice Yungwirth originally stayed the charges in 2025, concluding there was no constitutionally valid way to proceed. She found that because Longclaws has no functional language, his Charter right to an interpreter could not be fulfilled, making a fair trial impossible.
The ban reportedly prevents media from publishing facts already in the public domain, raising questions about both its effectiveness and its compatibility with the open court principle.
A Quebec Superior Court judge is facing growing scrutiny after imposing an extraordinary publication ban that prevents the media from reporting virtually any aspect of an alleged domestic terrorism case — including information that had already been publicly reported before the order was issued.
The case involves four men, including two serving members of the Canadian Armed Forces, who were arrested in connection with an alleged anti-government militia operating in Quebec.
According to previously published reports referenced in the discussion, investigators seized an arsenal that allegedly included 83 firearms, approximately 11,000 rounds of ammunition, 16 explosive devices, military equipment, night vision goggles, and magazines, some reportedly stolen from the Canadian military.
Three of the accused face terrorism-related charges, while a fourth faces weapons offences.
What has drawn intense criticism, however, is not only the seriousness of the allegations but the court's sweeping secrecy order. According to journalists discussing the case on Full Press, neither Crown prosecutors nor defence counsel requested the publication ban.
Instead, the order appears to have originated with the court itself, and no public reasons have been released explaining why such an expansive restriction was considered necessary.
The ban reportedly prevents media from publishing facts already in the public domain, raising questions about both its effectiveness and its compatibility with the open court principle.
Ontario Social Benefits Tribunal adjudicator Eric Brown overturned an Ontario Works decision and ruled that a foreign national living illegally in Canada can receive taxpayer-funded welfare because Ontario law does not expressly exclude people with no legal immigration status.
An Ontario Social Benefits Tribunal adjudicator has ruled that a foreign national who has been living illegally in Canada for more than two decades is entitled to receive Ontario welfare benefits, overturning a decision by Ontario Works that denied his application because he has no legal immigration status.
Tribunal adjudicator Eric Brown, based in Waterloo, concluded that Ontario's welfare legislation does not require applicants to have legal status in Canada, provided they do not fall within three specifically excluded categories.
According to the tribunal decision, as first reported by the National Post, the man entered Canada on a temporary work permit in 1997. When that permit expired four years later, he remained in Canada illegally rather than leaving. He told the tribunal he supported himself through cash jobs until 2023, when he entered Ontario's homeless shelter system.
Last fall, he applied for Ontario Works benefits. While the program ultimately denied his application because he had no legal immigration status, the tribunal heard that an Ontario Works intake worker deliberately avoided conducting an immigration status search.
According to the decision, the case officer declined to carry out the check "to avoid possibly jeopardizing the appellant's situation in Canada."
The province argued the applicant was ineligible because he "has no status in Canada and is here illegally."
Ontario Superior Court Justice Anne Molloy ruled that a five-year mandatory prison sentence would amount to cruel and unusual punishment for a man with an intellectual disability, instead ordering two years less a day of house arrest for a man convicted of repeatedly sexually assaulting his younger sister beginning when she was 12.
A 26-year-old man was convicted of two counts of incest and one count of sexual assault after repeatedly abusing his biological sister over a four-year period beginning when she was just 12 years old.
According to the agreed statement of facts cited in the June 3 decision, the abuse continued after D.C. turned 18, while his sister was still only 14. The assaults included penetrative intercourse, sometimes without a condom. Court evidence showed the victim repeatedly told her brother to stop because she was in pain.
In one particularly disturbing piece of evidence, the victim secretly recorded one of the assaults.
"On the recording, the complainant can be heard telling D.C. she was in pain and also telling him to stop," Justice Molloy wrote. "She referred to him 'just forcing it in.' It is clear that D.C. heard these protests and that he nevertheless continued, if anything, with increased intensity."
The victim eventually disclosed the abuse to her high school guidance counsellor in 2022, telling the counsellor her brother had been sexually assaulting her for years. Police were then contacted, leading to the criminal charges.
Justice Loo noted that Singh had been in Canada since 2023, had no prior criminal record, is married and was employed as a security guard at a Prince George hotel. Loo also cited Singh's guilty plea and cooperation with police as mitigating factors.
A temporary resident from India who admitted forcing a woman into sexual acts has been sentenced to 170 days of house arrest followed by 18 months of probation after B.C. Supreme Court Justice Kevin Loo accepted a joint sentencing submission from Crown and defence lawyers.
Karandeep Singh, 24, pleaded guilty on June 30 to sexually assaulting a woman in Prince George on June 13, 2024.
According to an agreed statement of facts read in court, Singh met the woman through her cousin the month before the assault. On the day of the offence, the woman believed she had been communicating with Singh through Snapchat to arrange a bonfire at West Lake Provincial Park. Singh later claimed it had actually been a friend using his account.
Singh said he made a "mistake” by not asking the woman he forced himself upon if she wanted to have sex.
— Jamie Sarkonak (@sarkonakj) July 9, 2026
"(Justice Kevin Loo) chose not to place Singh on the national sex offender registry after hearing that he faces potential immigration consequences."https://t.co/K4Zxkmn3pp
Instead of going to the park, the group went to a basement suite near Ospika Boulevard. Court heard Singh's friend brought the woman into a bedroom while Singh remained outside, where he became "turned on and excited." After his friend left the room, Singh entered, immediately removed his pants and underwear, and forced the woman into sexual acts.
Afterward, Singh drove the woman and her cousin away from the residence.