Race and policing have been at the forefront of headlines, but the month of July brought a host of other criminal law issues into the news. Here are some highlights:
July Criminal Law Round-up
Drunk on power: proposed changes to impaired driving law in Canada
A few weeks ago, the Ottawa Citizen wrote about a study from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control that found that Canada is number 1 among wealthy countries for roadway deaths involving impaired driving. According to the study, 34 % of motor vehicle deaths in Canada involve alcohol, much higher than many other countries.
Black Lives Matter: Police Accountability in Ontario
In the past few days, the deaths of Philando Castile and Alton Sterling have rightly dominated headlines and my social media feeds. In the days and weeks after of such tragic and senseless events, it is hard not to feel helpless. As I was listlessly scrolling through my twitter feed this afternoon, I was struck by this link to a vox.com article entitled "5 questions every citizen should know about police accountability.' It references a number of tweets from ljeoma Oluo, an editor for 'the Establishment' and urges those wondering what they can do to help to ask themselves whether they are familiar with their city's police accountability procedures. It also asks about mechanisms for civilian oversight, as well as the threshold for an officer being indicted. While Canada's systems are slightly different, and handled provincially, the message and answers are just as important so I'm sharing the procedures for my city and province here.
