Medicine Hat's CHAT News Today! reports Loki Hulgaard will appeal his conviction and sentence in favour of a new trial by judge and jury. A long and twisted legal road led to Hulgaard pleading guilty to this single charge of willfully promoting hatred, and it is this plea that's at the centre of of Loki Hulgaard's appeal. At some point in the legal process, all Firearms … [Read more...]
Justin Trudeau: I Will Always Defend Approved Speech
Section 2 (b) of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms is clear. Canadians have the right to freedom of thought, belief, opinion and expression. The lesser son of the man who brought Canada the Charter of Rights and Freedoms is, sadly but predictably, utterly incapable of defending this bedrock principle of the Canadian Constitution. Trudeau's pathetic mewling started after … [Read more...]
Carolyn Strom’s Free Speech Victory in Saskatchewan
On October 6, 2020, the Saskatchewan Court of Appeal ruled in favour of Carolyn Strom and her Charter-protected right to freedom of speech. It was the culmination of a years-long battle between Carolyn Strom and the Saskatchewan Registered Nurses' Association that began in 2015. Carolyn Strom is a registered nurse who lived and worked in Prince Albert, Saskatchewan. On … [Read more...]
Loki Hulgaard: Firearms Charges Dropped in exchange for guilty plea and wrist slap
Twelve firearms-related criminal charges were dropped when Loki Hulgaard, born Brendan Stanley Dell, pled guilty to wilfully promoting hatred and contravening the conditions of his firearm licence on Thursday, October 22, 2020. The charges stem from his arrest for stamping anti-Semitic messages on Canadian currency and distributing that currency through Medicine Hat are … [Read more...]
Dimitri Lascaris’ Defamation Lawsuit Against B’nai Brith Canada Proceeds
In 2016, B’nai Brith Canada accused Dimitri Lascaris, official Justice Critic of the Green Party of Canada, of supporting and advocating on behalf of terrorists. Dimitri Lascaris, official Justice Critic of the Green Party of Canada, has used social media to advocate on behalf of terrorists who have murdered Israeli civilians, a B’nai Brith Canada investigation has … [Read more...]
Brittany Smith gives up, pleads guilty to murdering her rapist
The day before I published my latest update on her case (Self-Defense Loses Another Court Battle) Brittany Smith was pleading guilty to murder so she could escape spending the rest of her life in prison. The plea deal did not make news until Sunday. Brittany Smith needed her nightmare to end and, honestly, who can blame her. Case History In December 2017, … [Read more...]
Brittany Smith: Self-Defense Loses Another Court Battle
For more about Brittany Smith's case, please see these commentaries: Brittany Smith’s Nightmare is Alabama’s Epic Fail on Stand Your Ground Ruling Brittany Smith Case Update: Woman Who Killed Her Rapist Still Fighting for her Freedom On September 15, 2020, Judge Jenifer Holt issued a rare ruling in favour of Brittany Smith, the young Alabama … [Read more...]
Portland’s Nightly Riots and its Ban on Facial Recognition Tech
In Portland, Oregon, George Floyd’s death at the hands of police sparked riots, arson and looting, just as it did all across America. Portland’s riots, generously called “public demonstrations” by woke media outlets and woke politicians alike, take place nightly and have for the past 120 days. Some “protesters” say the riots will continue every night until the U.S. … [Read more...]
Snowden Exonerated: US Court of Appeals Rules NSA Mass Surveillance Illegal
On September 2, 2020, the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth District, in United States v. Moalin, said the NSA's mass surveillance program outed by whistleblower Edward Snowden in 2013 was illegal. We conclude that the government may have violated the Fourth Amendment and did violate the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (“FISA”) when it collected the telephony metadata … [Read more...]
Brodie Curtis Young: RCMP Screwup Sets Another Career Criminal With a Firearms Prohibition Order Free
Colour me shocked that our broken firearms prohibition order system failed to stop career criminal Brodie Curtis Young from illegally obtaining a gun and ammunition for it. That's bad, but after RCMP constables violated Young's Charter rights, the entire case against him was tossed out so as not to bring the administration of justice into disrepute. The July 23, 2020, … [Read more...]
Text Message Privacy: Did the Supreme Court Get It Right?
On March 27, 2010, the Owen Sound Police Service obtained a general warrant under s. 487.01 and an assistance order under s. 487.02 of the Criminal Code. The warrant named two Telus wireless subscribers and required the telecom giant to provide the Owen Sound Police Service with copies of any text messages stored on Telus’ computer database that were sent or received by … [Read more...]
Peter Khill: Self-Defence Case Goes to Supreme Court
Good news for Peter Khill, of Hamilton, Ontario. The Supreme Court will hear his self-defence case. For those unfamiliar with Peter Khill or the circumstances surrounding this trip the the highest court in the land, here is a brief recap. February 4, 2016, 3:00am Millie Benko, Peter Khill’s girlfriend (and now wife) awoke to the sounds of someone banging outside. She woke … [Read more...]
December 22, 2005: The Day Gun Rights Died in Canada
![R. v. Wiles [2005] The Day Gun Rights Died in Canada](https://christopherdiarmani.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/R-v-Wiles-2005-The-Day-Gun-Rights-Died-in-Canada-150x150.jpg)
Quash: to suppress or extinguish summarily and completely; to nullify, especially by judicial action On December 22, 2005, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled against drug dealer Philip Neil Wiles and, in so doing, quashed the right of Canadians to possess firearms. [P]ossession and use of firearms is not a right or freedom guaranteed under the Charter, but a privilege. … [Read more...]
Ray Newman: Alleged Murderer Walked Free After Police Violate His Charter Rights
When police violate the Charter rights of an accused, there is a price to pay. That price, in Chrissy Predham-Newman's case, is her alleged murderer, her estranged husband, walked out of court a free man. On January 21, 2007, Chrissy Predham-Newman was found murdered in her apartment, her throat slashed, in her apartment in Airport Heights, St. John’s, Newfoundland and … [Read more...]
Why do Criminals Go Free When Police Screw Up?
In response to my Friday column Cops Screw Up: Drug Dealer Jermaine Barrows-Taylor Escapes Illegal Handgun Conviction, one reader shared his frustration with this case specifically, as well as these types of cases in general. I do not understand why police screwups result in criminals going free. If police illegally search a vehicle and find a body, does the driver get a … [Read more...]
Claira Janover: Personal Responsibility is Racist?
Whether Claira Janover was serious when she threatened "the next person who has the sheer nerve, the sheer entitled ‘caucasity,’ to say ‘All Lives Matter,’ I'mma stab you" or not, the cold hard reality is stupid actions have consequences. When grownups must face the consequence of their poor life choices they accept it, learn from it and move on. Children of all ages … [Read more...]
Revenge Porn: Former RCMP officer pleads guilty
Unfortunately, the identity of the latest entrant into the RCMP’s Hall of Shame cannot be named due to a publication ban imposed to protect the identity of the victim, also an RCMP member. Here's what we know or can glean from the few news reports available. At the time of the offence, specifically publishing an intimate image without consent, violating … [Read more...]
DNA Databases, Privacy Rights and Law Enforcement
You've probably seen the ads for Ancestry.com's DNA testing. Their pitch, if you're even slightly curious about your own family history, is compelling: Uncover your ethnic mix, discover distant relatives, and find new details about your unique family history with AncestryDNA®. How do you refuse that premise? My own son-in-law used 23andMe to test his DNA to see if he could … [Read more...]
Is a Man’s Home his Castle? Even When He’s on Probation?
The short answer is “Yes” according to retired Court of Queen’s Bench Justice M.A. Binder. “The fact of the matter is that it is unlawful to carry out a warrantless search under the guise of a curfew check,” he wrote. Binder’s decision (view PDF) came in response to a complaint against Edmonton Police Service Sgt. Ashley Hayward, in which he ruled Hayward violated the … [Read more...]
Brittany Smith Case Update: Woman Who Killed Her Rapist Still Fighting for her Freedom
I first wrote about Brittany Smith’s Alabama self-defence nightmare on April 16, 2020, in my column “Brittany Smith’s Nightmare is Alabama’s Epic Fail on Stand Your Ground Ruling.” I encourage you to read the full story of her case, referenced above but, in a nutshell, Brittany Smith shot and killed the man who raped her twice and was in the process of strangling her brother … [Read more...]