News
As Crime Rises in Toronto, Criminal Lawyers Ensure the Accused Get a Fair Trial
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Over the past two years, Toronto has soon a noteworthy uptick in the incidence of violent crime. While much of this has been the result of turf wars between mafia and other criminal organizations, it has also involved more random, unpredictable attacks that have claimed the lives of a tragic number of young Torontonians.
As is to be expected whenever there is a rise in violent crime, the police are aggressively working to prosecute suspects and renew public confidence. Unfortunately, this zeal to tamp down the problem of gun violence can sometimes cause innocent people to get caught up in police investigations — and as a 2018 Ontario Human Rights Commission report found, the system problem of racial profiling in the Toronto Police Service means that these innocent people are far more likely to be Black.
Criminal Law and the Presumption of Innocence
The vast majority of Torontonians want to live in a safe, peaceful city where violent crime is as rare as it is shocking. But if real progress is to be made toward identifying and addressing the rise in gun and knife violence, it cannot come at the expense of the civil rights of Torontonians.
The presumption of innocence is a bedrock principle of our legal system, and all people accused of violent crimes, no matter the evidence, must be given a chance to defend themselves and clear their names in court.
This cannot happen without criminal lawyers, who ensure that anyone accused of a violent crime will have access to the kind of expert legal advice that is the precondition of a fair trial.
What to Do if You’ve Been Charged with a Violent Crime
If you have been charged with a violent crime, it can be hard to know how to respond. Unlike in other countries, the police are under no legal obligation to inform you of your rights, so it is essential that you understand what you are owed:
- The Right to Silence: If the police have taken you into custody and charged you with a criminal offense, you are not under any obligation to provide them with information. The police are not judges, and they cannot compel testimony from you. What they can do is take what you’ve said to build a case against you, so it is always better to say nothing until you’ve spoken with a lawyer.
- The Right to Counsel: Ontario law guarantees you the right to legal counsel and representation. Talking to a criminal defence lawyer in Toronto as soon as you’ve been charged will help you understand how best to proceed. They will also be able to advise you about whether to make a statement to the police.
Violent crimes are some of the most serious offenses in Canadian law, and those convicted often face harsh penalties. But this is also why the bar for conviction is high: in order to send a person to prison for years or decades, it is essential that their guilt be established beyond reasonable doubt.
As violent crime rates remain high despite the COVID-19 lockdowns, it is more essential than ever that Ontarian’s faith in their justice system be maintained. But the only way to do this is by ensuring that all people are treated equally under the law, and that those accused of a serious crime are given the resources necessary to defend themselves.
Canada added 4,630 new cases of COVID-19 on Monday, bringing the total number of infections in the country to 753,011.
To date, the novel coronavirus has claimed 19,238 lives in Canada, with the majority of fatalities occurring in Ontario and Quebec.
However, over 671,000 Canadians have recovered after falling ill, and more than 21.3 million tests for COVID-19 have been administered.
In a series of tweets Monday, Canada’s Chief Public Health Minister Dr. Theresa Tam said while daily case counts are “trending down nationally, continuing concerns including the emergence of more transmissible virus variants, warn us that trends can change all too quickly.”
Tam warned that the risk of re-acceleration of the COVID-19 virus is “ever present.”
She urged the public to continue abiding by measures in place to stem the spread of the virus, including limiting their number of contacts, wearing masks and practicing physical distancing and good hand hygiene.
Tam’s comments come as the vaccine rollout continues across the country.
According to Health Canada, as of Thursday, a total of 1,119,225 doses of the two vaccines approved to protect against COVID-19 had been distributed across the country.
[ Sign up for our Health IQ newsletter for the latest coronavirus updates ]
Of those, 839,949 doses have been administered, representing approximately 1.1 per cent of Canada’s total population.
New cases in the provinces
Ontario added 1,958 new cases and 43 more deaths on Monday. To date, the province has seen 256,960 infections and 5,846 fatalities.
In Quebec, 1,203 more cases were detected and health officials said 43 more people have died after testing positive for the virus.
The new cases bring Quebec’s total case load to 254,836 while the new fatalities push the death toll to 9,521.
Meanwhile, 240 new cases were detected in Saskatchewan, while 113 new COVID-19 infections were reported in Manitoba.
Five more people have died in Manitoba after testing positive for the virus, health officials said, while Saskatchewan said one more resident has died.
In Atlantic Canada, 27 more cases were reported, all in New Brunswick.
The new infections push the province’s total case load to 1,151, however, health officials said no one else has died.
Neither Nova Scotia nor Newfoundland and Labrador saw a new case or death on Monday.
Prince Edward Island did not release any new COVID-19 data, however, the latest data released on Tuesday said 103 of the province’s 110 cases are considered to be recovered.
In Western Canada, 1,088 more cases were reported.
Alberta added 742 new infections, for a total of 121,535.
Twenty-five new deaths mean that, so far, 1,574 people have died in Alberta after testing positive for COVID-19.
Meanwhile, health authorities in British Columbia said 346 more people have contracted the virus, pushing the total number of infections to 64,828.
Officials also confirmed 26 additional fatalities have occurred since Friday, meaning the province has now seen a total of 1,154 deaths associated with COVID-19.
Two new cases in Nunavut bring the total number of infections in the territory to 282, however health authorities say 264 of those cases are recovered.
No new cases or fatalities were reported in the Yukon or Northwest Territories.
Global cases near 100 million
The total number of cases around the world neared 100 million on Monday.
By 8:30 p.m. ET, there were a total of 99,655,985 cases globally, according to a tally from Johns Hopkins University.
Since the virus was first detected in Wuhan, China, in late 2019, it has claimed 2,138,251 lives.
The United States remained the viral epicentre on Monday with 25,261,902 COVID-19 infections and more than 420,000 fatalities to date.
© 2021 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
Canada added 4,630 new cases of COVID-19 on Monday, bringing the total number of infections in the country to 753,011.
To date, the novel coronavirus has claimed 19,238 lives in Canada, with the majority of fatalities occurring in Ontario and Quebec.
However, over 671,000 Canadians have recovered after falling ill, and more than 21.3 million tests for COVID-19 have been administered.
In a series of tweets Monday, Canada’s Chief Public Health Minister Dr. Theresa Tam said while daily case counts are “trending down nationally, continuing concerns including the emergence of more transmissible virus variants, warn us that trends can change all too quickly.”
Tam warned that the risk of re-acceleration of the COVID-19 virus is “ever present.”
She urged the public to continue abiding by measures in place to stem the spread of the virus, including limiting their number of contacts, wearing masks and practicing physical distancing and good hand hygiene.
Tam’s comments come as the vaccine rollout continues across the country.
According to Health Canada, as of Thursday, a total of 1,119,225 doses of the two vaccines approved to protect against COVID-19 had been distributed across the country.
[ Sign up for our Health IQ newsletter for the latest coronavirus updates ]
Of those, 839,949 doses have been administered, representing approximately 1.1 per cent of Canada’s total population.
New cases in the provinces
Ontario added 1,958 new cases and 43 more deaths on Monday. To date, the province has seen 256,960 infections and 5,846 fatalities.
In Quebec, 1,203 more cases were detected and health officials said 43 more people have died after testing positive for the virus.
The new cases bring Quebec’s total case load to 254,836 while the new fatalities push the death toll to 9,521.
Meanwhile, 240 new cases were detected in Saskatchewan, while 113 new COVID-19 infections were reported in Manitoba.
Five more people have died in Manitoba after testing positive for the virus, health officials said, while Saskatchewan said one more resident has died.
In Atlantic Canada, 27 more cases were reported, all in New Brunswick.
The new infections push the province’s total case load to 1,151, however, health officials said no one else has died.
Neither Nova Scotia nor Newfoundland and Labrador saw a new case or death on Monday.
Prince Edward Island did not release any new COVID-19 data, however, the latest data released on Tuesday said 103 of the province’s 110 cases are considered to be recovered.
In Western Canada, 1,088 more cases were reported.
Alberta added 742 new infections, for a total of 121,535.
Twenty-five new deaths mean that, so far, 1,574 people have died in Alberta after testing positive for COVID-19.
Meanwhile, health authorities in British Columbia said 346 more people have contracted the virus, pushing the total number of infections to 64,828.
Officials also confirmed 26 additional fatalities have occurred since Friday, meaning the province has now seen a total of 1,154 deaths associated with COVID-19.
Two new cases in Nunavut bring the total number of infections in the territory to 282, however health authorities say 264 of those cases are recovered.
No new cases or fatalities were reported in the Yukon or Northwest Territories.
Global cases near 100 million
The total number of cases around the world neared 100 million on Monday.
By 8:30 p.m. ET, there were a total of 99,655,985 cases globally, according to a tally from Johns Hopkins University.
Since the virus was first detected in Wuhan, China, in late 2019, it has claimed 2,138,251 lives.
The United States remained the viral epicentre on Monday with 25,261,902 COVID-19 infections and more than 420,000 fatalities to date.
© 2021 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
Less than a week after the economic gut punch of Keystone XL, Canada is bracing for more bad news today from the White House.
President Joe Biden is enacting a new Buy American regime to ensure U.S. workers and companies reap the benefits of government spending.
The plan promises to increase the amount of U.S. content a project would require to qualify as being “made in America.”
It also includes a “crackdown” on waivers like the hard-won exceptions Canada secured during the Obama administration in 2010.
Today’s executive order comes less than a week after Biden rescinded a presidential permit for the Keystone XL pipeline expansion.
It also establishes a new Made-in-America office in the White House to oversee the new rules and ensure they are properly enforced.
In a statement Monday, Canada’s Trade Minister Mary Ng said Prime Minister Trudeau emphasized that workers in both countries “benefit from our integrated, secure and resilient supply chains,” during his call with Biden on Friday.
“The Prime Minister and President agreed to consult closely, and discussions between our two countries are already underway,” the statement read.
Ng said Canada is the “largest export market for the U.S., buying more goods from the U.S., than China, Japan and the U.K. combined.”
“Canada is the number one customer for 32 U.S. states,” she said.
Ng said the Canadian government will “continue to work closely together to support sustainable economic recovery, create jobs, and grow the middle class in Canada and the United States.”
-With files from Global News
© 2021 The Canadian Press
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