Law Cases | The Canadian Encyclopedia

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  • Article

    Meng Wanzhou Affair (Two Michaels Case)

    The Meng Wanzhou Affair (a.k.a. the case of the two Michaels) was a legal and diplomatic dispute that strained relations between Canada, China and the United States. It began in December 2018 when the RCMP in Vancouver arrested Meng Wanzhou, the CFO of the Chinese technologies company Huawei. They did so on behalf of an American court that wanted Meng extradited to the United States. Nine days later, the Chinese government arrested and detained two Canadians: Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor. The two Michaels were imprisoned for 1,020 days. They were freed on the same day as Meng — 24 September 2021. The episode marked the emergence of China’s “wolf warrior diplomacy” and demonstrated Canada’s limited diplomatic options as a middle power.

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    https://d3d0lqu00lnqvz.cloudfront.net/media/new_article_images/MengWanzhou/Michael_Kovrig_and_Michael_Spavor.jpg Meng Wanzhou Affair (Two Michaels Case)
  • Macleans

    Montreal Police Convicted

    This article was originally published in Maclean’s magazine on July 10, 1995. Partner content is not updated.

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  • Macleans

    More Rape in the Military

    This article was originally published in Maclean’s magazine on June 1, 1998. Partner content is not updated. They ranged in rank from an ordinary seaman to a naval lieutenant, and had spent anywhere from 20 months to 26 years in the Canadian Forces. This article contains sensitive material that may not be suitable for all audiences.

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  • Article

    Murder of Reena Virk

    Reena Virk, a 14-year-old of South Asian origin, was savagely beaten and murdered by teenaged attackers in November 1997 in a suburb of Victoria, British Columbia. The crime horrified Canadians and attracted international media attention because of the brutality of the killing as well as the youth of Virk and those who attacked her. It prompted a national conversation about teenaged bullying and racism, led in part by Virk’s parents, who became anti-bullying campaigners in the wake of their daughter’s murder. This article contains sensitive material that may not be suitable for all audiences.

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    https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/images/tce_placeholder.jpg?v=e9dca980c9bdb3aa11e832e7ea94f5d9 Murder of Reena Virk
  • Article

    North-West Mounted Police

    The North-West Mounted Police (NWMP) was the forerunner of Canada's iconic Royal Canadian Mounted Police. Created after Confederation to police the frontier territories of the Canadian West, the NWMP ended the whiskey trade on the southern prairies and the violence that came with it. They helped the federal government suppress the North-West Resistance and brought order to the Klondike Gold Rush. The NWMP pioneered the enforcement of federal law in the West, and the Arctic, from 1873 until 1920.

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    https://d3d0lqu00lnqvz.cloudfront.net/media/media/9a255267-0aad-4dff-bdcd-57cfec136787.jpg North-West Mounted Police
  • Article

    Ontario Provincial Police

    The Ontario Provincial Police is the third-largest deployed police force in North America, with jurisdiction over all Ontario except in municipalities having their own police.

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    https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/images/tce_placeholder.jpg?v=e9dca980c9bdb3aa11e832e7ea94f5d9 Ontario Provincial Police
  • Article

    Percy Schmeiser

    Percy Schmeiser, farmer, business owner, Saskatchewan MLA 1967–71, politician (born 5 January 1931 in Bruno, SK; died 13 October 2020). Farmer Percy Schmeiser was mayor of Bruno, Saskatchewan, from 1963 to 1982 and MLA for the riding of Watrous from 1967 to 1971. He is best known as the defendant in Schmeiser v. Monsanto, which was argued all the way to the Supreme Court of Canada. Monsanto, an American agrochemicals corporation, accused Schmeiser of illegally using their patented genetically modified seeds. Schmeiser claimed they had simply blown onto his farm. He became a folk hero for his stand against a large agricultural corporation and against the use of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) in agriculture. An advocate for environmental justice, farmers’ rights, and the right to save seeds, he received the Mahatma Gandhi Award and the Canadian Health Food Association Hall of Fame Award.

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  • Article

    Persons Case (Plain-Language Summary)

    The Persons Case was a constitutional ruling. It established the right of women to serve in the Senate. The case was started by the Famous Five. They were a group of women activists. In 1928, they objected to a Supreme Court of Canada ruling that women were not “persons.” As such, they were not allowed to serve in the Senate. The Famous Five challenged the law. In 1929, the decision was reversed. As a result, women were legally recognized as “persons.” They could no longer be denied rights based on a narrow reading of the law. (This article is a plain-language summary of the Persons Case. If you are interested in reading about this topic in more depth, please see the full-length entry.)

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  • Article

    Powley Case

    R. v. Powley was a legal case concerning Métis hunting rights in Canada. In 1993, the province of Ontario charged Steve and Roddy Powley with illegal hunting. The Powleys disputed their conviction, arguing that the Aboriginal rights enshrined in section 35 of the Constitution Act, 1982 protected their hunting rights as Métis people. The case concluded in 2003, when the Supreme Court of Canada ruled that the Powleys were, in fact, exercising lawful Métis hunting rights. The Powley case established criteria on who can legally qualify for Métis rights. It outlined 10 specific criteria, known as the Powley Test, which applies to Métis communities across Canada. The case also clarified that the Métis are a distinct people, separate from First Nations and Inuit peoples in Canada. Some legal experts believe the Powley case might lead to expanded Métis rights, including harvesting and fishing rights and possibly self-government.

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  • Article

    Prison

    Prison, as a term meaning a place in which people are kept in captivity, covers a variety of institutions in Canada. Jails, commonly called detention or remand centres, are used to incarcerate persons awaiting trial or those sentenced for short terms.

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    https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/images/tce_placeholder.jpg?v=e9dca980c9bdb3aa11e832e7ea94f5d9 Prison
  • Article

    Probation and Parole

    Probation is a correctional method under which convicted offenders are supervised in the community instead of imprisonment, or after a period of imprisonment has been served.

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  • Macleans

    RCMP Drug Operation Claims Lives

    This article was originally published in Maclean’s magazine on March 31, 1997. Partner content is not updated. Eugene Uyeyama appeared to have it all. After 12 years, the woman of his dreams had finally said "yes," and married him. He and his new bride, Michele, had just returned from a luxurious two-week Caribbean cruise, and were looking forward to their first Christmas as husband and wife.

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    https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/images/tce_placeholder.jpg?v=e9dca980c9bdb3aa11e832e7ea94f5d9 RCMP Drug Operation Claims Lives
  • Macleans

    RCMP Raid BC Premier's House

    This article was originally published in Maclean’s magazine on March 15, 1999. Partner content is not updated. B.C. Premier Glen Clark lives in a modest, shingled home on Anzio Drive on Vancouver's east side, near the Burnaby boundary. Last Tuesday night, his wife, Dale, a public school teacher, was home as usual with the couple's two young children, Reid and Layne. Around 7 p.m.

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    https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/images/tce_placeholder.jpg?v=e9dca980c9bdb3aa11e832e7ea94f5d9 RCMP Raid BC Premier's House
  • Macleans

    RCMP Recreates Historic March

    Growing up in the small town of Hartney in the southwest corner of Manitoba, Grant Little believed that the Royal Canadian Mounted Police "hung the moon.This article was originally published in Maclean's Magazine on July 12, 1999

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    https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/images/tce_placeholder.jpg?v=e9dca980c9bdb3aa11e832e7ea94f5d9 RCMP Recreates Historic March
  • Article

    Robert Pickton Case (Plain-Language Summary)

    In 2001, Robert Pickton was charged with murdering 26 women at his pig farm in Port Coquitlam, BC. He was convicted on six charges and sentenced to life in prison. Pickton claimed to have killed 49 women. His case was the largest serial killer investigation in Canadian history. It was also a flash point in the wider issue of missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls. In 2012, a government inquiry found that “blatant failures” by police led to a “tragedy of epic proportions.” This article contains sensitive material that may not be suitable for all audiences. This article is a plain-language summary of the Robert Pickton Case. If you are interested in reading about this topic in more depth, please see our full-length entry: Robert Pickton Case.

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