Bill S-4: An Act to amend the Criminal Code (identity theft and related misconduct) came into force on October 22, creating a number of new offences in relation to identity theft and impersonation. As ever, the best way to acquaint yourself with the new provisions is by reading the excellent legislative summary provided by the Library of Parliament.

New offences include the following:

• identity theft (new Code section 402.2(1)) -:- knowingly obtaining or possessing “another person’s identity information in circumstances giving rise to a reasonable inference that the information is intended to be used to commit an indictable offence .

The New York Times had an interesting blog entry the other day about how one should plan to have one’s digital assets dealt with after death.

The author is not talking about bank or brokerage accounts accessed by electronic means, but about one’s PayPal account, or eBay, or Second Life virtual/real estate, etc — social media assets, as it were — or just personal information that one might not want to survive one’s own ability to control it.

Is this something we should be concerned about in Canada? What would you recommend? Or do most people really have to care . . . [more]

Every week, I travel the world [wide web] in search of interesting new biotech developments. This week, a smattering of stories from Canada, the U.S. and China are worth noting:

In Canada (and presumably elsewhere as well) Merck put out a country-specific press release announcing the closing of its merger with Schering-Plough. Merck calls Canada “an integral part of the company’s expanded global presence.”

In the U.S., Congress decided that the shutdown of (Canada’s) Chalk River reactor was a warning, and passed a bill to stimulate domestic production of medical isotopes. About 60% of the U.S. supply had . . . [more]

Notes from a keynote speech by Justice Iacobucci at the Federation of Asian Canadian Lawyers (FACL) Fall Conference.

Grew up in the East End of Vancouver, where there was lots of diversity of people from many backgrounds. Justice Iacobucci noted that he entered the law exactly 50 years ago, in 1959, when he graduated from UBC. There wasn’t a lot of visible minorities in the profession back then. There also wasn’t a lot of “funny names” in it back then. He recalls that when he told by one of his undergraduate professors that he wanted to do law that . . . [more]

Following on our comments this week on law and access, a show on BlogTalkRadio called The Law Librarian has a podcast available of today’s discussion on OA legal resources with Carl Malamud and others. They talk about his Law.gov initiative, the Obama admin., and others. A good listen. . . . [more]

The issue of technology in Canadian Courts is a favoured one at Slaw. Over the past few years there have been developments which hearten those who advocate for the place of technology in Canadian courts. In another positive sign it seems that some advocates in influential positions are making their feelings known. From a recent decision, 2009 CanLII 57448 (ON S.C.), para. 12,

…the time has come to recognize the stark reality that our court, for whatever reason, lags unacceptably behind in the use of electronic communications with our court users. Why this is so remains, for me, a

The Supreme Court has just released the judgment in Miazga v. Kvello Estate, 2009 SCC 51, what would appear to be the final stop in a long and unhappy ride through both the criminal and civil legal systems in Saskatchewan. Essentially, several adults were prosecuted for, and convicted of, sexual assault against children based on what turned out to be false testimony. The adults brought suit for malicious prosecution against a number of people, including the Crown prosecutor, the appellant Miazga.

The Supreme Court overturned the judgment against Miazga, and in so doing set out what is required . . . [more]

The HST is coming and its ramifications for those who practice law and those who purchase legal services is going to be extreme.

While other industries (notably mutual funds, auto, and real estate) are all engaged in full-court-press mode as they lobby the Ontario government for exemptions, we in the legal services field have remained disturbingly complacent. The problem is simple to define. Starting in July 2010 when Ontario’s GST and PST are replaced by the new Harmonized Sales Tax, virtually everything, including legal bills, will be subject to the new 13% HST. For those of you who are blessed . . . [more]

I have been asked (by an American colleague) if I know of any synopsis of “Canadian cybersecurity laws”. I am told that this expression means some mix analogous to the US Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, covering as well wiretaps, crimes, specific requirements for securing data. Core is private sector rather than critical infrastructure or national security.

It is conceivable that there is a chapter or more in the various collections of learning on IT or e-com law on the topic, which Canadian members of this blog are familiar with. Care to name them? Is there a book in Sunny . . . [more]

I’ve groused here many — perhaps, too many — times about the inability of the Canadian music industry to get it together so that we can listen to music over the internet like our neighbours to the south. Imagine my surprise when I stumbled on BlueBeat, a website streaming music here, when Pandora et al. are forbidden to do that. Now imagine my super-surprise when I discovered that BlueBeat is streaming free and marketing MP3s of the Beatles’ music at 25¢ a song. Apple Inc. is unable to strike a deal with EMI for the distribution of the Fab . . . [more]

Today should be the day that the new Nova Scotia Mental Health Court hears its first case. (See the story in the Chronicle Herald .) In effect a criminal court under the Provincial Courts Act, the MHC is staffed by people who are able to understand and assist those who come before it because a mental illness has played a significant role in their criminal behaviour.

More formally, from the MHC Overview [PDF]:

The Nova Scotia Mental Health Court Program is a voluntary offender-based program for adults (persons 18 years of age and older) who have been charged with a

All the concerns about Google amassing information about users has led to the Internet giant deciding to be more transparent.

You can see a video of Google Dashboard here. The control panel lets you see what Google is collecting about you, and modify your preferences.

The Globe points out that some of the bigger privacy concerns, such as Street View, have still not been addressed. . . . [more]