Children 12 and under don’t have to wear a life-jacket in Ontario, but a new law would change that

Children ages 12 and under aren’t required by law to wear a life-jacket when they’re in a boat in Ontario. But that could change thanks to a new bill. Carleton MPP Goldie Ghamari has introduced a private member’s bill, called Joshua’s Law, that would make it mandatory for children ages 12 and under to wear a life-jacket or personal flotation device while on a boat in Ontario waters. Bill 93 takes its name from Joshua Steinberg, who was 11 when he died in a boating accident in 2018. He was not wearing his life jacket at the time. Since then,…

The Ontario law federation raises alarm over dwindling number of lawyers in remote areas

The Federation of Ontario Law Associations (FOLA) is raising concerns over access to justice as the number of practicing law professionals in rural and remote areas of the province of dwindles. FOLA, which represents 46 district and county associations in Ontario, put forward a motion last week that calls on the Law Society of Ontario to develop a strategy for attracting and retaining law professionals in underserved communities. “We hear from communities all across Ontario about the lack of lawyers who are moving to fill gaps in service in smaller communities, and these are predominantly northern communities and rural communities,”…

News stories from the Star you should know about on Wednesday, May 3, 2023

Good morning. This is the Wednesday, May 3 edition of First Up, the Star’s daily morning digest. Sign up to get it earlier each day, in your inbox. Here’s the latest on the “World’s Worst McDonald’s,” a legal poison linked to suicides, and a new rental law in a Vancouver suburb. DON’T MISS: How the “World’s Worst McDonald’s” became a symbol of downtown decay The 24-hour fast-food restaurant in the heart of downtown Ottawa has long been a popular stop for people leaving the bar district in search of greasy food. Workers would struggle to keep up with cleaning, while…

Madawaska First Nation implements its own tax law in response to NB canceling agreements

Madawaska First Nation has gone ahead and cut out the New Brunswick government from taxes collected on tobacco and cannabis sold on-reserve. In response to the province canceling a series of tax revenue-sharing agreements it held with Wolastoqey First Nations, Madawaska has enacted its own cannabis and tobacco licensing act, allowing the band government to set a tax rate for those products and collect the revenues, says Chief Patricia Bernard. “It’s really going to be unfortunate, because the whole purpose of these tax agreements was to create a fair playing field of on- and off-reserve sales taxes,” Bernard said. “Now…

A new law makes it harder for Russians to dodge the draft

Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed new legislation to overhaul the country’s conscription system, which will make it harder for Russians to avoid being called up for military service, and keep at least some of those who already fled the country away longer. Putin signed the bill, which was hastily passed by Russia’s upper and lower houses of parliament this week, into law on Friday. As Russia’s invasion of Ukraine enters its 14th month, the move will create a system where conscription and draft notices will be delivered electronically through a widely used government services portal instead of being hand-delivered.…

Nashville school shooting comes as Tennessee continues to loosen gun laws – National

As Nashville residents reeled from a fatal grade school shooting that left six dead, a federal judge quietly cleared the way to drop the minimum age for Tennesseans to carry handguns publicly without a permit to 18 — just two years after a new law set the age at 21. The move marked yet another relaxation of gun laws in ruby ​​red Tennessee, where GOP leaders have steadily chipped away at firearms regulations and lambasted those who had been warned that doing so comes at a cost. Read more: Nashville school shooting: Suspect had bought 7 guns in recent years,…

Biden signs measure nullifying DC criminal code revisions

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden on Monday signed into law legislation nullifying the recent overhaul of the District of Columbia criminal code, but the fight between Congress and local lawmakers is continuing. The signature merely marks the end of a raucous first chapter in a saga that has left district lawmakers bitterly nursing their political bruises, harboring fresh resentments against national Democrats and bracing to play defense against an activist Republican-controlled House for at least the next two years . House Speaker Kevin McCarthy hailed the move in a statement, calling it the end of what he labeled a “soft-on-crime…