The final report of the Missing Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls (MMIWG) national inquiry, published June 3, 2019, evokes mixed feelings. Do I believe that it is a genocide? No. Labelling it as such implies that there is a single villain. They are the forgotten people. Neglected and vulnerable to crimes of violence. I have been a...Read More

A child in imminent danger needs to be saved from their abductor. This is the goal of the amber alert system. Like any emergency response system, it needs to be updated. I’m willing to stick my neck out to suggest we take this a step further and ask: does the amber alert system cause more...Read More

A Nunavut decision shows mandatory sentences for gun crimes inappropriately constrain judges when dealing with Aboriginal offenders, Toronto criminal and civil litigator Laurelly Dale tells AdvocateDaily.com. The fact pattern of the case rings a number of bells for Dale, who frequently acts for youthful Aboriginals charged with gun-related offences involving weapons normally used for hunting.  The judge in the...Read More

Dale, principal of Dale Legal Firm, says a recent spate of mass shootings has put gun violence at the top of political agendas in Canada and the U.S., noting a Time magazine documentary that collates various perspectives on the issue. “This is obviously a very heated issue, and everyone has an opinion. But because of that, it tends to be over-simplified,”...Read More

In order to deter people from using guns for violent purposes, the underpinnings of criminal behaviour need to be fully identified and understood, Toronto criminal lawyer Laurelly Dale writes in The Lawyer’s Daily. “Gun laws will not deter criminals from using guns for violent purposes. Legal gun ownership is conflated with gun violence. It is an easy scapegoat;...Read More