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September 17, 2019

A recent order of the lieutenant-governor in council has maintained the ability of articled students, temporary articled students and law students participating in law clinics and programs to act as agents on summary conviction matters. The order-in-council was necessitated by recent changes to the Criminal Code of Canada that increased the maximum penalty on summary conviction matters from six months to two years. Section 802.1 of the Code permits agents to appear on summary conviction matters where an accused is liable for imprisonment for a term of six months or less unless the agent is authorized to do so under a program approved by the lieutenant governor in council of the province. The order in council can be found here.