Associate Professor Brandon Trask publishes first book: The Essential Guide to Prosecutions in Canada

University of Manitoba Faculty of Law Associate Professor Brandon Trask has published his first sole-authored book with LexisNexis. Titled The Essential Guide to Prosecutions in Canada, the book is a handbook that illuminates the nuances of prosecutorial practice across every provincial and Federal jurisdiction in Canada.

This guide discusses some of the most common and challenging issues that arise when dealing with prosecutions and paves the way to mastering the intricacies from case inception to courtroom procedures. Readers finding this guide invaluable include Crown attorneys, especially those in their first years of practice, defence counsel, members of the judiciary, articling students and law students.

Trask first joined the UM Faculty of Law in 2020 where he is also an adjunct fellow at St. John’s College. He founded the Rights Clinic at Robson Hall in July of 2022. His teaching and research interests focus primarily on criminal law and procedure, evidence, constitutional law (with an emphasis on the Charter) and mental health and criminal law. He holds a Juris Doctor from the University of Manitoba (class of 2012) and a Master of Laws from the University of Toronto. After articling with the Newfoundland and Labrador Public Prosecutions Division, he worked as a Crown prosecutor there, and later in Nova Scotia. Prior to returning to Manitoba, he worked with the Appeals and Special Prosecutions Section of the Nova Scotia Public Prosecutions Service. During his time as a Crown prosecutor, Trask was involved with hundreds of criminal law cases across three levels of court as well as appearing on behalf of the Crown at the Criminal Code Review Board in Nova Scotia. 

A strong advocate for mental health, especially in relation to the practice of law, Trask speaks openly about the post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) he developed from his work with the Nova Scotia Public Prosecution Service, particularly in relation to prosecuting dozens of cases involving child sexual abuse. He is a regular commentator on criminal and constitutional law issues in local news media, and recently began co-hosting a monthly radio show with CJOB’s Richard Cloutier called “The Docket” which covers current topics focusing on crime, courts and the justice system. 

Filling a gap in resources

Trask shared some insights with the Faculty of Law into the writing process of this book including why he felt the need to publish such a guide for prosecutions in Canada. As an articling student with the Crown, he found there very few resources for junior prosecutors. “When I articled with the provincial Crown in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, I was very fortunate to have excellent mentorship from a number of experienced prosecutors, and I also learned a great deal from judges and defence counsel through my work on various files,” he said. “I wanted to take what I have learned from my time in practice as both a Crown and a defence lawyer as well as from my experience as a law professor and put that into a book, to ensure that there is some helpful guidance for prosecutors all over the country.”

Trask said he found it both fascinating and concerning how much variation there is in public prosecution policies across Canada, which is why a great deal of the book explores these disparities, and especially in how prosecutions and prosecutorial decisions play out, depending on a jurisdiction’s policies and practices. “I thought it would be beneficial for everyone to be able to see these differences in an easy-to-access manner,” he explained.

An intended audience of anyone

When controversial criminal law cases hit the news, a flurry of discussion ensues amongst members of the public, the media, and politicians, without full understanding of why prosecutorial decisions are made in the country’s courtrooms. Trask said, “My primary audience is Crown prosecutors, but defence counsel, judges, and anyone interested in seeing how criminal law is applied across the country will hopefully find this book to be interesting and informative.”

“Being a Crown prosecutor is extremely difficult and anything helping to lessen the workload is beneficial,” Trask said. “Crowns need to be given clear parameters and guidance through practical policies. Unfortunately, some policies seem like they were created to provide ‘cover’ for the public prosecution service, as they merely provide ambiguous comments about, for instance, what a Crown should strive for or avoid doing. 

“Crown prosecutors are essential actors in our criminal justice system; in many respects, they have more powers than judges, and their use of discretion has wide-ranging implications. We all benefit from their proper use of discretion.”

Trask is also a co-author of the book Criminal Law and the Canadian Criminal Code, along with colleagues from the UM Faculty of Law, Richard Jochelson, Amar Khoday, Marc Kruse and others, published by McGraw Hill (2026).

The Essential Guide to Prosecutions in Canada is available through LexisNexis.