Our Latest Posts
TheCourt.ca is the premier source of commentary on, and analysis of, the work of the Supreme Court of Canada. Our goal is to be an inclusive forum for students, academics, practitioners and interested citizens to publish, review and discuss commentary on recent Supreme Court of Canada judgments, upcoming cases, current hearings, scholarly perspectives, practical insights, updates and more.
-
Ahluwalia v. Ahluwalia: How Should the Law Confront Intimate Partner Violence?
|
In Ahluwalia v. Ahluwalia, the Supreme Court of Canada reckoned with the largely-gendered harms of intimate partner violence. Justice Kasirer established a framework for developing new intentional torts, created a new tort of intimate partner violence to combat the distinct wrong of coercive control, and clarified the overlapping roles that tort and family law play for seeking justice and compensating victims. While the Court’s decision provided some needed clarity, it also raised as many questions as it answered, leaving unaddressed issues to be resolved in future decisions.
-
Police Misconduct and the Duty to Disclose: Edmonton (Police Service) v McKee
|
Does an accused have a right to the disclosure of an administratively expunged record of police misconduct? In Edmonton (Police Service) v McKee, the SCC clarified Canada's criminal disclosure framework, holding that police must transmit obviously relevant misconduct information to the Crown, which ultimately determines what must be disclosed to protect an accused's right to make full answer and defence.
-
Knocking on Singer's Door: The Implied Licence Doctrine in R v Singer, 2026 SCC 8
|
In R v Singer, 2026 SCC 8 [Singer], the Supreme Court of Canada (“SCC”) considered the scope of implied licences and the admissibility of evidence that was illegally obtained during an impaired driving investigation.
-
‘Excusez Moi?’: Language Rights in Société de l’Acadie du Nouveau-Brunswick v Canada (Prime Minister)
|
Language rights in Canada have a broad history. There is perhaps no province that embodies this commitment quite like New Brunswick, given its status as the only official bilingual province in Canada. In Société de l’Acadie du Nouveau-Brunswick v Canada (Prime Minister) 2026 SCC 22 [Nouveau-Brunswick], the Supreme Court (SCC) contends with applying Charter protected
-
Delete at Your Own Risk: Spoliation in SS&C Technologies v BNY Mellon
|
Destroying evidence should never leave a party better off. In SS&C Technologies Canada Corp v Bank of New York Mellon Corp, the Supreme Court of Canada considered how courts should address situations when a party intentionally deletes evidence relevant to the calculation of damages. For the first time in more than a century, the Court clarified the law of spoliation. I suggest that while the Court shows how far the resulting adverse inference can go in the most severe cases, it leaves trial judges unsure when to go that far.
-
Ceiling or No Ceiling? R v R.B.-C. and When Sentencing Delay Becomes Unreasonable
|
In R v R.B.-C., the Supreme Court of Canada was asked to apply a presumptive ceiling to determine when sentencing delay breaches s. 11(b) of the Charter. Justice Martin declined to do so, holding instead that the test is a ‘markedly longer’ standard. She also held that the correct remedy for unreasonable sentencing delay is a reduction in sentence. This unanimous decision from the Court reveals how it views judges as normative actors within the Canadian criminal justice system.