The recent United States Supreme Court ruling in Parents Involved in Community Schools, Petitioner v. Seattle School District No. 1 et. al. is among the most politically contentious in recent memory. Supporters are calling it a well needed course correction in American education policy. Critics believe it is a move towards resegregation and the dismantling […]
Several newspaper articles were published yesterday outlining a "constitutional clash" between federal and provincial powers with respect to the environment and the Alberta oil industry: "Constitutional clash: environmental protection versus right to develop natural resources" - by: Kirk Makin "Clash over environment, oil industry coming: Lougheed" - by: Janice Tibbetts On August 14, 2007, Peter […]
When the Euro-Excellence v. Kraft Canada, 2007 SCC 37 decision on parallel importing came down back on July 26, it provoked a wide array of blogger commentary from across the internet. On July 31, I posted about the plurality decision written by Rothstein J., which criticized Bastarache J.'s concurring opinion for restricting copyright protection only […]
On Thursday, August 16, the Supreme Court intends to deliver judgments in fifteen applications for leave to appeal. Notable among this rather interesting collection of applications is the Alberta criminal law case of Rick Wayne Richardson v. Her Majesty the Queen (32005). In its short, four and a half page judgment, the Court of Appeal […]
In 2005, the SCC released Royal Bank of Canada v. State Farm Fire and Casualty Company, an appeal from the Court of Appeal for Ontario which addresses the issue of whether an insurer, on the basis of a statutory condition, is able to deny a claim and void coverage granted to a mortgagee for damage […]
On July 27, the SCC released their decision in R. v. Rhyason, 2007 SCC 39. On appeal from a 2-1 split decision at the Alberta Court of Appeal, the Supreme Court justices themselves split 5-4 in favor of upholding the trial conviction of a man found guilty of impaired driving causing death. On the night […]
On June 26 the Court of Appeal for British Columbia unanimously upheld a lower court decision committing Yukon resident John Graham for extradition to the United States, where he is to be tried for the three decade old South Dakota murder of Anna Mae Aquash. The United States alleges that Graham, a former American Indian […]
In March 2005, the SCC released Nova Scotia (Minister of Health) v. J.J., 2005 1 S.C.R. 177, 2005 SCC 12, an appeal from the Court of Appeal for Nova Scotia. This case deals with the protection of mentally and physically challenged adults and looks at the breadth of the jurisdiction of the Family Court regarding […]
After a flurry of recent activity, this week proves a bit quieter, with no indication that we should be expecting any Supreme Court decisions to be rendered today or Friday. As such, I thought I’d take the opportunity to lighten our sometimes serious tone here at The Court, and share with our readers a few […]
In last year's Fidler v. Sun Life Insurance Co. of Canada, the Supreme Court outlined the current state of compensation for mental distress under contract law, and also explained the appropriate circumstances in which punitive damages may be awarded. While the SCC overturned the B.C. Court of Appeal’s award of punitive damages - an argument […]