Home » 2008 » December (Page 2)

Prorogation, the SCC, and Justice Thomas Cromwell

On September 5, 2008, Prime Minister Stephen Harper nominated Mr. Justice Thomas Cromwell from the Nova Scotia Court of Appeal to the Supreme Court of Canada. But that was all before the government's controversial fiscal update on November 27, followed by the opposition parties' December 1 written agreement to form a coalition and finally, the […]

The Women's Court of Canada: Eaton v Brant County Board of Education

TheCourt.ca is very pleased to reproduce the decisions of the Women's Court of Canada. In 2004, this group of feminist / equality Charter activists, lawyers, and academics, decided to do something about what they saw as the sorry state of equality jurisprudence under s. 15. The solution, rewrite the key decisions of the Supreme Court […]

Public Interest Responsible Journalism and the Tort of Defamation

A quiet, but dramatic change is taking place in Canadian media law as courts across the country are beginning to shift the law of defamation in favour of freedom of speech. Last year, the Ontario Court of Appeal ("ONCA") in Cusson v Quan, 2007 ONCA 771 [Cusson], took the bold move of creating an entirely new […]

An Interview with Library Boy

TheCourt.ca is but one of several Canadian legal blogs that publishes daily. Today, we'd like to draw your attention to another: Michel-Adrien Sheppard's personal blog Library Boy, of which we've been longtime readers. Mr. Sheppard is a reference librarian at the Supreme Court of Canada ("SCC"). Since 2005, his blog has been providing news and […]

The Use of Foreign Jurisprudence by the Supreme Court

In the age of globalization, national courts are increasingly referring to foreign jurisprudence and international law in their decision making. However, the use of foreign jurisprudence by domestic judges is not without controversy. Proponents argue that foreign jurisprudence can help with the development and interpretation of domestic law. Opponents purport that reliance on foreign jurisprudence […]

Informer Privilege Hearings: Unfairly Non-Adversarial or Appropriately Restrictive?

Leave to appeal has been granted by the Supreme Court of Canada ("SCC") in R v Bobby Singh Virk et al. This appeal will answer the question of whether counsel for the accused may be present at an in camera hearing to determine the application of informer privilege. More specifically, the SCC will consider whether […]