Can a person legally consent to sexual assault causing bodily harm? In the wake of the Supreme Court of Canada’s landmark decision in R v Jobidon, [1991] 2 SCR 714, there remains some confusion regarding how far to extend the broad proposition outlined in that case – namely, that bodily harm cannot be consented to. […]
The Ontario Court of Appeal (ONCA) set aside a lower court ruling earlier this year because the motion judge had failed to give adequate reasons for his decision. In Barbieri v Mastronardi, 2014 ONCA 416 [Barbieri], the Court of Appeal was reviewing a liability finding linked to the sale of residential property. While the court recognized the […]
In Grassy Narrows First Nation v Ontario (Natural Resources), 2014 SCC 48, the Supreme Court of Canada ("SCC") unanimously determined that Ontario has the jurisdiction under the Crown to take up land covered by the Ontario Boundaries Extension Act, SC 1912, c 40, s 2, Treaty No. 3 (1873) (“Treaty 3”), thus limiting First Nation […]
On 31 October 2014, the Federal Court of Appeal (“FCA”) released Forest Ethics Advocacy Assn v Canada (National Energy Board), 2014 FCA 245 [Forest Ethics]. In the decision, Justice Stratas considered an “inseparable triumvirate” of interlocutory decisions by the National Energy Board (“NEB”) related to a proceeding on the approval of the Lin 9B Reversal […]
In Febles v Canada (Citizenship and Immigration), 2014 SCC 68 (“Febles”) the Supreme Court of Canada (“SCC”) made an important ruling with respect to refugee claimants that possess criminal records. Article 1F(b) of the United Nations Convention relating to the Status of Refugees (“the Convention”), July 28, 1951, [1969] Can. T.S. No 6 and section […]
In Stilwell v World Kitchen Inc, 2014 ONCA 770, the appellants, World Kitchen Inc. ("World Kitchen") and Corning Inc. ("Corning") appealed a jury award of $1,157,850 for negligence relating to product liability. In the result, the Court of Appeal affirmed that a significant degree of deference is owed to civil jury awards.
In Wilson v R, 2013 NBCA 38 [Wilson], the New Brunswick Court of Appeal provides a thoughtful judgment that develops the law of evidence surrounding the criminal standard of proof in judge-alone cases. In a unanimous decision, Richard JA of the Court of Appeal examines the trial judge's reasons, locates a reasoning error previously recognized in judge-and-jury […]
Jian Ghomeshi was fired from CBC on October 26, 2014 after CBC received evidence that he had caused physical injury to a woman. In response, Ghomeshi filed a $55 million lawsuit alleging defamation and breach of confidence against his former employer. He also submitted a union grievance alleging wrongful dismissal and defamation. Many legal experts […]
In Tran v Kerr, 2014 ABCA 350, the Alberta Court of Appeal (“ABCA”) clarified the circumstances under which a lawyer, involved in a fraudulent real estate transaction, is liable for the losses of the ultimate purchaser, a straw buyer. In this case, Kerr was a lawyer who represented the straw buyer, Tran, in addition to other […]
On August 1, 2014, Canada’s highest court released its reasons in Sattva Capital Corp v Creston Moly Corp, 2014 SCC 53, marking an end to a series of long and protracted proceedings intended to be confined to arbitration. The highlight of the decision was the Supreme Court of Canada’s (“SCC”) limitation on the circumstances when […]