A pregnant woman should not have to choose between her health (or the health of her fetus) and work, the Supreme Court of Canada declared in Dionne v Commission scolaire des Patriotes, 2014 SCC 33. In the unanimous ruling from five judges, the court also sent the message that provincial tribunals must take care that their […]
In a decision released on October 17, 2014, Imperial Oil v Jacques, 2014 SCC 66 [Imperial Oil v Jacques], a majority of the Supreme Court Court ("SCC") upheld a Quebec motion court's ruling that allowed plaintiffs in a class action to access relevant government surveillance materials during civil discovery proceedings. The class action arose after an investigation of […]
The recent Ontario Court of Appeal (“ONCA”) split decision in Can-Win Leasing (Toronto) Limited v Moncayo, 2014 ONCA 689, barred Can-Win Leasing’s claim for equitable contribution against Mr. Moncayo. In doing so, the ONCA clarified when a surety, after voluntarily repaying a guarantee they share, can demand contribution from their co-surety.
In R v Steele, 2014 SCC 61 [Steele], the Supreme Court of Canada (“SCC”) grappled with the issue of whether the mere threat of violence is enough to satisfy the legal criteria of a Serious Personal Injury Offence (“SPIO”), which is a pre-condition for the Crown to pursue a dangerous offender application. One of the […]
The government of British Columbia ("BC") recently filed an appeal challenging the decision by the Supreme Court of British Columbia ("BCSC") in British Columbia Teachers’ Federation v British Columbia, 2014 BCSC 121 [BCTF] which found in favour of the provincial teachers' union. The leader of the governing BC Liberal Party, Christy Clarke, has signalled the province’s readiness […]
Early on a rainy morning, I arrived to the Supreme Court of Canada and was lucky enough to be able to watch the Carter v Canada (Attorney General) [Carter] appeal. In this case, several plaintiffs challenged the Criminal Code provisions prohibiting physician assisted suicide and voluntary euthanasia under sections 7 and 15 of the Charter. […]
On 26 June 2014, the Supreme Court of Canada ("SCC") agreed to hear an appeal of Commission Scolaire Francophone du Yukon v Attorney General of the Yukon Territory, 2014 YKCA 4 [CS Francophone]. The case concerns a dispute over the control and management of the Territory's French language education system and is the first time […]
In Kazemi Estate v Islamic Republic of Iran, 2014 SCC 62, the Supreme Court of Canada ("SCC") looks at whether Canadians have the right to sue foreign governments for damages resulting from acts of torture. The SCC ultimately denied the victims’ claim for a civil action, finding that acts of torture are not exceptions to the general […]
In Martin v Alberta (Workers' Compensation Board), 2014 SCC 25, the Supreme Court of Canada ("SCC") resolved an issue that had been treated inconsistently by appellate courts across Canada. The SCC held that workplace compensation claims of federal employees, who are subject to the Government Employees Compensation Act, RSC 1985, c G-5 [GECA], are generally governed by […]
On September 19, 2014, the Supreme Court of Canada ("SCC") released its decision in Bank of Montreal v Marcotte, 2014 SCC 55 [BMO v Marcotte], and its two companion cases, Amex Bank of Canada v Adams, 2014 SCC 56, and Marcotte v Fédération des caisses Desjardins du Québec, 2014 SCC 57. The case in BMO v Marcotte was based […]