It is tempting to believe, or at least hope, that the recent Supreme Court of Canada (“SCC”) decision in Chevron Corp v Yaiguaje, 2015 SCC 42 [Chevron] is one of the last acts of the Chevron saga, and a leap forward for environmentalism. Alas, the decision is more like the prologue to yet another season […]
Why We Should Be Suspicious of Timeshares Julie Guindon is the family and estate lawyer at the heart of Guindon v Canada, 2015 SCC 41 [Guindon] in which the Supreme Court of Canada (“SCC”) confirmed that penalties under s.163.2 of the Income Tax Act, RSC 1985, c 1 (5th Supp) [ITA] are not criminal in […]
A New Hurdle To Protecting Our Children? A Perspective from the Toronto Police Internet Child Exploitation Unit Last year, TheCourt.ca published two key articles about the Supreme Court of Canada’s landmark ruling on Internet privacy. See Jordan Casey’s summary here and Stuart Wood’s analysis here. After its release, R v Spencer, [2014] 2 SCR 212 [Spencer] […]
In R v Michaud, 2015 ONCA 585 [Michaud], the Court of Appeal for Ontario (“ONCA”) reluctantly followed the precedent set in Canada v Bedford, [2013] 3 SCR 1101 [Bedford]. Justice Lauwers of the ONCA found that a highway speed regulation did infringe section 7 of the Charter, but found it to be justified under section […]
In White Burgess Langille Inman v Abbott and Haliburton Co, 2015 SCC 23 [Burgess], the Supreme Court of Canada (“SCC”) established a test for assessing the impartiality of expert witnesses. The issue arose when shareholders of a company obtained a new accounting firm, Grant Thornton LLP, which discovered errors in the previous auditors’ work. The shareholders […]
Human rights law is one of the most fast-evolving and dynamic areas of law. With the fabric of Canadian society evolving at a rapid pace, legislators and decision makers are grappling with increasingly nuanced and socially sensitive human rights disputes. The need for a clear, concise, and coherent approach to discrimination is therefore paramount. The […]
Few legal disputes have the potential of being as deeply divisive and politically polarizing as Canada v Ishaq, 2015 FCA 194 [Ishaq Appeal]. In addition to its potential cultural, social, political, and religious implications, this case underscores the tension between fair, democratically enacted legislation, and fundamental freedoms protected in the Charter. Although the Federal Court […]
The Supreme Court of Canada (“SCC”) has recently granted leave to appeal of the BC Court of Appeal decision in Matthew John Anthony-Cook v Her Majesty the Queen, 2015 BCCA 22 [Anthony-Cook]. The appellant, Mr. Anthony-Cook, was charged with manslaughter contrary to s. 236 of the Criminal Code, RSC 1985, c C-46. Mr. Anthony-Cook is […]
Durham Condominium Corporation No. 45 v Leslie Arthur Swan, 2015 ONCA 590 [Swan] is a brief case that raises key issues around board members’ statutory and contractual entitlements to be indemnified for legal liability and costs personally incurred in the course of duty. However, the issue that stands at the forefront of this case concerns […]
Some months ago, the Supreme Court of Canada’s (“SCC”) ruling in Carter v Canada (Attorney General), [2015] 1 SCR 331 [Carter] made national headlines. Although all decisions of the SCC are important, this one seemed to strike a nerve or two on both sides of the playing field. In this case, as described in more detail here […]