The Supreme Court of Canada (“SCC”) will have an opportunity to bring some much-needed clarity to how analyses of unreasonable delay pursuant to section 11(b) of the Charter should be approached in its upcoming decisions in the appeals of both R v Williamson, 2014 ONCA 598 [Williamson], and R v Jordan, 2014 BCCA 241 [Jordan]. This piece will […]
In The Law Society of British Columbia v Zoraik, 2015 BCCA 137 [Zoraik], the British Columbia Court of Appeal (“BCCA”) held that Benchers of the Law Society of British Columbia (“LSBC”) failed to consider the Appellant’s Charter argument and whether it could refer a matter back to its Discipline Committee. As such, the BCCA referred […]
Pursuant to s. 11(b) of the Charter, “[a]ny person charged with an offence has the right…(b) to be tried within a reasonable time….” This case is concerned with whether or not Mr. Savdip Sanghera’s s. 11(b) Charter right was violated, and if so, whether or not such a delay was reasonable. On March 23, 2015, […]
The federal government has the right to destroy data collected for the highly contentious long-form gun registry, the Supreme Court of Canada ("SCC") ruled late March. In a 5-4 decision, the majority in Quebec (AG) v Canada (AG), 2015 SCC 14, found that the federal government’s right to destroy data it collected is based on […]
This is the second of a two-part comment on the Supreme Court of Canada (“SCC”) decision in Loyola High School v Quebec (Attorney General) 2015 SCC 12 [Loyola]. It will summarize the judgment of Chief Justice McLachlin and Justice Moldaver, which partially concurred with the majority judgment of Justice Abella. As described in Part I, […]
In R v Shia, 2015 ONCA 190 [Shia], the Court of Appeal for Ontario considered an appeal from a finding of guilt and an absolute discharge from a drug-related offence. Interestingly, the prosecution included a number of errors, with some attributable to every party involved, including the presiding justice. In a short and incisive decision, the Court […]
The British Columbia Court of Appeal (“BCCA”) decision in R v Belcourt, 2015 BCCA 126 [Belcourt], weighed the constitutional underpinnings of two different issues—privacy, and instructions on mens rea requirements—in a second-degree murder charge. The BCCA concluded that the privacy rights of Belcourt, the accused, were not infringed by the production of text messages under […]
In Toronto (Police Association) v Toronto (Police Services Board), 2015 ONCA 188 [Toronto v Toronto], the Ontario Court of Appeal (“ONCA”) considered the interaction between the collective agreement that governs the employment of police officers (“CA”), and the Police Services Act, RSO 1990, c P15 [PSA]. The question was whether a particular decision of the […]
In Wilson v Atomic Energy of Canada Limited, 2015 FCA 17 [Wilson], released January 22, 2015, the Federal Court of Appeal (“FCA”) dismissed an appeal relating to a dismissal from employment under the Canada Labour Code, RSC 1985, c L-2 [CLA]. This judgment covers a broad range of administrative law issues, clarifying the permissibility of dismissal without […]
The Ontario Court of Appeal’s (“ONCA”) decision in R v Shin, 2015 ONCA 189, upheld a drug trafficking conviction that followed from an extensive police investigation in the Greater Toronto Area (“GTA”). Brian Shin was arrested after he entered a stash house where police were waiting for him. Although the arrest violated Shin’s Charter rights, […]