Can government officials rely on their own officially induced errors? The answer is no and for good reason. This topic was recently addressed by the Supreme Court in the case R v Bédard, 2017 SCC 4. Delivering their short judgment from the bench, the Court unanimously agreed that it would seriously undermine the defence of […]
Canadian legislation differentiates between “official marks” and “trademarks.” The Trade-marks Act, RSC 1985, c T-13 [TMA] legislates both trademarks and official marks. Any entity which qualifies as a “public authority” may request that the Registrar of Trademarks give public notice of the adoption of a mark by that entity. The process of giving notice does not require an […]
The Canada-US Safe Third Country Agreement (“The Agreement”), the agreement between Canada and the US that deems the other country a “safe country” under each country’s respective immigration laws, may now need to be called into question. The Agreement, which is current domestic law under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act SC 2001, c 27 […]
The Temporary Foreign Worker (TFW) Program allows employers to recruit workers from abroad when qualified Canadian citizens or permanent residents are not available. The Program was created in 1973 to allow Canadian employers to hire foreign nationals to fill gaps in their workforces on a temporary basis. It is jointly managed by Human Resources and […]
This is the second of a two-part post on Thompson v Ontario. Part I discussed (1) the section 7 Charter analysis undertaken by Belobaba J of the Ontario Superior Court and accepted by the Ontario Court of Appeal; and (2) the Court of Appeal’s holdings on (a) the role of the application judge in adjudicating […]
This is the first of a two-part post on Thompson v Ontario. Part 1 discusses (1) the section 7 Charter analysis undertaken by Belobaba J of the Ontario Superior Court and accepted by the Ontario Court of Appeal; and (2) the Court of Appeal’s holdings on (a) the role of the application judge in adjudicating […]
In the case of BC Freedom of Information and Privacy Association v British Columbia (AG), 2017 SCC 6, the Supreme Court once again wrestled with the uniquely Canadian issue of limiting election advertising. The appellant was a non-profit from Vancouver named the BC Freedom of Information and Privacy Association (“the Association”). Its mandate is to […]
Canadian mining companies have been scrutinized for quite some time regarding some misbehaviour that has taken place in foreign countries. The most recent of these was the subject matter in Garcia v Tahoe Resources Inc, 2017 BCCA 39 [Garcia], which started in April of 2013. The story begins with a private security personnel, who was […]
Happy Valentine’s Day! It is that time of the year when love is in the air. In celebration of this romantic day I would like to offer a friendly reminder to everyone that sometimes love leads to bitter divorce. This article lists what are, in my opinion, the top 5 most ridiculous divorce cases in […]
It is an uncanny convenience that immediately following Prime Minister Trudeau’s abandonment of his electoral reform promise, the announcement of a revamped Court Challenges Program emerges. The Program provides some (or perhaps only a semblance of) comfort and recourse to the very same groups that feel marginalized by the first-past-the-post system. It is the perfect […]