In R v Parranto, 2021 SCC 46 [Parranto], the Supreme Court (“the Court”) weighed in on the criminal sentences of two drug traffickers in Alberta. In the process, they made powerful statements about individualized sentences, the power of provincial appeal courts and the future of criminal sentencing.
In Canada (Transportation Safety Board) v Carroll-Byrne, 2021 NSCA 34 [Carroll-Byrne], the Transportation Safety Board of Canada (“the Board”) sought to appeal the Supreme Court of Nova Scotia’s (“NSSC”) interlocutory decision (Carroll-Byrne v Air Canada, 2019 NSSC 339 [Air Canada]) to allow the conditional release of the contents of the cockpit voice recorder (“CVR”) of […]
On November 18, 2021 the Supreme Court of Canada (“SCC” or “The Court”) released its decision in Trial Lawyers Association of British Columbia v Royal & Sun Alliance Insurance Company of Canada 2021 SCC 47 [Trial Lawyers]. At issue was whether an insurer is estopped from denying coverage if it was previously not aware of […]
No person has the right not to be offended. Every person, however, has the right to the safeguard of their dignity—at least in Quebec. How this right balances against another’s right to free expression was at issue in Ward v. Quebec (Commission des droits de la personne et des droits de la jeunesse), 2021 SCC […]
Three months into the 2018 Toronto City Council election, a newly elected provincial government passed the Better Local Government Act, 2018, SO 2018, c 11 [Act], slashing the number of municipal wards from 47 to 25. “For the remaining campaign period,” writes Justice Abella, dissenting in Toronto (City) v Ontario (Attorney General), 2021 SCC 34 […]
The Supreme Court of Canada (“SCC”) will refine its jurisprudence on extraterritorial applications of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms [the Charter] when it hears Corporal C.R. McGregor v Her Majesty the Queen (SCC 39543). The bench is also expected to explore the s. 8 Charter right to be secure against unreasonable search or […]
In Disability Rights Coalition v Nova Scotia (Attorney General), 2021 NSCA 70 [DRC], the Nova Scotia Court of Appeal (“NSCA”) made a “ground-breaking” decision upholding the right of disabled Canadians not to be unnecessarily institutionalized. In this decision, the NSCA upheld a finding of discrimination against three individuals who were unnecessarily institutionalized due to a […]
“Perhaps most importantly, I have learned that it is often more important to listen than to speak.” (Parliamentary Questioning) On October 28th, 2021 the Supreme Court held a Welcoming Ceremony in Honour of the Honourable Mahmud Jamal, who was sworn into office on July 1, 2021.
When evidence is collected via conduct that violates an accused person’s rights under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, 1982 Sched B to the Canada Act 1982 (UK), 1982, c 11 [Charter], courts must analyze whether theevidence ought to be excluded as provided by s. 24(2) of the Charter. The s. 24(2) analysis was […]
In Northern Regional Health Authority v Horrocks, 2021 SCC 42 [Horrocks], the majority of the Supreme Court of Canada (“SCC”) held in a 6-1 decision that mandatory dispute resolution provisions under labour legislation confer exclusive jurisdiction to the designated decision-maker, usually a labour arbitrator. As a result, unionized employees will have little to no legal […]