Home » 2022 » January

Foxgate Development Inc v Jane Doe: On Injunctions, Colonialism, & Canadian Sovereignty 

The Haldimand Tract is the site of a contentious and ongoing land dispute between the Six Nations of the Grand River (“Six Nations”) and the Canadian government. The Haldimand Treaty of 1784 granted a large parcel of land to Six Nations, including what is now Caledonia and Haldimand County (Justin Chandler, “Broken Promises, Unceded Land”; […]

2021 at the Supreme Court: Year In Review

2021 was a momentous year for the country’s highest court as we bid adieu to the trailblazing Justice Rosalie Abella, retiring after 17 years on the Supreme Court of Canada (“SCC” or “the Court”). We witnessed the swearing in of Justice Mahmud Jamal, the first racialized puisne justice to be appointed to the SCC in […]

SCC to Revisit the Safe Third Country Agreement in Canadian Council For Refugees, et al. v Minister of Citizenship and Immigration, et al.

The Supreme Court of Canada (“SCC”) will revisit the applications of several unsuccessful refugee claimants when it hears Canadian Council for Refugees, et al. v Minister of Citizenship and Immigration, et al, SCC 39749. In doing so, they could make a powerful statement about Canada’s perception of the United States (“U.S.”) as a safe country […]

R v Morris: Systemic Racism and the Sentencing of Black Offenders

Introduction The Ontario Court of Appeal [“ONCA”] opens the case of R v Morris, 2021 ONCA 680 [“Morris”] with a revolutionary admission that “it is beyond doubt that anti-Black racism […] continues to be, a reality in Canadian society, and in particular the Greater Toronto Area” (Morris, para 1). The appellate court’s powerful declaration is […]

Departing from the “Natural Parent Presumption” in BJT v JD

Families come in all shapes and sizes, and the primary caregivers of a child in a given family aren’t necessarily always the child’s parents. The law, however, has struggled to grasp the diversity of family structures in the context of custody hearings. The Prince Edward Court of Appeal (“PECA”) faced this dilemma in BJT v […]

Clash of the Interpretative Titans: Canada v. Canada North Group Inc.

In Canada v. Canada North Group Inc., 2021 SCC 30 [Canada v CNG], the Supreme Court of Canada (“SCC”) considered whether courts can order a super-priority charge that takes primacy over Her Majesty’s interest under s. 227(4.1) of the Income Tax Act, RSC 1985, c 1 (5th Supp.) [ITA]. The decision turned on robust statutory […]

Incapacity Precludes - not Vitiates - Consent in R. v. G.F.

Content Warning: Sexual assault and intoxication The Supreme Court of Canada (“SCC”) has clarified that capacity is a precondition for consent in sexual assault offences in R v G.F., 2021 SCC 20 [G.F.]. As the two are “inextricably joined,” the majority ruled that trial judges are not required to consider the two issues in any […]