Should the police be allowed to conduct interviews without warning people that what they said could be used against them in court? In a landmark and controversial decision (R v Tessier, 2022 SCC 35), the Supreme Court engaged in a deep analysis and modification of the common-law confessions rule.
“No matter where we are in society, no matter how far we move up, we always have to remember where we come from.” - Michelle O’Bonsawin (The Globe and Mail, August 2022) Introduction On September 1st, 2022, Michelle O’Bonsawin was sworn into office at the Supreme Court of Canada (“SCC”). Justice O’Bonsawin was appointed by […]
Introduction On September 15th, 2022, the Supreme Court of Canada (“SCC” or “the Court”) heard Janick Murray-Hall v Attorney General of Quebec SCC 39906 [Murray-Hall (2022)], on appeal from the Quebec Court of Appeal (“QCCA” or “Court of Appeal”). This case offers the SCC an early opportunity to scrutinize and define federal and provincial legislative […]
Overview In Montréal (City) v Deloitte Restructuring Inc., 2021 SCC 53, the Supreme Court of Canada (“SCC”) clarified that courts with jurisdiction over Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act, RSC 1985 c C-36 (“CCAA”) proceedings can exercise judicial discretion to stay compensation between debts arising before and after an initial order (“pre-post compensation”). The 6-1 decision created […]
Content Warning: This article mentions instances of sexual violence that may be triggering for some readers. R v Nahanee, 2022 SCC 37 [Nahanee] is a case which addressed two key issues related to contested sentencing hearings following a guilty plea. The first issue was whether sentencing judges could depart from sentencing ranges proposed by the […]
In the Canadian criminal justice system, an accused person has a constitutional right to be tried within a reasonable time. The Supreme Court of Canada (SCC) has previously determined how long, exactly, is a presumptively “reasonable time.” But when a person is tried again for the same offence—an appeal court orders a new trial—how long, […]
In May 2022, the Supreme Court of Canada (the “SCC” or the “Court”) released two important decisions in R v Brown, 2022 SCC 18 [Brown] and its companion case, R v Sullivan, 2022 SCC 19 [Sullivan]. This article discusses Brown. For more information on Sullivan, refer to the case comment here. In Brown, Justice Nicholas […]
The first installment of this post addressed the statutory interpretation question in Society of Composers, Authors and Music Publishers of Canada v Entertainment Software Association, 2022 SCC 30 [SOCAN]. The entire court was in agreement on the issue, and this was unsurprising given the Copyright Board of Canada's (the "Board") blatant departure from the well-settled […]
In Society of Composers, Authors and Music Publishers of Canada v Entertainment Software Association, 2022 SCC 30 [SOCAN], the Supreme Court of Canada (“SCC”) heard an appeal from the Federal Court of Appeal (“FCA”). The case turned on the interpretation of s. 2.4(1.1) of the Copyright Act, RSC 1985, c C-42 [the Act].
In R v Goforth, 2022 SCC 25 [Goforth], the Supreme Court of Canada (“SCC”) reiterated its support for the general legal principle that a trial judge’s instructions to the jury must properly convey the meaning of the charge, even if imperfect in form. The SCC reinforced the principle that substance comes before form when it […]