Section 259(1)(a) of the Criminal Code of Canada [Code] imposes a mandatory minimum; at sentencing, judges must apply a driving prohibition of at least twelve months for offenders convicted of impaired driving pursuant to this provision. Interpretation of the interaction between three provisions implies that pre-sentence driving prohibitions cannot be credited toward that minimum. The […]
In La Presse inc v Quebec, 2023 SCC 22 [La Presse], the Supreme Court of Canada (“SCC”) determined that publication bans established in s 648(1) of the Criminal Code, RSC 1985 c C-46 (“Code”) apply automatically to judgements rendered prior to jury empanelment.
On November 9, 2023 the Supreme Court of Canada (the “SCC”, or the “Court”) granted the Attorney General of Ontario's application for leave to appeal [40725] from Working Families Coalition (Canada) Inc. v. Ontario (Attorney General), 2023 ONCA 139 [WFC ONCA]. This case will provide the SCC with its first opportunity in almost two decades […]
Last month, in Reference re Impact Assessment Act, 2023 SCC 23 [“IAA Reference”], the Supreme Court of Canada (the “Court” or “SCC”) held that the bulk of the federal Impact Assessment Act, S.C. 2019, c. 28, s. 1 (the “Act” or the “IAA”) is unconstitutional because it exceeded the powers allocated to Parliament under s. […]
The Ontario Court of Appeal (“ONCA”) applied the rapidly developing law surrounding the expectation of privacy in cell phones and police operations in R v Campbell, 2022 ONCA 666 [Campbell, ONCA]. The ONCA affirmed that people have a reasonable expectation of privacy in their text messages when the police legally seize any cell phone containing […]
In Anderson v Anderson, 2023 SCC 13 [Anderson], the Supreme Court of Canada (“SCC”) clarified the approach to considering non-presumptively enforceable domestic contracts. In partially departing from the Saskatchewan Court of Appeal, the Court unanimously ruled that while the overarching principles established in Miglin v Miglin, 2003 SCC 24 [Miglin], can be used in the […]
Content Warning: The facts of the case involve the mention of child sexual abuse. In R v Chatillon, 2023 SCC 7 [Chatillon], the Supreme Court of Canada ("SCC") delivered a brief oral judgment re-visiting a case-by-case privilege in the context where a patient makes criminal admissions during the course of therapeutic treatment. A 6-1 […]
In April, the British Columbia Court of Appeal (the “BCCA”) provided its reasons in Piekut v Canada (Minister of National Revenue), 2023 BCCA 181 [Piekut]. The decision added another chapter to the ongoing interprovincial conflict in jurisprudence regarding the discharge of government student loans in an insolvency pursuant to s. 178(1)(g)(ii) of the Bankruptcy and […]
In Murray‑Hall v Quebec (Attorney General), 2023 SCC 10 [Murray-Hall], a unanimous Supreme Court of Canada (“SCC”) held that Quebec legislation prohibiting possession of cannabis plants for personal cultivation or use can coexist with a federal law permitting possession up to four plants.