In December 2017, the Canadian government announced changes to its Canada Summer Jobs ("CSJ") program that sparked debate over the program's constitutionality. CSJ is a funding subsidy designed to provide students with summer work opportunities. Under the program's new changes, organizations applying for the funding—small businesses, non-profits, and other community organizations—were required to check a […]
Introduction The fight for pay equity has recently made headlines both around the word and here at home. In early 2018, Iceland passed legislation mandating that companies of 25 or more employees must prove that women are being paid fairly in comparison with their male counterparts or risk penalties and fines. Closer to home, the […]
On January 31, the Ontario Superior Court (“ONSC”) released its decision in Christian Medical and Dental Society of Canada v College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario. In the first half of this two-part post, I provided a summary of the facts of the case and analyzed the Court’s reasons on standard of review and […]
On January 31, the Ontario Divisional Court released its decision in Christian Medical and Dental Society of Canada v College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario. In the first of this two-part post, I provide a summary of the facts of the case before analyzing the Court’s reasons on standard of review and the Applicants’ […]
How and when should public interest standing be established before an administrative agency? This is the question at the heart of the Supreme Court of Canada’s ("SCC") recent decision in Delta Air Lines Inc v Lukács, 2018 SCC 2 [Delta]. The matter arose after Dr. Gábor Lukács, an "air passenger rights advocate," filed a complaint […]
The dialogue over the role that Charter values should play in administrative and judicial reasoning continues to expand and evolve. In one of my entries for TheCourt.ca last year, I assessed how the recent decision of the Ontario Court of Appeal (“ONCA”) in Gehl v Canada (Attorney General), 2017 ONCA 319 [Gehl] fits into this larger debate. […]
This post discusses the constitutional challenge recently brought by sexual assault complainant Ava Williams against the London, ON Police Services (“LPS”). The applicant alleges that the police force engaged in gender-based discrimination contrary to Charter section 15 for relying on stereotypes about gender and sexual assault complainants while investigating her case, resulting in her claim […]
Every so often, a legal dispute--not (yet) at the Supreme Court, but winding its way through the system--captures the attention of the Canadian public. When this happens, it is not because of the specific legal issue posed and addressed (although obviously this is a component), but because the specific facts of the case attract a […]
The Supreme Court of Canada (the SCC) has long recognized the utility of aspirational values in better understanding the substantive rights guaranteed by the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
By this point, it is a virtual certainty that the outcome of the joint-appeal for Trinity Western University et al v Law Society of Upper Canada and Law Society of British Columbia v Trinity Western University et al will be a landmark ruling by the Supreme Court of Canada.