On December 15th, 2017, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, the Right Honourable Beverley McLachlin, will retire after a long and historic career. Along with the task of selecting a new Supreme Court Justice to fill the vacancy, the Prime Minister will be required to appoint McLachlin’s successor as the new Chief Justice. This […]
On October 13th, The Supreme Court of Canada (SCC) heard arguments (and subsequently made a decision) in R v Bourgeois, 2017 SCC 49 [Bourgeois], an as of right appeal dealing with the circumstances in which it is justified for an appellate court to intervene and declare a trial decision an unreasonable verdict pursuant to section […]
This is the first of a two-part post outlining the constitutional issues in R v Gerard Comeau, an interprovincial trade case to be heard by the Supreme Court of Canada on 6 - 7 December 2017. In anticipation of the hearing, the posts offer a brief overview and analysis of the constitutional issues likely to be […]
This is the second of a two-part post outlining the constitutional issues in R v Gerard Comeau, an interprovincial trade case to be heard by the Supreme Court of Canada on 6 - 7 December 2017. In anticipation of the hearing, the posts offer a brief overview and analysis of the constitutional issues likely to be raised. Part […]
The contentious issue of severability clauses within the realm of employment law rears its head again in North v Metaswitch Networks Corporation, (Superior Court File # CV-16-2485-00, Ontario Court of Appeal File # C62624) [North], a case recently argued before the Ontario Court of Appeal (“ONCA”). A past review by TheCourt.ca of a pertinent case […]
The Canada-US Safe Third Country Agreement (“The Agreement”), the agreement between Canada and the US that deems the other country a “safe country” under each country’s respective immigration laws, may now need to be called into question. The Agreement, which is current domestic law under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act SC 2001, c 27 […]
The Temporary Foreign Worker (TFW) Program allows employers to recruit workers from abroad when qualified Canadian citizens or permanent residents are not available. The Program was created in 1973 to allow Canadian employers to hire foreign nationals to fill gaps in their workforces on a temporary basis. It is jointly managed by Human Resources and […]
Last year, I wrote a two-part “Year in Review” special, analyzing some of the interesting aspects of the Supreme Court of Canada’s 2015 calendar year. Part I was a statistical analysis of the Supreme Court’s activity, while Part II looked at some of the most significant decisions rendered that year by Canada’s highest court. This […]
The Supreme Court of Canada heard arguments on December 1st about whether section 2a of the Charter – the provision that protects religious freedom in our country—could be extended to include an Aboriginal spiritual connection to land. This is the first time the Supreme Court will consider an Aboriginal religious freedom claim under the Charter. […]
This brief comment will have the objective of answering a simple but very interesting two-part question: which Supreme Court of Canada decisions have received the most judicial treatment by subsequent courts and tribunals, and how many times have they been referenced in Canadian jurisprudence? Methodology and Data The list below (and accompanying data) was compiled […]