Do you know which judge tried to claim $50,000 a year in clothing expenses from 2004 to 2006 as a tax deduction? Can you name the bencher that was a former piano prodigy? Who hails from Don Mills and Lawrence Avenue in Toronto? We give you a “behind the robes” look at the nine current […]
In 2009, fully oblivious to the housing market collapse in the United States, I thought it a good idea to get into the Toronto condo market. With down payment money borrowed from my parents, I signed an Agreement of Purchase and Sale in a development project that promised to create a whole new neighbourhood on […]
“Twas the saying of an ancient sage that humour was the only test of gravity, and gravity of humour. For a subject which would not bear raillery was suspicious; and a jest which would not bear a serious examination was certainly false wit.” – Anthony Cooper “Humour [in the courtroom] must always be moderate, measured […]
On Monday, October 17th, Prime Minister Trudeau announced his first nominee to the Supreme Court of Canada: Justice Malcolm Rowe. Set to fill the seat of Justice Cromwell who retired from the Court in September, Justice Rowe—provided his nomination succeeds—will become the first appointee from Newfoundland and Labrador. To add to historic firsts, Justice Rowe […]
In the past few months, Canadians have focused, often in disbelief, on the spectacle that is the 2016 United States Presidential Election. The latest controversy revolves around a New York Times article entitled “Two Women Say Donald Trump Touched Them Inappropriately.” Regardless of its contents, the article’s title alone is enough to send any political campaign into […]
The Government of Canada is acutely aware of the cost of litigation. Those costs, along with the policy and legal implications of litigation, are now the subject matter of a new Cabinet Committee on Litigation Management, chaired by Minister Dominic LeBlanc. This committee will advise federal Justice Minister Jody Wilson-Raybould, who recently suggested in a […]
This article was co-written by Richard Haigh and Victoria Peter. Part I is found here. Chief Justice Beverley McLachlin is now the longest serving chief justice in Canadian history, having held the title of Chief since January 2000 and the title of longest serving since September of 2013 (when she sailed past Sir William Ritchie’s […]
Osgoode’s Constitutional Cases Conference is the leading constitutional law conference in Canada and a much anticipated annual event. The Conference, now in its 19th year, brings together constitutional law experts and practitioners for insightful analysis of the past year’s Supreme Court of Canada (“SCC”) constitutional judgments. There were a few novelties to this year’s event […]
This article was co-authored by Richard Haigh and Victoria Peter. Few things in Canadian legal circles are as agonizingly analyzed as Supreme Court of Canada (“SCC”) judgments. Scholars parse them for logical consistency, legal reasoning, political leanings, policy shifts, historical and factual accuracy, social context, fidelity to precedent and more. Private bar lawyers read them […]
Approximately one month after the sudden passing of US Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia rocked the US political landscape, the newly-elected Canadian government will soon face a challenge of its own in replacing a Canadian Supreme Court titan in just a few months’ time. On March 22, 2016, Executive Legal Officer Gib Van Ert released […]