International Law

Flying Fair? SCC Weighs in on International Air Transportation Association v Canada

Airline passengers in Canada recently scored an important win regarding consumer protection. In International Air Transportation Association v Canada (Transportation Agency), 2024 SCC 30 [International Air], the Supreme Court of Canada (“SCC”) unanimously held that the Canada Transportation Agency’s (the “Agency”) Air Passenger Protection Regulations, SOR/2019-150 [Regulations] were valid regulations that did not violate the Convention for the Unification of Certain Rules for International Carriage by Air, 2242 UNTS 309 [Montreal Convention].

Appeal Watch: the legality of multi-Crown class proceedings in Sandoz Canada Inc. v British Columbia

Last November, the Supreme Court of Canada (“SCC”) granted leave to Sanis Health Inc., Shoppers Drug Mart Inc., Sandoz Canada Inc. and McKesson Canada Corporation to appeal Sandoz Canada Inc. v British Columbia, 2023 BCCA 306 (“Sandoz Canada”). The appellants are defendants in a proposed class action brought by the Province of British Columbia (“the […]

The Innocents Abroad: SCC to Revisit Vacation Torts and Jurisdiction

The Supreme Court of Canada (“SCC”, or the "Court") will revisit the question of when a contract formed in one province is sufficiently connected to a tort claim to establish jurisdiction over an out-of-province defendant. On January 11, 2024, the SCC granted leave to appeal [40696] the decision in Sinclair v Amex Canada Inc., 2023 […]

​​Reasonably Robust Reasonableness: Mason v Canada (Citizenship and Immigration)

At issue in Mason v Canada (Citizenship and Immigration), 2023 SCC 21 [Mason] was whether “acts of violence” in s. 34(1)(e) of the Immigration Refugee and Protection Act, SC 2001, c 27 [IRPA] requires a nexus to national security, or relates only to violence broadly, in order to find a permanent resident or foreign national […]

Appeals Watch: Public or Private Law? SCC grants leave in Langford Sharp v Autorité des marchés financiers

On April 22, 2022, the Supreme Court of Canada (“SCC”) granted leave to an application for appeal in the Quebec Court of Appeal’s (“QCCA”) decision in Langford Sharp v Autorité des marchés financiers 2021 QCCA 1364 (“Langford”). The case concerns the appropriate standard of review when assessing the decisions of financial regulators and the role […]

Double Royalties or Users' Rights? The SCC Interprets the Copyright Act in SOCAN

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].

Enforcement of Foreign Judgements: SCC Grants Leave to Appeal in Lanfer v. Eilers

On March 3, 2022, the Supreme Court of Canada (“SCC” or “the Court”) granted leave to appeal in the case of Lanfer v. Eilers, a ruling from the British Columbia Court of Appeal, 2021 BCCA 241 [Eilers]. The SCC will rule on whether a foreign judgement granting the remedy of specific performance for the transfer […]

Supreme Court of Canada to Decide on Definition of “Carrying on Business”: H.M.B. Holdings Limited v. Antigua and Barbuda

On November 12, 2020, H.M.B. Holdings Limited v. Antigua and Barbuda, 2020 ONCA 12 [HMB Holding] was granted leave by the Supreme Court of Canada ("SCC"). The Judicial Committee of the Privy Council decided in 2014 that Antigua and Barbuda ("Antigua") owed H.M.B Holdings Limited's ("HMB") compensation for expropriating its Antiguan property ("Privy Council Judgement") […]

Transnational Canadian Corporations Can Be Liable Under Customary International Law For Human Rights Abuses: The Phoenix Flies in Nevsun v Araya

Content warning: mention of slavery, torture, false confinement, murder, and rape Can Canadian courts adjudicate international human rights violations committed by Canadian companies abroad? Usually, the spectre of limited corporate liability within an asymmetrical transnational legal regime precludes this and allows such abuses to continue. However, in an unprecedented decision released in February 2020, a […]

Protection from Cruel and Unusual Punishment Does Not Apply to Corporations, rules Québec (AG) v 9147-0732 Québec Inc

In recent years, mandatory minimum sentencing legislation for people convicted of criminal offences has often been ruled unconstitutional as cruel and unusual punishment contrary to Section 12 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms [Charter] (R v Nur, 2015 SCC 15; R v Loyd, 2016 SCC 13; R v Boudreault, 2018 SCC 58). However, […]