On January 12, the Supreme Court of Canada ("SCC") dismissed the Ottawa Police Service and civilian Mark Krupa’s application to appeal the Ontario Court of Appeal’s ("OCA") decision in Jacobs v Ottawa (Police Service) 2016 ONCA 345. By doing so, the SCC upheld the OCA’s decision that, under the Police Services Act RSO 1990, c […]
In the spring of 2012, thousands of students in Quebec took to the streets to protest proposed increases in university tuition fees. Student organizations held votes opposing the increases and declared that students were “on strike.” Students formed picket lines at many institutions that prevented other students and professors from accessing buildings. Some individuals turned […]
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 […]
Last year, TheCourt.ca posted an article discussing the fatal impaired driving incident that resulted in the death of all three of Jennifer and Edward Neville-Lake’s children. Daniel, Harrison and Milly were all under the age of ten. Jennifer’s father Gary—the children’s grandfather—was also killed in the crash. The sole survivors were their grandmother and great-grandmother, […]
On July 8, 2016, the Supreme Court of Canada released R v Jordan, 2016 SCC 27 [Jordan], a decision that fundamentally changed the framework that determines whether an accused has been tried within a reasonable time under s 11(b) of the Charter. While the impact of explicitly overthrowing a well-established framework with years of precedent remains […]
Mediation is an invaluable tool which, when used correctly, can help parties avoid the procedural obstacles and inefficiencies of the legal system through a third party mediator. However, when used incorrectly, mediation itself can become an unnecessary obstacle. In Matsqui First Nation v Canada (AG), 2015 BCSC 1409 [Matsqui], the Department of Fisheries and Oceans […]
An Ontarian has successfully sought a constitutional exemption from sections 241(b) and 14 of the Criminal Code RSC, 1985, c C-46, allowing him to access physician assisted-suicide (“PAS”). The applicant, A.B., was an 80-year-old gentleman with advanced-stage aggressive lymphoma. Interestingly, this case raised the competing values of privacy and the open court principle. In AB […]
When should courts invoke public policy to interfere with testamentary freedom? The Ontario Court of Appeal (“ONCA”) recently revisited this question in Spence v BMO Trust Company, 2016 ONCA 196 [Spence]. In Spence, Mr. Spence (the testator) excluded his daughter, Verolin, and grandson, A.S., from his Will. Instead, he bequeathed his assets to his second […]
Everyone has the right to a fair trial. This foundational principle was undermined in Stuart Budd & Sons Limited v IFS Vehicle Distributors ULC, 2015 ONSC 519 [IFS, Motion]. On appeal, the Ontario Court of Appeal (“ONCA”) determined that a reasonable and informed objective observer would consider the motion judge, Justice Corbett, to have displayed […]
Testamentary freedom is a foundational principle of estate planning. Individuals are allowed to decide how to devise their assets with minimal state interference. However, testamentary freedom has several key limitations. One notable way to curb this otherwise unhindered freedom is striking down clauses in a will that violate public policy. Last week in Royal Trust […]