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Henna Mohan

SCC to Address Indigenous Peoples’ Inherent Right to Self-Govern in Bill C-92 Reference

Editor’s Note: The author’s analysis of Renvoi à la Cour d'appel du Québec relatif à la Loi concernant les enfants, les jeunes et les familles des Premières Nations, des Inuits et des Métis, 2022 QCCA 185 [QCCA Reference] is based on an unofficial English translation of the opinion of the Quebec Court of Appeal (“QCCA” […]

2022 at the Supreme Court: Year in Review

Despite the uncertainties brought on by 2022, the Supreme Court of Canada (“SCC” or “the Court”) concluded another noteworthy year. The Court began to slowly welcome back members of the public on a limited in-person basis after two long years of virtual hearings. Additionally, notwithstanding global disruptions like the war in Ukraine or the internal […]

R v Samaniego: SCC Defines Trial Management Powers in Evidentiary Rulings

“The accused was entitled to a fair trial, not an endless one,” the Supreme Court of Canada (“SCC” or “the Court”) asserted in the recent ruling, R v Samaniego, 2022 SCC 9 [Samaniego]. It is a cogent quote in defence of trial management power—a power that allows trial judges to control court processes to ensure […]

Crown Immunity Trumps Police Officers’ Tarnished Reputations in Ontario (AG) v Clark

The Supreme Court of Canada (“SCC”) made important strides in determining the scope of immunity for Crown prosecutors when dealing with third party interests. In Ontario (Attorney General) v Clark, 2021 SCC 18 [Clark], the SCC faced the claims of three police officers who sought vindication after several Crown attorneys allowed unsubstantiated claims of police […]

SCC to Revisit the Safe Third Country Agreement in Canadian Council For Refugees, et al. v Minister of Citizenship and Immigration, et al.

The Supreme Court of Canada (“SCC”) will revisit the applications of several unsuccessful refugee claimants when it hears Canadian Council for Refugees, et al. v Minister of Citizenship and Immigration, et al, SCC 39749. In doing so, they could make a powerful statement about Canada’s perception of the United States (“U.S.”) as a safe country […]

Starting-Point Sentencing is Here to Stay, Supreme Court Rules in R v Parranto

In R v Parranto, 2021 SCC 46 [Parranto], the Supreme Court (“the Court”) weighed in on the criminal sentences of two drug traffickers in Alberta. In the process, they made powerful statements about individualized sentences, the power of provincial appeal courts and the future of criminal sentencing.

Southwind v Canada: Assessing Equitable Compensation for Taken Indigenous Land

In 1929, the creation of electrical power for Winnipeg, Manitoba resulted in the destruction of land, livelihood and community for a nearby Indigenous group. Nearly a century later, this government decision was the subject of a Supreme Court of Canada ruling. In Southwind v Canada, 2021 SCC 28 [Southwind], the question of equitable compensation — […]