UPDATE: The SCC ruled on this case from the bench, allowing the appeal for the reasons of Justice van Rensburg at the Ontario Court of Appeal. How does a patient who suffered an unforeseen injury during surgery prove that their surgeon was negligent? Can the injury itself provide circumstantial evidence that the standard of care […]
2020 was an unprecedented year. The COVID-19 pandemic overtook the world, influencing nearly all aspects of everyday life across the globe. At the time of writing, over 1.8 million people have died from COVID-19, including over 15,000 in Canada, with case numbers continuing to rise. It is impossible to reflect on the events of 2020, […]
The COVID-19 pandemic has shocked the country in its revelation of the systemic frailties plaguing Canada’s long-term care (“LTC”) system. Individuals over the age of 70 have made up almost 90% of the country’s deaths from COVID-19, and in the first wave of the pandemic, deaths in Canadian LTC facilities accounted for 80% of the […]
Legislation against strategic lawsuits against public participation [“anti-SLAPP legislation”] is not a blanket legal apparatus. Parties cannot get claims against them dismissed simply because their expressions are in relation to matters of public interest. Lascaris v B’nai Brith Canada, 2019 ONCA 163 [Lascaris] is a case that explores this concept further. Factual Overview The […]
Content Warning: This article includes depictions of sexual violence that may evoke strong emotions. In the last three decades, the law of sexual assault has evolved drastically, most recently with the added definitions of consent under s. 273.1 of the Criminal Code, RSC 1985 c C-46 [Criminal Code]. In November, the Supreme Court of Canada […]
Content warning: sexual violence, murder, bipolar disorder, policing Despite the ongoing pandemic, this fall has been a notable season for advancing the Section 15 substantive equality rights provision of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms [Charter] at the Supreme Court of Canada (“SCC”). In October, the SCC found the Royal Mounted Canadian Police pension plan […]
The Court of Appeal’s (“CA”) decision in Bissonnette c. R., 2020 QCCA 1585 (“Bissonnette”), illuminated the importance of respecting Parliament’s authority to re-write legislation when a court declares a statute unconstitutional.
In Desjardins Financial Services Firm Inc v Asselin, 2020 SCC 30 [“Desjardins”], the Supreme Court of Canada (“SCC”) engaged in a debate about how to properly assess the law of class actions in Quebec. While the words “respectfully disagree” were used by the majority and the dissent, the decision exhibits strong differences of opinion as […]
Canada’s opioid crisis has been even deadlier than COVID-19. There were 16,364 apparent opioid-related deaths between January 2016 and March 2020, with the situation worsening during the current pandemic.
The Supreme Court of Canada (“SCC”) is usually timid to grant leave to tax law cases. However, earlier this year, we saw the SCC decide MacDonald v. Canada 2020 SCC 6. (You can find our case comment on MacDonald here.) The SCC also granted leave to Canada v. Alta Energy Luxembourg S.A.R.L. 2020 FCA 43 […]