Jurisdiction

Being At Home: The Children’s Law Reform Act and Jurisdiction in Dunmore v Mehralian

In Dunmore v Mehralian, the Supreme Court of Canada provided an answer to the question: what does it mean for a child to be habitually resident in a place?

APPEAL WATCH: Forfeiture Of Offence-Related Property Explored In Nguyen

The Supreme Court of Canada (“SCC”) is set to hear the appeal of Nguyen c. Director of Criminal and Penal Prosecutions, 2024 QCCA 674 [Nguyen] where the Court of Appeal of Québec (“QCCA”) overturned the decision of the Court of Québec, which held that it had jurisdiction to hear the application of the prosecution [41400].

Ewen: The judge-represented litigant

The Federal Court of Appeal (the “FCA”) resolved an “unusual question” about the Federal Court’s jurisdiction to raise a substantive question not raised by the parties in the context of an urgent motion for judicial review. In Canada (Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness) v Ewen, 2023 FCA 225 [Ewen], the FCA considered the unprompted decision […]

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 […]

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” […]

SCC to Decide on the "Best Interests of the Child" in International Parenting Orders in F v N

The Supreme Court (“SCC”) will hear F v N SCC 39875  [“F v N”] in March 2022. In this decision, the SCC will address the proper application and interpretation of ss. 23 and 40 of the Children’s Law Reform Act, RSO 1990 c C 12 (“the CLRA”) as well as the“best interests of the child” […]

Applying the Charter to State Actors Abroad: SCC Grants Leave in Corporal C.R. McGregor v Her Majesty the Queen

The Supreme Court of Canada (“SCC”) will refine its jurisprudence on extraterritorial applications of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms [the Charter] when it hears Corporal C.R. McGregor v Her Majesty the Queen (SCC 39543). The bench is also expected to explore the s. 8 Charter right to be secure against unreasonable search or […]

Northern Regional Health Authority v Horrocks: Exclusive vs. Concurrent Jurisdiction for Labour Arbitrators

In Northern Regional Health Authority v Horrocks, 2021 SCC 42 [Horrocks], the majority of the Supreme Court of Canada (“SCC”) held in a 6-1 decision that mandatory dispute resolution provisions under labour legislation confer exclusive jurisdiction to the designated decision-maker, usually a labour arbitrator. As a result, unionized employees will have little to no legal […]

CBC v Manitoba: A Decision Not to Decide

Can publication bans be indefinite, preventing the public from ever accessing court records? The Supreme Court of Canada (“SCC”) was expected to answer this question in Canadian Broadcasting Corp. v. Manitoba, 2021 SCC 33 [CBC v Manitoba]. Instead, the SCC focused on another question altogether: When can a court revisit its own ancillary orders?   […]

No “Rule of Uber”: Arbitration Clause Found Unconscionable in Uber Technologies v Heller

This summer, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled that Uber drivers can pursue their claim that they are employees in an Ontario court. In Uber Technologies Inc v Heller, 2020 SCC 16, a majority of judges held that a mandatory arbitration clause in Uber's driver contracts was unconscionable and thus invalid. The drivers’ proposed $400 […]