In Murray‑Hall v Quebec (Attorney General), 2023 SCC 10 [Murray-Hall], a unanimous Supreme Court of Canada (“SCC”) held that Quebec legislation prohibiting possession of cannabis plants for personal cultivation or use can coexist with a federal law permitting possession up to four plants.
Introduction On September 15th, 2022, the Supreme Court of Canada (“SCC” or “the Court”) heard Janick Murray-Hall v Attorney General of Quebec SCC 39906 [Murray-Hall (2022)], on appeal from the Quebec Court of Appeal (“QCCA” or “Court of Appeal”). This case offers the SCC an early opportunity to scrutinize and define federal and provincial legislative […]
Recent laws passed by the Provincial Legislatures in Alberta and Quebec have reignited old, unsettled frictions about the appropriate division of powers between Canada's Provinces and Federal Government. The following article will be divided into three parts, outlining a) the post-repatriation history of constitutional negotiations, b) recent legislative developments in Alberta and Quebec that have […]
In August 2012, the Federation of Quebec Maple Syrup Producers (“PPAQ”) filed a complaint with the Quebec police that 5.9 million pounds of maple syrup, valuing $17.8 million, had been stolen from a warehouse in St-Louis-de-Blanford. The sensational story garnered media coverage from all over the world, and a whole episode in Netflix’s Dirty Money […]
With housing prices skyrocketing in various metropolitan regions across Canada, the demand for mortgages—known as hypothecs in Quebec—has also increased. Yet in times of economic hardship, creditors are prone to default mortgages borrowed from banks as well as independent mortgage providers. Unlike the rest of Canada which maintains that property is owned through a fee […]
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 a decision released on October 17, 2014, Imperial Oil v Jacques, 2014 SCC 66 [Imperial Oil v Jacques], a majority of the Supreme Court Court ("SCC") upheld a Quebec motion court's ruling that allowed plaintiffs in a class action to access relevant government surveillance materials during civil discovery proceedings. The class action arose after an investigation of […]
The decision in Quebec (Commission des normes du travail) v Asphalte Desjardins inc., 2014 SCC 51, demonstrates the Supreme Court of Canada's support for employee protection while leaving an unclear future for Quebeckers who are employed in competitive industries. The case dealt with an employee's notice of resignation and his employer's subsequent attempt to shorten the employee's remaining tenure without […]
In R v Babos, 2014 SCC 16 [Babos], the issue was whether the Crown misconduct, in the form of intimidation and threats, was severe enough to warrant a stay of proceedings for the accused. A 6-1 majority of the Supreme Court of Canada (SCC) has held that prosecutorial misconduct or abuse of process must be […]
