Over the last decade or so, the lines separating the fields of telecommunications and broadcasting have become harder and harder to distinguish. This convergence has lead to difficulties in determining the applicability of laws to activities enabled by new technologies. On September 18, the Supreme Court of Canada ("SCC") refused leave to appeal in Canadian […]
The Globe and Mail and Toronto Star have recently commented on reports that Governor General Michaëlle Jean advised the Prime Minister to repatriate Omar Khadr. The original story appeared in La Presse on September 26, 2008. It must be emphasized that the veracity of these reports remains to be seen. However, if true, they raise […]
Introduction This season’s Supreme Court of Canada ("SCC") docket promises yet another round of exciting and potentially ground-breaking judgments. One case in particular, however, holds the promise of drastically changing the contours of Access to Information legislation in Ontario and beyond. Tucked away in the SCC’s December schedule, Ministry of Public Safety and Security (Formerly […]
The Supreme Court of Canada ("SCC") is set to decide whether confidential sources for newspaper reporters are entitled to a claim of privilege similar to that of confidential police informants. The case of R v National Post, which received leave to appeal this morning, will settle a long-standing grey area in Canadian media law, but to […]
In Harvard College v Canada (Commissioner of Patents), [2002] 4 SCR 45 [Harvard College], the Supreme Court of Canada ("SCC"), in a 5-4 decision, ruled that a genetically modified mouse was not a patentable invention under the Patent Act, RSC 1985, c P-4. Harvard College had created a genetically modified mouse, known as the “oncomouse,” that […]
The New York Times recently published an article on the waning international influence of the U.S. Supreme Court, especially with regard to constitutional law. As countries like New Zealand (whose Bill of Rights was enacted in 1990) and South Africa continue to develop jurisprudence around their young constitutional documents, they are looking increasingly less at […]
An application has been filed for leave to appeal to the Supreme Court of Canada ("SCC") in the matter of Grace Johnston v Director of Vital Statistics for the Province of Alberta, et. al [Johnston]. If the SCC choose to hear Johnston, it will have the opportunity to provide much needed clarity to administrative law […]
In addition to the safeguards available to adult detainees, section 146 of the Youth Criminal Justice Act, SC 2002, c 1 [YCJA] imposes certain requirements that must be met in order for a statement made by a young person in custody to be admissible against him or her in trial. Specifically, (1) the statement must […]
In the Supreme Court of Canada's ("SCC") fall lineup of hearings, we have in the lead-off position on October 6, 2008, the case of Her Majesty the Queen in Right of the Province of Alberta v Hutterian Brethren of Wilson Colony, et al. In this case, the SCC will determine whether the Alberta government’s decision […]
On September 5, 2008 the David Asper Centre for Constitutional Rights was launched at the University of Toronto Faculty of Law. The Centre is the result of a $7.5 million gift to U of T law school from their alumnus David Asper (LLM '07). Mr. Asper is currently the Chair of the National Post newspaper, […]