This week, The Globe and Mail responded to the Supreme Court's decision in Alberta v. Hutterian Brethren of Wilson Colony, 2009 SCC 37, critically. (The decision is summarized and discussed by TheCourt.ca Senior Contributing Editor Daniel Del Gobbo here.) The Globe was critical of the Supreme Court's decision requiring the Hutterites to participate in Alberta's […]
Mandating Photographic Driver’s Licences The Supreme Court has finally released judgment in Alberta v. Hutterian Brethren of Wilson Colony, 2009 SCC 37 – a case closely watched by constitutional scholars and popular media for its engagement with the Charter’s s. 2(a) freedom of religion guarantee. Very unfortunately, the outcome may signal to members of some […]
In Friends of the Oldman River Society v. Canada, [1992] 1 S.C.R. 3, Justice LaForest wrote that an "[e]nvironmental impact assessment is, in its simplest form, a planning tool that is now generally regarded as an integral component of sound decision-making." One of the enumerated purposes of the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act, S.C. 1992 c.37, […]
Rewriting the Rules on the Exclusion of Evidence under S. 24(2) In a long-awaited and much-anticipated move, the Supreme Court of Canada’s recent decision in R. v. Grant, 2009 SCC 32 revised the framework for determining whether evidence obtained in breach of the Charter must be excluded under s. 24(2), or else risk bringing the […]
In its recent decision in Caisse Populaire Desjardins de L'est de Drummond v. Her Majesty the Queen in Right of Canada, 2009 SCC 29, the Supreme Court considered a controversial topic in insolvency law: federal deemed trusts as they are applicable to payroll deduction. Justice Rothstein, writing for the majority, concurred with the Federal Court of Appeal […]
On Friday the Supreme Court of Canada released judgments in four eagerly awaited criminal Charter cases: R. v. Grant, 2009 SCC 32; R. v. Harrison, 2009 SCC 34; R. v. Shepherd, 2009 SCC 35; and R. v. Suberu, 2009 SCC 33. Although much of the media coverage has focused on the results, ultimately the Court […]
The Supreme Court's decision in Greater Vancouver Transit Authority v. Canadian Federation of Students, 2009 SCC 31, is not an unexpected one. Most onlookers expected that the court would rule in favour of the CFS, as the censorious actions of the Greater Vancouver Transit Authority were rather obviously disconnected from the reasonable limits allowed by […]
Weighing in on the Webcasts Visitors to the Supreme Court of Canada’s website in recent months will have noticed that they can newly access webcasts of oral arguments before the bench, as first reported here by Rebecca Ross for TheCourt.ca. Since February 9, 2009, the Supreme Court has streamed all counsel’s submissions and judges’ questioning […]
Although bullying and mocking have become a normal part of the Canadian high school experience, when this bullying leads to the death of innocent students then the situation has escalated to something beyond the everyday humdrums of life. One such situation that might be familiar to many involves a 14-year old girl who was harassed […]