On August 27th, the SCC granted the Alberta government leave to appeal in R. v. Caron, 2009 ABCA 34. Chief Justice McLachlin, Justice Abella and Justice Rothstein granted the leave application without costs and without reasons. Nevertheless, it seems absurd that making an unsafe left turn has turned into a four year long engagement with […]
Not long after Justice David Souter announced his retirement from the U.S. Supreme Court and Justice Sonia Sotomayor was confirmed as his replacement, the legal blogosphere lit up last week with reports that Justice John Paul Stevens may retire next year. The court’s most aged and arguably most “liberal” member, Justice Stevens confirmed through a […]
As my colleague James Gotowiec rightly points out, the reasoning of the trial judge in Prime Minister et al v. Omar Khadr, 2009 FC 405, upheld by the majority of the Federal Court of Appeal, is weak and unconvincing. The ratio of the trial judgment can be described as follows: although Khadr is in US […]
Today, TheCourt.ca inaugurates what we hope will become a regular Friday feature in our pages: Amici Curiae, a survey from across the legal blogosphere and beyond of commentary, happenings and tidbits that we think will be of interest to our readership. We welcome suggestions for items that warrant inclusion and on how we might improve […]
The Supreme Court of Canada has recently announced it will deliver judgment in the application for leave to appeal in Boulter v. Nova Scotia Power Incorporated, 2009 NSCA 17. In anticipation of such judgment, it is worthwhile to re-examine the issues at stake in the decision. While much has been written on the mechanics of […]
Today marks an interesting anniversary in the Court’s jurisprudence. Ten years ago today, the Supreme Court released its decision in the case of U.F.C.W., Local 1518, v. KMart Canada Ltd., [1999] 2 S.C.R. 1083. There, a unanimous Court held that a law prohibiting union members from distributing leaflets at secondary sites during a labour dispute […]
Ricci v. DeStefano, a case concerning reverse discrimination in the form of a denial of promotions to a group of white firefighters who did disproportionately well on qualifying exams, is the United States Supreme Court's latest decision and arguably its most important of the year. The decision sought to resolve the conflict between eradicating intentional […]
It appears Canadian citizenship isn't worth as much as we might like to think. The sagas of Abousfian Abdelrazik, Suaad Haji Mohamud, and Omar Khadr demonstrate that, if the government thinks you're a terrorist, you'll need to get most of the Canadian public onside before the Department of Foreign Affairs will consider helping you. While […]